Quercus Ilex - Ecology

Ecology

Holm Oak grows in pure stands or mixed forest in relatively arid climates and often at low or moderate elevations. One of the plant associations in which Holm Oak is found is the Holm Oak/Atlas Cedar forests of the Atlas Mountains. In Morocco some of these mixed forests are habitat to the endangered primate, Barbary Macaque, Macaca sylvanus.

Holm oak is damaging biodiversity in the United Kingdom, and is listed as an alien invader. Normally the tree is unable to withstand frost, which would normally prevent it from spreading north, but with climate change, it has successfully penetrated these areas.