Research overview: Iberian lynx habitat and Mediterranean scrubland

The Iberian lynx depends on Mediterranean scrubland and woodland mosaics that support dense rabbit populations and provide cover for hunting and denning. This overview surveys research on lynx habitat requirements and on the management needed to maintain and restore suitable landscapes. Studies link lynx presence to the structure of scrub, pasture, and woodland, and to land uses that sustain rabbits, examining how agricultural intensification, abandonment, afforestation, and fire alter habitat quality. Researchers evaluate habitat-management interventions such as creating clearings, managing vegetation, and improving rabbit warrens. Understanding habitat is essential for selecting reintroduction sites and planning range expansion and connectivity. The overview frames habitat conservation as the spatial foundation of lynx recovery, showing that protecting the cat means actively shaping the working Mediterranean landscapes it shares with people, rather than relying on untouched wilderness that no longer exists in its range.