COST-STSM-FP1202-18711

Gathering geographic data from published sources and using the collected information to complete and improve the accuracy of distribution maps of 24

Mediterranean tree species.

Prepared by

Nadine Wazen

I- INTRODUCTION

Within the framework of the FAO / FFEM / Blue Plan project “Optimizing the

production of goods and services in Mediterranean forest ecosystems under climate

change”, component 1 of the project targets the “production of data and

development of tools to support decision and management of vulnerable

Mediterranean forest ecosystems affected by climate change and the ability of these

forest ecosystems to adapt to global change”. One of the tasks of component 1 aims

at collecting basic information on the geographic distribution of core and marginal

populations of a number of key forest tree species in the Mediterranean, along with

their ecological and genetic attributes.

Based on the description of 7 pilot sites (in Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria and

Morocco where the project is being implemented), 24 tree species were selected due

to their importance in the Mediterranean basin and Mediterranean forestry, and we

started collecting information on their geographic distribution in order to produce

distribution maps for these species. The major source of information available to

create these maps was online databases (for example EUFORGEN, GBIF), some

information was sent to us by experts who work or worked on the species.

While searching through the online databases for distribution information, we

noticed there was a distinct lack of online information regarding North African and

East Mediterranean countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Lebanon where

the pilot sites are located. However, a major part of information regarding trees

species in these countries is available either as hardcopies (paper maps) or in

scientific publications where geographic coordinates of populations are mentioned.

Therefore it was important to gather all remaining data from scientific publications

and digitize existing paper maps of distribution that are not available in a digital

format yet in order to complete and improve the final distribution maps of the 24

species.

This report details the work that was carried out at INRA Avignon, that aimed at

improving the quality of distribution maps of 24 species.

Below is a table showing the Latin and common names of the 24 species.

Latin name Common name

Acer hyrcanum subsp. tauricolum

(Boiss. & Balansa) Yalt.

Taurus Maple/Érable du Taurus

Arbutus unedo L. Strawberry tree/Arbousier

Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Manetti ex

Carriere

Atlas Cedar/Cèdre de l'Atlas

Cedrus libani A. Rich. Cedar of Lebanon/Cèdre du Liban

Chamaerops humilis L. Mediterranean dwarf palm/Palmier nain

Ilex aquifolium L. Holly/Houx

Juniperus drupacea Labill. Syrian juniper/Genévrier de Syrie

Juniperus excelsa M.-Bieb. Greek juniper/Genévrier grec

Juniperus oxycedrus L. Prickly juniper/Genévrier oxycèdre

Juniperus phoenicea L. Phoenician juniper/Genévrier rouge

Laurus nobilis L. Bay laurel/Laurier noble

Pinus brutia Ten. Turkish pine/Pin de Calabre

Pinus halepensis Mill. Aleppo pine/Pin d'Alep

Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold European black pine/Pin noir

Pinus pinea L. Stone pine/Pin pignon

Pistacia lentiscus Mastic tree/Lentisque

Platanus orientalis L. Oriental plane/Platane d'Orient

Quercus coccifera L. Kermes oak/Chêne kermès

Quercus cerris L. Turkey oak/Chêne de Turquie

Quercus ilex L. Holm oak/Chêne vert

Quercus canariensis Willd. Algerian oak/Chêne Zéen ou zen

Quercus suber L. Cork oak/Chêne liège

Taxus baccata L. European yew/If

Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Mast. Barbary thuja/Thuya de Berberie

II- STRATEGY

TASK 1: Extracting geographic information from scientific publications.

As part of the work carried for the FAO project, we have been gathering online

scientific publication by searching Web of Science for publications containing

geographic keywords such as latitude/longitude combined with the Latin name of

the species. Eventually the geographic data extracted will be added to the currently

existing database that is being compiled and used to improve the accuracy of

distribution. However the current report will be focusing on Task 2.

TASK 2: Digitizing paper maps.

A great number of maps showing the distribution of tree species in certain countries

or areas are still in hard copy.

During this STSM we digitized distribution maps available on any of the 24 species,

using specific tools in GIS software, and then added the new information to the

distribution maps that were already being prepared.

TASK 3: Finalizing maps and making them available.

The final maps will show the distribution of key Mediterranean species, the location

of their marginal populations, using the best available information. Maps will be

updatable and made available to the FP1202 Cost action community.

III- MATERIAL AND METHOD

A- The maps digitized come from different sources, the following are the main

references used:

1- K. Browitz, 1982, Chorology of trees and shrubs in South-West Asia and adjacent Regions.

2- P. Quézel & S. Santa, 1962, Nouvelle Flore de l’Algérie et des régions désertiques méridionales, Centre national de la Recherche scientifique.

3- M. Fennane, 1999, Flore pratique du Maroc, manuel de détermination des plantes vasculaires vol 1: Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae, Angiospermae (Lauraceae- Neuradaceae), Institut Scientifique - Université Mohammed V - Agdal, Rabat

4- L. Boulos, 1999, Flora of Egypt, Volume 1: Azollaceae-Oxalidaceae, Al Hadara Publishing

5- O. de Bolòs & J. Vigo, 1984-2001 Flora dels Països Catalans, Vol I-IV, Editoriol Barcino

6- M. Gounot, J.L. Guillerm, A. Schoenenberger, 1965, Carte phyto-écologique de la Tunisie Septentrionale Feuille I CAP BON – La Goulette – Sousse, CNRS/CEPE

7- A. Bigot, C. Floret, J.L. Guillerm, J.C. Jacquinet, A. Soler, 1965 Carte phyto-écologique de la Tunisie Septentrionale Feuille II Bizerte - Tunis , CNRS/CEPE.

B- The Software used was Quantum GIS – Dufour.

In total 77 Maps were digitized.

Around 5500 entries (points/polygons) were created

C- The approach used to create the final maps was the following:

1- High resolution scanning of paper maps

2- Georeferencing (orthorectification) each map

3- Digitizing the maps by creating shapefiles

4- Separating the data created in shapefiles by species.

5- Compiling all created data to create maps per species.

IV- RESULTS

The data compiled allowed us to create a distribution map for each of the 24

species, with some species having only 1 source of information, while others

having several.

Following are a few of the created maps.

N.B. In all the maps, the area in grey showing the countries of native distribution is based on a compilation

of information from mainly 3 sources: 1- EURO+MED Plantbase (http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/query.asp), 2-

KEW World Checklist (http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/home.do) 3- Med-Checklist (http://ww2.bgbm.org/mcl/query.asp)

N.B. The data on these websites was retrieved no later than July 2014.

Arbutus unedo

In this map the data includes Cedrus libani ssp. brevifolia, although the Cedrus libani that

interests us is the Lebanese cedar/Taurus Cedar that is present in Turkey, Syria and

Lebanon

Cedrus atlantica

Cedrus libani

Chamaerops humilis

Ilex aquifolium

Juniperus phoenicea

V- CHALLENGES and PERSPECTIVE If we look at the sources of information separately, generally in all maps, we have 3 types of data:

1- The data that provides information on the specific area of presence of the species (ex: Carte phyto-ecologique de la Tunisie septentrionale) these maps provide detailed information on the species, the areas where it is located and sometimes the name of other species that are present with it.

2- The data that provides more of a general information on the “potential” are of presence or occurrence (ex: the Catalan flora). These maps show huge areas of distribution that could go from a country to another, sometimes even include a whole country or island

3- The data that describes, in a text, the species as present in a certain area, and the only map would be the map of the country divided into areas. (ex: Flore Nouvelle de l’Algérie, Flore pratique du Maroc, Flora of Egypt). In these cases the present/absence was visualized by highlighting the whole area. Meaning if a text would say that the species is present in the North in sections A and B, then the sections A and B would be shown as areas of presence.

The different type of data compiled throughout this work provided in itself a challenge to

1- be used together on one map, 2- show information as accurate as possible.

The main problem was that for certain countries only the more general data was available while for others a combination of accuracy and generality was possible.

This type of problem can be resolved by getting data of National Forests Inventories from countries. Also by getting feedback from experts who worked on the species, and who could narrow down the global area of distribution.

Another challenge we faced was the lack of specifity sometimes in the maps, especially when forests shown would not specify the species mentioning only the Genus.

It was also important to look out for different Genus or species name for the species that interest us, considering that some of these maps are more than 50 years old. For example in some references Tetraclinis articulata was described as Callitris articulata, also Quercus canariensis was described as Quercus faginea, (zeen oak).

Globally the digitized maps provided a great input, and helped us find data on mostly all regions, however there still a need to filter the data and choose between global data vs. No data to put on a detailed map.

In the future it would be very important as mentioned earlier to check the national inventories (when made available) to narrow down and specify the areas of distribution.

The maps of the 24 species should soon be available for the scientific and forest management and policy communities. They will make it possible, among other things, to locate marginal populations based on geographical marginality criteria (i.e. at a certain threshold distance from the limit of the distribution area).

Finally it is important to point out two things:

1- The maps presented in this work show merely the result of the compilation of data from a number of published maps. All the data shown on the maps is reproduced from publications, therefore any inaccurate data found should be traced back to the original publication.

2- Since this work is not a comprehensive compilation of all scientific literature and data available on the 24 species, the information provided in the maps is very possibly incomplete.