As part of the continuous efforts of the Biodiversity and Environment Research Center (BERC) to study and protect plant biodiversity in Palestine, BERC scientists (Mohammed S. Ali-Shtayeh, Rana M. Jamous, and Salam Y. Abu Zaitoun) have, over the last two decades, conducted in-depth conservation biology research work focusing on the native flora of the State of Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Part of this research has just been published in the Biodiversity Data Journal:
https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/80427/
The article also includes the first annotated checklist for the native vascular plants of the State of Palestine (West Bank and Gaza)
Https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/80427/element/5/7633726/
The research showed that a large number of plant species and varieties are exposed to many threats, including the small size of plant communities, the shift from traditional agriculture to intensive agriculture accompanied by deep plowing and the use of pesticides, urban development and construction, global climate change, draining swamps and wetlands, mining, fires, and pollution.
The annotated list of the flora of the State of Palestine can help focus conservation efforts, and provide a framework for research and applications of protection policy for the flora of the State of Palestine, especially endemic and endangered plants.
Citation: Ali-Shtayeh MS, Jamous RM, Abuzaitoun SY (2022) Analysis of floristic composition and species diversity of vascular plants native to the State of Palestine (West Bank and Gaza Strip). Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e80427. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e80427
Acknowledgments: This research was supported in part by a grant from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) via BirdLife International, Project No. 110692.
