Habitat characterization and mapping on the western slopes of Mount Hermon in Lebanon

Abstract

Aims: Lebanon is renowned in the Levant for its distinctive vegetation types with some biodiversity hostposts as Mount Hermon, with rare and endangered endemic plant species. We aim to present the ecological characteristics and spatial distribution of habitat types present on its western slopes through the analysis of plant communities. Study area: Mount Hermon, Lebanon. Methods: We surveyed 169 plots, each spanning an area of 314 m², from 2020 to 2023, in the district of Rashaya, calculated compositional dissimilarity using the Bray–Curtis index, conducted hierarchical clustering analysis using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), applied the Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) method to investigate the relationship between species frequency per site and environmental parameters, and identified significant diagnostic species for each group. Results: We recorded 383 taxa, including 27 narrow endemics. Ten habitat types are described; three at the oro-Mediterranean level: hedgehog-heaths of Astragalus echinus and Noaea mucronata, hedgehog-heaths of Tanacetum densum and Astragalus cruentiflorus, cliffs of Rosularia sempervivum subsp. libanotica; three at the supra-Mediterranean level: grasslands with Eryngium glomeratum, woodlands of Quercus infectoria, Q. coccifera and Crataegus azarolus, evergreen woodlands of Q. coccifera; four at the montane level: scree deciduous woodlands of Prunus korshinskyi and Lonicera nummulariifolia, woodlands of deciduous P. korshinskyi and evergreen Q. coccifera, shrublands of Astragalus gummifer, and deciduous woodlands of Quercus look and Acer monspessulanum subsp. microphyllum. Four environmental variables exhibited significant influences in shaping vegetation composition: elevation, mean annual temperature, slope and northness. Conclusions: Five habitats are novelties proposed as sub-types for the national typology. Floristic affinities with Mount Barouk are highlighted. The nature reserve on the western slopes of Mount Hermon encompasses the majority of the identified habitats. The insights from this study and the habitat map are useful for the development of a management plan and conservation measures. Taxonomic reference: International Plant Names Index (IPNI 2023). Abbreviations: EUNIS = European Nature Information System; NMDS = nonmetric multidimensional scaling; UPGMA = unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean; WGS84 = World Geodetic System, 1984.