Environmental and human determinates of vegetation distribution in the Hadhramaut region, Republic of Yemen

The principal objectives of the research are to analyse the distribution and dynamics of plants of the Hadhramaut region and to evaluate the role of the physical parameters and human action on their distribution, survival and conservation. The study area is located in Hadhramaut Governorate and lies in the eastern part of the Republic of Yemen. This is a remote and inaccessible region; however, there has been rapid development in recent years with the discovery of oil, which has had a significant effect on the vegetation and landscape. The Hadhramaut region represents an important area of eastern Yemen, linking eastern and western phyto-geographical units, representing a key transition zone between northeast Africa and Southeast Asia. Previous studies in the study area have only dealt with individual species and there has been no complete botanical survey. Recent floristic studies are turning up new species with many endemic and near endemic plant species. The Hadhramaut region is a desert region, dissected by deep valleys where agriculture is possible and the main towns are surrounded by rocky, dry limestone plateaus. The northern section passes into the deserts of the Rub ‘al Khali or Empty Quarter. Hadhramaut has a long history of human occupation with ancient civilisations well reflected in the archaeological records. Archaeological sites suggest that agriculture, with a related development of irrigation technology, was more widespread during a period when rainfall was more abundant. Initially, a reconnaissance survey of the whole Hadhramaut Governorate was undertaken, leading to the selection the Wadi Hadhramaut for detailed study. Within this study area, three sites were selected for intensive survey. These sites were considered representative of the major landforms and vegetation of the area and reflect the principal patterns of land use. The three sites represent tracts of land that were either unaffected, undergoing change or already altered as a result of oil-related development. Transects were designed to cross each site, from the valley bottoms to the plateau surfaces, passing across the representative landforms and vegetation. Surveys were made of the vegetation associations, their structure and biodiversity, as well as their relationship with environment and human impact. Two preliminary transects were made across the entire region, from the southern coast to the plateau in the northwest and from east to west, in order to place the study area in a regional context. The research is the first detailed vegetation survey in the Hadhramaut region and has revealed relevant data that can be used for further studies in similar habitats or for further management and conservation activities. In the study area, major vegetation associations, their composition and biodiversity were identified and in addition, vegetation and land use maps were generated including local endemic, near-endemic and rare plant species. About 469 plant species have been identified from the Hadhramaut region. There are 107 taxa which are endemic and near-endemic; 68 of these are endemic to Yemen, of these 41 are confined to Hadhramaut region. A total of 134 species belonging to 42 families (about 30% of flora of Hadhramaut region) were recorded in the study area and, of these, seven species are endemic to Yemen (four of them endemic to Hadhramaut region). The study revealed 15 vegetation associations and thirty sociological species groups. The main wadis are covered by desert alluvial shrubland comprising Fagonia indica, Tephrosia apollinea, Cymbopogon schoenanthus, Boerhavia elegans and Dichanthium insculptum with scattered trees of Acacia campoptila. In contrast, much of the fertile lands of the main wadis, such as the bottom of the rocky slopes, are intensively cultivated with palm trees and other annual crops, notably sorghum and wheat. The rocky slopes facing the main wadis and the plateau surface are covered by stony and gravelly desert vegetation dominated by herbaceous plants, namely Stipagrostis hirtigluma, Farsetia linearis, Aristida triticoides, Fagonia paulayana, Boerhavia elegans and Dichanthium insculptum. Within the plateau there are some sloping sites and secondary wadis which support dense vegetation. The vegetation here comprises shrubland or grassland dominated by Jatropha spinosa with Zygophyllum decumbens, Commiphora foliacea, Commiphora kua, Maerua crassifolia. Dichanthium insculptum, Stipagrostis hirtigluma and Farsetia linearis. The research in the Hadhramaut region has revealed the importance of this region in terms of plant biodiversity, and particularly of endemic, rare and near-endemic species, which urgently require further management and conservation activities

New records and addition to the flora of Saudi Arabia, mainly from Faifa Governorate, Jazan Region

Based on vegetation surveys made in the southern region of Saudi Arabia between 2020 and 2021, five new plant taxa including four species and one subspecies, belonging to four families that had not previously been recorded in Saudi Arabia's flora were discovered. Within the Arabian Peninsula, all newly recorded species (i.e., Alysicarpus vaginalis (L.) DC. (Fabaceae), Commiphora schimperi (O.Berg) Engl. (Burseraceae), Maerua angolensis DC. subsp. angolensis (Capparaceae), Peperomia leptostachya Hook. & Arn. (Piperaceae), and Vigna vexillata (L.) A.Rich. (Fabaceae) were recorded in Yemen while A. vaginalis was also recorded in Oman. Brief descriptions and comments on the phytogeography of each taxon are given. The distribution of plants in Faifa Mountains and surrounding areas was mapped using geographic information systems (GIS) and ground surveys

Appendix S1 for "Phylogeography of the wild and cultivated stimulant plant qat (Catha edulis, Celastraceae) in areas of historic cultivation"

<div>Appendix S1 Matrix of SSR lengths, clone grouping numbers and geo-reference data for each of the sampled specimens</div><div><br></div

Paper Mapping Asia plants: Current status on floristic information in Southwest Asia

Mapping Asia Plants (MAP) is a comprehensive project that aims to build a detailed infrastructure for integrating Asian plant distribution data a global-scale array of knowledge for plant biodiversity conservation. Here, we provide a brief historical review of botanical research in Southwest Asia an understudied botanical region with high conservation priority. Nineteen countries were included in this study (from west to east): Turkey, Cyprus, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Georgia, Yemen, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. We reviewed 132 resources comprising 125 Floras and Checklists, of which we describe in some detail at least one of the most important Floras or Checklists for each country. Complete and published national Floras exist for 13 countries; three countries (Jordan, Israel and Bahrain) do not have a Flora but have annotated Checklists, and national Floras are at different stages of completion for Iran, Iraq and Georgia. Where present, online resources are also given for references. We found major gaps in species concepts and taxonomic classification systems, and that many up-to-date Flora revisions remained unresolved, i.e. taxon ranks and species concepts varied among different countries, different systems were adopted or followed in the taxonomic treatments in the Floras and Checklists, and some of the current Floras are out of date. Floras are the first necessary step for many fields, including evolutionary biology, ecology, biogeography, and systematics, as well as environmental research and conservation of biodiversity at national and international levels. Here, we provide the progress updates on the main published floristic works of Southwest Asia, which continue to serve as references for the Flora of Southwest Asia, and will be the foundation of the MAP project. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V