The nine western Palaearctic species of the subgenus Zimmermannia Hering, 1940 and 48 species in the subgenus Ectoedemia Busck, 1907 of the genus Ectoedemia are reviewed. One species in the subgenus Zimmermannia and four species in the subgenus Ectoedemia are described as new: Ectoedemia (Zimmermannia) vivesi A. La?t?vka, Z. La?t?vka & Van Nieukerken sp. n. from southern Spain and Cyprus with unknown host plant, Ectoedemia (E.) hendrikseni A. La?t?vka, Z. La?t?vka & Van Nieukerken sp. n. from southern France on Quercus suber, E. (E.) heckfordi Van Nieukerken, A. La?t?vka & Z. La?t?vka sp. n. from southern England on Quercus petraea and Q. robur, E. (E.) phaeolepis Van Nieukerken, A. La?t?vka & Z. La?t?vka sp. n. from Spain and Portugal probably on Quercus ilex and Q. rotundifolia and E. (E.) coscoja Van Nieukerken, A. La?t?vka & Z. La?t?vka sp. n. from Spain on Quercus coccifera. The following species are redescribed: Ectoedemia (Zimmermannia) hispanica Van Nieukerken 1985, Ectoedemia (Zimmermannia) reichli Z. & A. La?t?vka 1998, Ectoedemia (E.) algeriensis van Nieukerken 1985, E. (E.) pseudoilicis Z. & A. La?t?vka 1998 and E. (E.) alnifoliae van Nieukerken 1985. Ectoedemia albiformae Puplesis & Di?kus 2003 is synonymised with E. spinosella (Joannis, 1908). Ectoedemia jacutica Puplesis 1988, previously synonymised with E. agrimoniae (Frey, 1858), is here synonymised with E. spiraeae Gregor & Povoln? 1983. Updated keys to the subgenus Zimmermannia and the Quercus feeding Ectoedemia are provided.

This book is based on Herbert Buhr's seminal keys of 1964-1965 (Bestimmungstabellen der Gallen (Zoo- und Phytocecidien) an Pflanzen Mittel- und Nordeuropas) and augmented with Houard's 1908-1913 work on Southern Europe (Les Zoocécidies des Plantes d'Europe et du Bassin de la Méditerranée). The authors have updated this with the research of a new generation of cecidologists, significantly expanding our knowledge of plant galls and their distribution. The 9,000 galls and malformations described by Buhr and Houard have been updated and 1,250 new galls described in more recent literature have been added. The nomenclature of both gall inducers and host plants has been updated, information about specific groups of gall inducers has been reviewed, and new insights have been added by a team of specialists. Moreover, they collected distribution data for the whole of Europe and, where available, adjacent areas.

Insect and disease issues are often specific to the Mediterranean forest systems rather than shared with the temperate forests. In addition to the specific native insects and diseases, the forests are subject to the invasion of exotic species. The forests are also at risk from high degrees of human activity, including changing patterns of forest fires, land management activities, intensive plantation forestry using introduced timber species from other Mediterranean climate zones, and atmospheric deposition. Combined with elements of global climate change that may disproportionately affect Mediterranean climate systems, this creates a number of significant management issues that are unique to the Mediterranean forests. It is our goal that the information contained in this volume will contribute to understanding the unique aspects of Mediterranean forest systems and to protecting these critical resources.