Phytosociology and Vegetation of Plants of Beit Jibrin in Palestine

Abstract

This paper describes a study on the vegetation and floristics of the territory of Beit Jibrin in Palestine, in areas such as Forest the Snabreh (Qasa), Khallet Mahmoud and Khallet AL-Taweel, among others. In view of the lack of studies on the phytosociology and communities of plants in the south-west of Palestine, as this region represents a unique diversity of plants, and the addition of these plants to Mediterranean Basin region plants, we conducted this study to identify and describe the plants of this region. Beit Jibrin is an ancient Canaanite Palestinian city that belongs to inframediterranean and thermomediterranean thermotypes, as well as arid, semi-arid and dry ombrotypes. This area is very important floristically, with a high rate of endemism: of the 290 species documented, 37 of them (12.75%) were endemic to the region. Vegetation was sampled on twelve representative plots (releves) and analyzed using the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological analysis method. Two communities of forest maquis, macchie and steppe vegetation were found. Forest vegetation were represented by the Cupresso sempervirentis–Pinetum halepensis ass. nova. association, in the class of Quercetea ilicis Br.-Bl. ex. A. and O. Bolòs 1950, the order of Pinetalia halepensis, Biondi et al. (2014), and a new alliance: Cupresso sempervirentis–Pinus halepensis; forests maquis vegetation as the association of Pistacio lentisci—Quercetum calliprini ass. nova., with the suggested new class of Quercetea calliprini or palaestini in addition to Quercetea ilicis Br.-Bl. ex. A. and O. Bolòs 1950 and the order of Quercetalia calliprini (Zohary 1960), with an alliance of Quercion calliprini (Zohary 1960). These were adapted in arid, semi-arid, dry and sub-humid ombrotypes, as well as infra-and thermotropical to mesomediterranean thermotypes, with many different types of soils, such as limestone, brown ruinsenas, terra rossa and others.