Ecologia Mediterranea

E. SATTOUT, D. LICHAA-EL KHOURY & D. CHOUEITER
classification of the vegetation cover was
finalized as per the defined vegetation legend
(Abi Saleh et al. 1996). Field trips were performed
to validate the delineation and composition
of the series of vegetation.
Vocational map
The development of the vocational map on
land conservation and management, and land
use was done in two phases. The first phase
involved round-table meetings with experts
while the second phase relied on participatory
approaches. This meant gathering mayors and
representatives of municipalities to discuss
and translate their visions of habitat conservation
and management, and land use of the
delimitation of urban sprawl. The delineation
of the different zone categories was based on
the results of the botanical assessments,
including forest composition and structure,
diversity indices, field observations, prediction
of the conservation status of endemic and
other important plant species, and map on
land use and land cover.
Figure 1 – Mediterranean vegetation series found in the Akkar-Donnieh region.
86
Results
Plant species richness
Based on the vegetation classification series
performed by Abi Saleh & Safi (1988), the
data collected revealed that the region comprises
a mosaic of Mediterranean life zones,
sheltering eight Mediterranean vegetation
Series: Mediterranean Series of Q. calliprinos;
Mediterranean Series of Q. infectoria;
Mediterranean Series of P. brutia-Cupressus
sempervirens L.; Normal Series of Q. infectoria;
Series of Q. cerris; Montane Mediterranean
Series of J. excels; Series of C. libani
– A. cilicica, and Oro-Mediterranean Series
of J. excelsa (Figure 1).
The area revealed itself as a shelter for the
majority of Lebanese flora, thriving at altitudes
between 1,200 and 2,000 meters. The
plant checklist included more than 415 plant
species, representing 64 families and 30 tree
species (Annex), including 21 endemics either
to Lebanon (10 species) or to the Eastern
Mediterranean (11 species) (Table 2). The latter
figures represent 11% of the country’s narrow
endemics and 5% of its broad endemics.
Helichrysum virgineum DC.; Astragalus
ecologia mediterranea – Vol. 38 (2) – 2012