Biodiversity and Forests

More documents

Recommendations

Info

154 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
forests harbor several endemic, threatened and economic plant species. Mixed forests represent 17.98 percent whilst the pine forests 14.91 percent and the Juniper 8.74 percent (calculated based on MOA data 2003 and FAO 2005). Trends. It is difficult to assess forest trends with any high degree of certainty. Compared to previous studies conducted by the Green Plan in collaboration with FAO in 1965, the total forest area has remained largely unchanged but high density forest areas have decreased. Between 1990 and 2000, Lebanon gained on average 1,000 hectares of forest per year (equivalent to an annual reforestation rate of 0.83 percent). Despite the reforestation of 583.5 ha by MOE during 2002-2004 and the reforestation of other areas by MOA and NGOs, the reforestation rate decreased between 2000 and 2005 to 0.76 percent per year. In total, between 1990 and 2005, Lebanon’s forest cover expanded by 12.4 percent compared to pre-1990 levels 1 . This is equivalent to 1.28 percent of Lebanon’s territory. However, more research is needed to validate the data, and to account for the concurrent loss in forest cover due to fires. 5.3.1.3 Mammal Species Analyses of BCS (1996) and following published and unpublished papers show that 46 percent of faunal species are terrestrial and that 10 mammal species are already extinct in Lebanon, 36.54 percent of the existing mammals are rare, 1.92 percent are near threatened, 7.7 percent vulnerable, and 1.92 percent close to extinction (see Figure 5.7). Most of the mammals are subspecies limited to East Mediterranean of Middle Eastern areas. Only two mammals are endemic to Lebanon at the level of subspecies: Nyctalus noctula lebanoticus and Myotis myotis macrocephalus. Trends. Of the 61 mammal species recorded in Lebanon, ten species were already extinct by the beginning of the 20th century (Syrian brown bear, Asian leopard, Cheetah, Persian lynx, Nubian Ibex, Wild Goat, Deer, Arabian gazelle and the golden hamster in addition to the lion which disappeared in the 16 th century). The other species which are close to extinction include the wild cat, the mongoose and the squirrel, whereas the rare species include three shrews, eleven bats, the weasel and spiny mouse. There still exists a variety of species which are vulnerable like the three species of bats, the wolf and the otter. Since 1996, two mammal species new to Lebanon (the Forest Dormouse (Bara, 2002) and the Gerbil) were discovered and two more species were added to the previously four declining mammal species of Lebanon. Figure 5.7 Status of mammal species in Lebanon (1996 and 2010) Note: The number of species between brackets represents the status reported in 1996 (MOA/UNEP/ GEF, 1996). Richness, which is defined as the total number of species in a determined area (Lebanon) was 57 species in 1996 and 61 species in 2010 (Ramadan-Jaradi in prep.). The difference between 1996 and 2010 does not reflect an increase in species but improved observation and research. Species may appear in more than one category so the number of species inside and outside the parentheses does not reflect the total number of known species. 1 http://rainforests.mongabay.com/ deforestation/2000/Lebanon.htm Source: Ramadan-Jaradi in prep. Chapter 5: Biodiversity and Forests 155 Credit: TERRE Egyptian Fruit Bat Rousettus aegyptiacus
Page 1 and 2: Biodiversity and Forests Lead Autho
Page 3 and 4: ABBREVIATIONS & ACRONYMS ABS Access
Page 5 and 6: LIST OF FIGURES Figure 5.1 Distribu
Page 7 and 8: Lebanon’s geographic location, it
Page 9 and 10: 5.1.3 Forests Based on the FAO Fore
Page 11 and 12: 5.1.3.4 Evergreen Cypress Evergreen
Page 13 and 14: Since the preparation of the Biodiv
Page 15: Figure 5.6. Summary of root causes
Page 19 and 20: trend may continue for some years a
Page 21 and 22: (CWR) allows species to adapt to ch
Page 23 and 24: MOA’s Directorate of Rural Develo
Page 25 and 26: Table 5.5 Detailed List of Nature R
Page 27 and 28: Box 5.3 The Higher Council for Hunt
Page 29 and 30: • Following the devastating fires
Page 31 and 32: For inland freshwater protection fr
Page 33 and 34: and evaluation of plant genetic res
Page 35 and 36: REFERENCES AECID 2009 Environmental
Page 37 and 38: Rodrigues ASL et al. 2004 Rodrigues
Page 39: لبج - صاجنلا درج ةقط

Biodiversity and Forests

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?