At Mediterranean latitudes, (30º-40º) the effect of the moist winds coming from the west (the sea), during the winter, soothing the continental cold, alternates with the dry and hot winds of summer, associated with subtropical high pressures. During winter, the Mediterranean basin is also subject to winds coming from the North Atlantic. These cold and moist masses of air warm up when in contact with the Mediterranean Sea, forming low pressures. These, then, result in short periods of intense rainfall, causing easy erosion of the soil. During summer the Azores High moves north, while hot and dry winds move up from the Sahara seaside (Sirocco wind).
As for the geomorphological aspects, the montados occupy preferably flat lands or softly rolling hills. They can occupy more steep areas, but in that situation the risk of erosion of the soil is high, being recommended it stays covered with bushes, in a more natural structure.
Several abiotic factors act differently to create a large diversity of variants in the system. The inclines and running of nutrients to lower areas, the various levels of sun exposure, the various types and depths of soils, as well as the various densities of arboreal cover, combine with different interventions of humans over time, level of pressure of grazing, cycles of rupture and pressure of usage, to create an extreme diversity in the patterns of the montado. From this diversity results a mosaic of structurally and ecologically interdependent systems.