Volumen 58 (2020): Edición 1 (June 2020)

Pistacia atlantica has a lot of medical, pharmaceutical and economic benefits, and its variability shows its evolutionary potential. The objective of this study was to investigate morphological and micro-morphological variability of these trees within different ecological regions. This study offers a general description of sites, an analysis of morphological variability of twenty quantitative and qualitative parameters based on the impact of natural and artificial conditions, and leaf anatomical analysis. The results showed that the population exhibited heterogeneity in all parameters of the leaf related to changes in soil, density, climate and slope. Variability in nut size was also demonstrated which was due to the effects of climate, type of soil and topographic factors. The results of electron microscope scanning of leaf anatomy showed the existence of large micro-morphological variability between study sites.

This study aims to investigate the coastal plant biodiversity status of Tripoli Province. The result of the survey led to a collection and identification of 130 plant species belonging to 36 families and 105 genera, of which 29 species represented monocotyledons and 101 dicotyledons. Floristic analysis revealed the dominance of the family Asteraceae (24 species) followed by the family Poaceae (22 species). The results have also showed the predominance of the genera Juncus and Lotus with 4 species each. Life form and chorological spectra analyses showed the prevalence of therophytes, represented by 77 species, and the Mediterranean chorotypes with 46 species. Categorization of collected plant species according to their ecological types, revealed a variety of ecological types, with the prevalence of psammophytes, represented by 50 species.

For forest ecosystem management to be effective, explicit understanding of the species diversity-environmental relationship along elevation gradient is crucial. This study aimed at identifying and describing plant communities and also documenting their species diversity. Evaluation of relationships between selected environmental variables and species diversity was another objective of this study. Systematic sampling techniques were used to collect vegetation data in a total of forty two sample plots (size=20×20 m). Within main plots, four sub-plots of 5×5 m were established at four corners and – one sub-plot of the same size in the center. These plots were used for shrub and herb diversity assessment. Within each sample plot, all plant species were documented and their scientific names were identified. Environmental variables, such as: elevation, aspect and slope, were also recorded for each main plot. Species diversity was determined using Shannon-Wiener diversity index and evenness in R statistical software. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering method was used for plant community classification. The total of 44 plant species belonging to 30 families was documented. Four plant community types were identified with different diversity, evenness and species richness. These plant communities were: Afrocurpus falcatus-Ficus sur, Maesa lanceolata-Bersama abyssinica, Vernonia myriantha-Urera hypselodendron and Croton machrostachus-Tecleanobilis occurring at average elevation of 2521, 2429, 2329, and 2364 m asl, respectively. Maesa lanceolata-Bersama abyssinica community type exhibited the highest species diversity and evenness followed by Croton machrostachus-Teclea nobilis community type showing the fact that median elevation ranges were rich in species. Elevation and slope gradient explained significant variation in species richness in the studied forest. For effective conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of the forest ecosystem, further research on the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances and soil properties is recommended as a result of this study.