Biodiversity and Forests

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5.3 BIODIVERSITY STATE AND
TRENDS
5.3.1 Terrestrial Biodiversity
5.3.1.1 Flora Species
Flora species inventories date back to the
Ministry of Agriculture’s UNEP-funded study of
1996. Work since then has been with individual
species and or habitats such as the studies that
were conducted between 1999 and 2005 in the
protected areas of Lebanon. The only exhaustive
terrestrial flora study that was conducted at
national level was published by Tohmé & Tohmé
(2007), describing 2,597 photographed flower
plants from Lebanon. It indicates that about
52 percent of Lebanese flowers do not exist
in Europe, and 1,185 plants are particularly
known in the East Mediterranean region. Of
the 2,597 species, 221 are endemic to the
region, 34 are rare and 69 are endangered. The
authors studied and photographed 94 endemic
Lebanese species, of which 12 are varieties.
The Fourth National Report to the CBD (2009)
noted that the country has a high percentage
(12%) of endemic plant species, surpassed
only by Turkey in a list of five neighboring
Mediterranean countries. Analyses show that
most of the endemic species are located on
the high summits of the two mountain ranges,
specifically at Mount Makmel, Mount Sannine,
Qammouha, Ehden and Mount Hermon. The
isolation effects characterizing these summits
render the alpine uplands a reservoir for
endemic species. Consequently, more than a
hundred species specific to Mount Hermon and
the Anti-Lebanon Range have been counted
(Medail & Quezel, 1997). Of Lebanon’s endemic
species, 17 are rare, 4 are nearing extinction, and
16 are threatened.
Eleven tree species in Lebanon are on the IUCN
Red List, including the Cedrus libani, but all are
listed at low risk levels. There is greater pressure
on shrubs and lesser vegetation, especially
those traditionally collected for their medicinal
and aromatic uses. A Survey of Economic
Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands found 224
species (10.8%) plants of economic importance
distributed in Lebanon (SEPASAL, 1999),
including 365 medicinal and aromatic plants
(MAPs) commonly utilised. Of them at least
six are globally significant and threatened by
current harvesting practices (UNDP/GEF project:
Mainstreaming Biodiversity Management into
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Production
Processes in Lebanon, project on-going). As
for shrubs and lesser plants, they are exhibited
in Table 5.3 which also shows the percent of
endangered species.
State and Trends of the Lebanese Environment | 2010
Table 5.3 Summary of endangered shrubs and
lesser plants species
Class No. of
species
No. of
Endangered
Species
Percent of
Endangered
Species
Fodder plants 69 34 49.3
Medicinal plants 236 16 6.8
Mushrooms 207 4 1.9
Lichens 800 -- --
Mosses &
Hepatica
219 -- 11
Ferns 31 14 45.2
Endemic plants 92 37 41.3
Total 1654 106
Source: MOA/UNEP/GEF, 1996
Trends. Observations have found exotic species
near the Beirut International Airport, unwittingly
carried by travellers caught in clothing or
luggage. Some of these species have then
spread naturally to other areas of Lebanon
(Georges Tohmé pers. comm.). Some flowers,
thought to have disappeared, have re-emerged,
such as the physalis now present from northern
to southern border, the Lebanese cyclamen
(Cyclamen libanoticum) and some wild orchids.
At least 93 species have disappeared, including
13 endemic species, whilst 13 new species
have now joined Lebanon’s flora list, including
two species that are indicators of salinity and
desertification. Common to other areas in the
Mediterranean Basin, the Lebanese coastline is
highly threatened by unregulated development
and its two endemic species (Matthiola
crassifolia & Origanum ehrenbergii) are on the
brink of extinction (Talhouk et al., 2005).
5.3.1.2 Forests
It is estimated that 74 percent of Lebanon’s
surface area was historically covered with
forests. Recent studies now show that 13
percent of the country is covered by forests
(137,000 ha) and 10 percent is covered by other
woodlands (106,000 ha) (FAO, 2010). Annual
deforestation is estimated at 0.4 percent while
annual reforestation is estimated 0.83 percent.
Of the forest areas, 50,250ha are considered
dense (more than 65 percent canopy coverage)
(LULC, 1998). The highest concentrations of
forests are found in North Lebanon (30%) and
Mount Lebanon (37%), followed by South
Lebanon (9%) and Nabatieh (6%) (MOA, 2003).
Oak forests occupy the largest surface areas
(52.42%) of the forest cover while Cypress
(0.15%) cedar (0.83%) and fir (1.76%) occupy
the lowest cover areas. The relic cedar and fir