Ecogeographic survey and gap analysis for Medicago L.: recommendations for in situ and ex situ conservation of Lebanese species

Abstract

Medics (Medicago spp.) are among the most important pasture legumes of temperate regions. Lebanon is considered as a part of the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot in Medics. Its flora including more than 35 species of medics, most of which, not unlike this country's flora, are threatened. To alleviate these threats, large accessions of Medicago were collected for ex situ conservation; however, some species are underrepresented and sometimes not represented in genebanks, and many species are not protected, particularly because of the lack of in situ conservations strategies. In this study, we produced an updated checklist and distribution maps of Lebanese medics. Later we identified priority species for collection and priority areas for ecogeographic surveys and conservation by using gap analysis. Out of the 37 species reported from Lebanon, six were found to be priority species for collecting. Gap analysis also revealed that priority areas for surveying and conservation are located mostly in the northern, southern and eastern parts of the country. Out of the currently established natural reserves, the Shouf Cedar Reserve had the highest diversity of Medicago species. Beirut and Tripoli (both major coastal cities) and Zahle (one of the major cities in the Bekaa valley) have excellent to very highly suitable sites with the highest genetic diversity of medics. Therefore, they constitute with areas along the northern border of the country, priority locations for establishing in situ conservation sites (genetic reserves) because the two locations are very rich in priority species. Other priority species are found in the southern part of Lebanon and could be ex situ conserved. Keywords Medicago Á Rangeland plants Á Forage species Á Lebanon Á Gap analysis Á Ex situ conservation Á In situ conservation Á DIVA-GIS

Surveying and mapping cereals and legumes wild relatives in Mount Hermon (Bekaa, Lebanon)

“…In the case of Medicago, the species identified in our study had very different frequency and density values (Table 2) as well as a random selectivity of distribution in habitat types (Figure 3c). According to Beyrouthy et al (2019) 4a, c, d may be attributed to the fact that these legume species are among the favorite for pasture grazing.…”

Phenotypic diversity of Medicago crop wild relatives growing in Lebanon

“…Thirty-six (36) sites distributed in northern Lebanon, along the coast, and in the internal regions of the country were visited during August 2016. The selection of sites was done according to priority species identified from previous gap analysis ( Al-Beyrouthy et al 2019); GPS location and elevation were recorded for each site. During this period, fully mature seeds were collected.…”

“…In Lebanon, 37 species of Medicago are present according to literature (Post 1932;Mouterde 1986;Tohme and Tohme 2014;Al-Atawneh et al 2009). A previous study constructed a database from literature and online websites to apply gap analysis and elaborate richness and distribution maps in order to indicate the priority species for collection and priority areas for survey or for in situ conservation (Al-Beyrouthy et al 2019). Accordingly, the findings have been the baseline of this study.…”

Vegetation Composition of the Halophytic Grass Aeluropus lagopoides Communities within Coastal and Inland Sabkhas of Saudi Arabia

“…Apart from the establishment and maintenance of the protected area, baseline information about the key species, vis a vis the associated species, edaphic factors of the habitats, environmental variation, anthropogenic activities of the regions, are crucial [ 25 , 30 ]. This ecogeographical survey is considered central to all the conservation issues and a key requisite in the development of the conservation strategy [ 31 , 32 ]. According to our field observations, A. lagopoides has various phenotypic characteristics and forms distinct vegetative patches within various regions of Saudi Arabia.…”