Errol Véla

Université de Montpellier | UM1 · Biologie - Ecologie

From the biodiversity inventory to conservation priorities in the Mediterranean Basin hotspot: can we fill knowledge gaps? As a field naturalist, my doctoral research in plant ecology has focused on the biodiversity of open Mediterranean environments, conducted in parallel with a professional activity in a design office. This knowledge of botany,...

Echium modestum Ball, Plantago benisnassenii Romo, Peris & Stübing, Teucrium doumerguei Sennen : new taxa for the Algerian flora (Traras Mountains). With the purpose of studying dry grassland plant groups in northwestern Algeria, we were led to sample and collect plant material. The identification and comparison with the current resources allowed u...

With the purpose of studying dry grassland plant groups in northwestern Algeria, we were led to sample and collect plant material. The identification and comparison with the current resources allowed us to add three taxa Echium modestum Ball, Plantago benisnassenii Romo, Peris & Stubing and Teucrium doumerguei Sennen to the Algerian flora. Two of t...

This species has a disjunct distribution in the southern and southeastern Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia and northern Africa. Declines due to human activity related to agricultural and infrastructure developments have been reported from the Iberian Peninsula. The area of occupancy (AOO) is near 250 km2, but there is not enough information about the no...

Algerian orchids became better known during the last years, but certain regions, such as the province of Souk-Ahras (Northeast of Algeria), remain under-prospected. This study is a phytoecological approach, which aims to improve the knowledge of the orchids of this province. A series of targeted surveys has been realized between 2011 and 2015 when...

La connaissance des orchidées de l’Algérie a sérieusement progressé ces dernières années, mais certaines régions, comme celle de la wilaya de Souk-Ahras (nord-est de l’Algérie), demeurent sous-prospectées. Cette étude est une approche phytoécologique qui a pour objectif d’améliorer la connaissance des orchidées de cette wilaya. Une série de prospec...

The authors present the results of more than 5 years of observations of orchids in the western Tell Atlas of Tiaret (Algeria). These taxa were inventoried at the regional level, according to subjective sampling, and the ecological conditions at each of the stations collected. The identification of taxa was made through different flora, with a taxon...

This species was considered a "lost species" because it had not been observed since its description (Wendelbo 1971). However the species has recently been rediscovered with the collection in 2013 of one living specimen which has been identified in July 2017 after four years in cultivation. Following a successful initial field exploration in the are...

Chamaerops humilis is found across the western and central Mediterranean region, and is likely to be represented in a number of protected areas. Populations are declining in parts of its range as a result of urbanisation, but declines are not thought to reach the threshold for a threatened category, and the plant is assessed as Least Concern.

This species has a restricted area of occupancy estimated to be 52 km2, if historical sites are considered, however currently known localities account for 16 km2 only. It is expected this AOO to be larger if new sites are discovered, nevertheless it is not expected that they will account for more than the double AOO (32 km2) which falls under the t...

The species is found from southwestern Europe and northwestern Africa. In two countries within the Mediterranean distribution (France and Portugal) populations or habitat of this species have declined by more than 30% over three generations. In another two countries (Algeria and Morocco) a similar decline is suspected but cannot yet be confirmed, a...

Diplôme d'Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR), école doctorale GAIA, Université de Montpellier, année 2017-2018.

The Orchidaceae is one of the most cosmopolitan flowering families; however, the national floristic knowledge for Iraqi territories is restricted by the outdated and incomplete status of Flora of Iraq. We already recently add two new records of orchid species for Iraq, and the study objective was to pursue the dynamics on field studies and thus pro...

This is the eighth of a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to both the Med-Checklist and the Euro+Med (or Sisyphus) projects are presented. This instalment deals with the families Ophioglossaceae, Amaryllidaceae (incl. Alliaceae), Asparagaceae (incl. Hyacinthaceae), Caryophyllaceae, C...

La connaissance de la flore d’Algérie a marqué une pause après l’indépendance et la parution concomitante de la « nouvelle flore d’Algérie » par Quézel & Santa en 1962 et 1963. Depuis les années 2000 une dynamique nationale a permis de relancer les inventaires dans plusieurs directions et dont nous proposons ici de faire un bilan, à la fois bibliog...

La wilaya de Sétif, réputée par sa richesse floristique et pour sa diversité écologique, héberge une biodiversité floristique remarquable. Cette biodiversité nécessite une bonne investigation sur terrain afin de localiser, d’identifier et de cartographier les espèces rares et menacées de cette région. Parmi ces espèces, les orchidées demeurent les...

Phytogeographical study of the forest massifs of Kéfrida, a neglected sector of the Babors important PLANT area (Northeastern Algeria).― In order to provide a better knowledge of the flora of Little Kabylia (Bejaïa, Algeria), with an objective of conservation of natural heritage, a phytogeographical study was conducted on forest vegetation in two u...

presentation of some essential elements about the Juniper species in Iraqi Zagros mountain (i-the biodiversity and vegetation structure of Kurdistan Region; ii-biological conservation of the relictual trees of Juniperus polycarpos; iii-taxonomic problematic of Juniperus oxycedrus s.l. in its oriental geographical distribution limits)

Focus Ibicella lutea (Lindl.) Van Eselt. 53 Focus Ibicella lutea (Lindl.) Van Eselt. Focus sur une espèce : Ibicella lutea (Lindl.) Van Eselt. Nouvelle observation d'une curieuse plante dans la Haute Garonne

Multiple factors related to complex geomorphological and climatic history, in addition to biological factors such as hybridization, hinder the definition of some Mediterranean plant groups. The existence of controversial taxonomic treatments, the possible hybridization events involved, and its unknown evolutionary history, make the Helichrysum pend...

Des explorations botaniques récentes sur divers points du littoral algérien nous ont permis de découvrir des stations inédites de Malva arborea, notamment sur la côte orientale, étendant ainsi son aire de dispersion naturelle à pratiquement toute la côte algérienne.

Comments on the flora of Rachgoun island (north-west Algeria).– The recent publication in the Revue d'Écologie (Terre et Vie) of a study on the impact of gulls on the vegetation of Rachgoun island in Algeria prompted the publication of a personal floristic list of the island established in 2006 but remained unpublished. For methodological reasons,...

Sternbergia is a genus containing mostly remarkable autum flowering taxa within Amaryllidaceae. Its distribution ranges from the Mediterranean region through the Irano-Anatolian region to Caucasus and Central Asia. In Flora of Iraq, the information about the occurrence, habitat, and distribution of its species is outdated or incomplete. The main ai...

Protected areas constitute a key foundation for national and international strategies of effective biodiversity and ecosystems conservation. Yet, they are not islands; they are components of their surrounding social and ecological contexts. Reconciling biodiversity conservation, people, protected areas and sustainable livelihoods requires a focused...

Scilla anthericoides is a neglected name traditionally considered as Urginea maritima var. anthericoides. Based on recent field observations of living plants completed by karyological analyses, we promote again this taxon at species rank, under the genus Charybdis. It differs from other species of Charybdis maritima aggregate by many characters of...

This work is the continuation of Part 1, published in 2015, and comprises the reconstruction of the original collections of new taxa described by R. Pampanini and other botanists and, where possible, typification of the new names and taxonomical updating. The material studied for the most part concerns Libyan specimens held in the FI and FI-W herba...

L’initiative PIM a démarré en Algérie en 2006 avec une expédition au long court intégrant, avec le bateau Fleur de Lampaul de la Fondation pour la Nature et pour l’Homme, l’exploration des îles Habibas et Rechgoun (Oranie). La mise en place du Commissariat National du Littoral fut aussi une action partenariale forte entre la France et l’Algérie. Di...

The Mediterranean coastline is a dynamic and complex system which owes its complexity to its past and present vicissitudes, e.g. complex tectonic history, climatic fluctuations, and prolonged coexistence with human activities. A plant species that is widespread in this habitat is the sea daffodil, Pancratium maritimum (Amaryllidaceae), which is a p...

Structure output. Graph of delta K values to determine the ideal number of groups that were present in the accessions of Pancratium maritimum and genetic clusters (K) as obtained for the 48 P. maritimum populations (867 individuals) using STRUCTURE (K = 4). (DOCX)

Pairwise matrices of 48 Pancratium maritimum populations. Sheet 1: Pairwise geographic (nautical) distance. Sheet 2: Pairwise geographic (nautical) distance (log scale). Sheet 3: Pairwise distance matrix FST with ENA correction. Sheet 4: Pairwise distance matrix FST with no ENA correction. Sheet 5: Pairwise distance matrix FST/1-FST with ENA correc...

Species Distribution Models inputs/output. Sheet 1: Dataset of the Pancratium maritimum accessions that were used in both the Species Distribution Models (SDMs) and the genetic analyses. Sheet 2: Relative contribution to the models and related response curves of each environmental predictor. (XLS)

En 1988, l'écologiste Norman Myers introduit le terme de «points-chauds de la biodiversité» (biodiversity hotspots) pour distinguer à un niveau global les « écorégions » terrestres hautement prioritaires pour la conservation de la diversité du vivant (MYERS, 2003). Les zones à la fois riches en espèces et aussi en endémiques constituent des points...

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of six plant species according to IUCN categories and criteria are presented. It includes the assessment at global level of Linaria tonzigii Lona, Allium gar- ganicum Brullo, Pavone, Salmeri & Terrasi, Ferula arrigonii Bocchieri, Orchis patens Desf. subsp. patens and Armeria saviana Selvi and...

Salvia balansae De Noé est une Lamiaceae endémique d’Algérie, présente en deux localités très distinctes, Mostaganem sur le littoral nord-ouest et Les Aurès dans les montagnes de l’Est. Les populations de cette dernière localités sont en cours d’étude taxonomique, et les résultats incitent à un traitement séparé. De ce fait, le taxon de Mostaganem...

La mise en place du forum Tela Botanica « Afrique du nord » en 2002 a été l’occasion de mieux connaître la communauté botaniste, notamment en Algérie et en Tunisie. Elle était initialement composée d’universitaires, majoritairement maghrébins et minoritairement européens. Depuis 2011, l’arrivée de plusieurs amateurs est venue modifier le paysage et...

Dans le contexte mondial ou régional du Bassin Méditerranéen, les invasions biologiques, constituent une menace continue pour la biodiversité, essentiellement dans des zones relictuelles classées comme points chauds. L'Algérie et la Tunisie, pays riverains et carrefours de biodiversité en Méditerranée, n'échappent pas de telles invasions. Néanmoins...

Les zones humides des Hauts Plateaux sud-constantinois ont été récemment reconnues pour leur intérêt ornithologique. C’est dans deux de ces zones humides que nous avons découvert la présence de Potentilla supina L., espèce paléo-tempérée inconnue en Algérie jusqu’alors. Les deux stations sont situées dans des zones de débordement des oueds sur des...

Marginalisée des considérations nationales, surtout en termes de prise de décisions et lors de l’élaboration de politiques territoriales, la biodiversité représente le maillon faible de la chaîne des considérations environnementales, notamment en Méditerranée. Les aires protégées constituent les piliers fondamentaux des stratégies nationales et int...

Wetlands of South Constantine high plateaus were recently recognized for their ornithological interest. Potentilla supina L., a paleo-temperate species, was discovered for the first time in Algeria in two of these wetlands. Both stations are located on freshwater overflow areas on salt-affected soils by evaporation. The observed phytocoenose is cha...

Recently published botanical floras provided an opportunity to develop operational systems for identifying in the field in France of species of the difficult genus Ophrys. Its specific and infra-specific taxonomy is extremely complex because of conflicting points of view and/or insufficient knowledge about specific biological features. In order to...

L’exploration botanique du littoral rocheux ou insulaire de l’Algérie n’ayant pas encore été achevée, il est très probable que d’autres stations de Malva arborea existent çà et là le long de la côte, particulièrement sur certains ilots encore inexplorés. Toutefois, son statut d’espèce rare reste toujours d’actualité car très vulnérable à la pâture...

Youssef, S., Mahmood A., Mahdi H. & E. Vela (2015): New contribution on Orchids (Orchidaceae) of Duhok Province in Kurdistan Region (N-Iraq).- J. Eur. Orch. 47(2-4): 501-516. Kurdistan Region (KRG) is a part of the Irano-Anatolian hotspot but a coldspot for floristic knowledge. During our previous surveys (2013) in Duhok province, we found 10 orchi...

Since the publication of the last Lebanese and Syrian classical flora, the only complete work on Lebanese flora is an illustrated book based on the same taxonomy and nomenclature with a few exceptions and some additions. Specifically on the Lebanese orchids, one book has illustrated orchids in the field with an unusual taxonomic point of view. Seve...

The studied taxon has been attached since its discovery in Tunisia to Ophrys migoutiana H. Gay, a plant described in Algeria, which remains little known to botanists. This was already a net progress, ending the historical confusion that mixed many taxa under the name “O. fusca”. However, the recent observation of the true O. migoutiana near Medea i...

A contribution to the knowledge of orchids in the Aurès (N.-E. Algeria) : inventory, cartography, taxonomy and ecology. From various flora and vegetation studies of the Aurès Massif (northeast of Algeria), the orchids have been the subject of a specific inventory coupled with a phytoecological survey. After fourteen years, only nine species in fift...

The orchids of Babors Kabylia (north eastern Algeria) remain understudied despite the importance of this key area for biodiversity and the recent interest of Algerian botanists into orchids family. They were inventoried during the spring period extending from 2011 to 2014. Twenty-seven taxa (species or subspecies) were recorded (plus two others in...

A new species of Orobanche was discovered in the Calanques National Park near Marseille, where it seems to be endemic. Its exclusive host, Staehelina dubia (Asteraceae), was never mentioned before as a host for Orobanchaceae. The new species is described here and named Orobanche staehelinae. The diagnostic characters are given in comparison with po...

Inventory of the vascular flora of the Byblos’ islet (El Zireh), Jbeïl, Lebanon. — The biodiversity of small islands and islets of the Mediterranean coast was long neglected, but sometimes presents surprises. The vascular flora of the Byblos’ islet (0,2 ha), called “El Zireh”, was inventoried on June 1st, 2013. The inventory, presumed exhaustive, r...

The present investigation investigated the genetic structure of a monophyletic group of endemic species belonging to the Genista ephedroides species group: G. bocchierii, G. cilentina, G. demarcoi, G. dorycnifolia, G. ephedroides, G. gasparrinii, G. insularis, G. numidica, G. tyrrhena subsp. tyrrhena, G. tyrrhena subsp. pontiana and G. valsecchiae,...

Les connaissances sur les orchidées sont encore à développer car tout n’est pas encore connu sur cette famille de plantes. On ne peut qu’estimer le nombre d’espèces distinctes existant dans le monde (de 25 000 à 30 000) dont beaucoup seraient encore non décrites! L’Europe compte environ 300 à 500 espèces et sous-espèces (nombre variable selon les a...

The present investigation investigated the genetic structure of a monophyletic group of endemic species belonging to the Genista ephedroides species group: G. bocchierii, G. cilentina, G. demarcoi, G. dorycnifolia, G. ephedroides, G. gasparrinii, G. insularis, G. numidica, G. tyrrhena subsp. tyrrhena, G. tyrrhena subsp. pontiana and G. valsecchiae,...

Premise of research. Riparian plants are highly dependent on water sources; consequently, general climatic conditions are less important to these taxa relative to woodland and shrubland species. This leads to interesting research questions regarding riparian plant taxa. Research on phylogeography of Mediterranean riparian tree and shrub species is...

The present investigation investigated the genetic structure of a monophyletic group of endemic species belonging to the Genista ephedroides species group: G. bocchierii, G. cilentina, G. demarcoi, G. dorycnifolia, G. ephedroides, G. gasparrinii, G. insularis, G. numidica, G. tyrrhena subsp. tyrrhena, G. tyrrhena subsp. pontiana and G. valsecchiae,...

Afin d’harmoniser notre traitement taxonomique avec d’autres concernant des régions géographiques déjà cartographiées ou en cours d’étude, il nous a paru nécessaire de créer des noms qui n’existaient pas afin de pouvoir les utiliser en toute conformité.

Le genre Ophrys est difficile à traiter taxonomiquement. Du fait de son évolution réticulée, les données génétiques sont à prendre avec précaution. De plus, il est sujet à une évolution rapide, basée sur une grande variabilité intrinsèque dont l’une des conséquences est l’attraction de nouveaux pollinisateurs spécifiques par leurre sexuel, ces poll...

Taxonomie générique : les recherches récentes en phylogénie moléculaire sur Orchis s.l. (BATEMAN et al., Lindleyana 12, 113-141, 1997 ; PRIDGEON et al., Lindleyana 12, 89-109, 1997) ont démontré le caractère polyphylétique de ce genre et abouti à une redistribution conséquente de ses espèces ; il s’ensuit notamment une importante diminution du nomb...

Within the Alboran Sea, along the NW-Algerian coasts, the Habibas Archipelago belongs to the Betico-Rifean hotspot and was probably a good refuge during glacial ages and subsequently during the Holocene period. Since Maire, Wilczek and Faure in 1934, floristic investigations have been very poor. More than 100 vascular plant taxa are known on the ma...

L’engouement actuel pour les Ophrys est comparable à celui des botanistes des années 1900 pour les Rosa et s’accompagne des mêmes dérives. La complexité du genre Ophrys est due essentiellement à la stabilisation de populations mutantes ou hybridogènes par des insectes pollinisateurs avec lesquels elles révèlent des affinités. La spécialisation, cer...

Comme Anacamptis, mais labelle velu à 2 callosités bas. (parfois fusionnées), à lobes latéraux (hypochile) courbés vers le haut et souvent sombres, à lobe central (épichile) aigu en forme de langue ou de cœur.

A l'occasion d'un voyage d'étude co -PSHBOJTÏQBSMF$POTFSWBUPJSFEV-JUUPSBMGSBOÎBJTFUM&OWJSPO-mental General Agency libyenne et effectué dans le cadre de l'initiative PIM pour les Petites Îles de Méditerra-née (http://www.initiative-pim.org/), il m'a été permis d'observer trois espèces nouvelles de xénophytes pour la Libye. Paspalum dilatatum1PJS Cet...

A l'occasion d'un voyage d'étude co -PSHBOJTÏQBSMF$POTFSWBUPJSFEV-JUUPSBMGSBOÎBJTFUM&OWJSPO-mental General Agency libyenne et effectué dans le cadre de l'initiative PIM pour les Petites Îles de Méditerra-née (http://www.initiative-pim.org/), il m'a été permis d'observer trois espèces nouvelles de xénophytes pour la Libye. Paspalum dilatatum1PJS Cet...

À l’occasion de diverses campagnes de prospection et d’échantillonnage sur le littoral oranais et mostaganémois pour des travaux d’écologie végétale et d’inventaire de la biodiversité, nous nous sommes heurtés au début du printemps 2013 à un Dipcadi sp. (Hyacinthaceae) en fleurs, dont l’identification exacte nous posait problème. Nous avons procédé...

La zone littorale et frontalière de Cap Sigleb (ex-Cap Roux), situé sur la commune d’Oum Teboul, fut l’objet d’une exploration botanique le 3 avril 2004, au cours de laquelle fut découverte, pour la première fois coté algérien, l’endémique «tunisienne» Sixalix farinosa (Coss.) Greuter & Burdet (Véla & al., 2012a). Suite à un dépouillement plus appr...

Rebbas, K. & E. Véla (2013): New observations on Pseudophrys of Central East of northern Algeria.-J. Eur. Orch. 45 (2-4): 217-233. Since the middle of the 20 th century, almost no taxonomic revision was made on Algerian orchids. In Tunisia, orchids are well known after recent studies of the 2000s. Authors made a set of focused investigations betwee...

L’histoire de la botanique moderne en Algérie et Tunisie a commencé à la fin du 18e siècle avec les explorations et les ouvrages de Poiret (Lettres de Barbarie) et de Desfontaines (Flora Atlantica). Avec la colonisation française, les explorations sont devenues intenses en Algérie entre le milieu du 19e et le milieu du 20e siècle au point que la fl...

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The wallflower Erysimum cheiri is a horticultural cruciferous growing as garden-escaped with a wide distribution in West and South Europe. In Algeria, it is locally found on the northern cliffs of the National Park of Gouraya (Kabylia). The aim of this study is to compare the populations of E. cheiri identified in Algeria with those found in Medite...

"Typification of Juniperus thurifera var. africana Maire, taxonomical delimitation and nomenclatural consequences for the Spanish juniper from Algeria" Spanish juniper populations of the Moroccan Atlas, very studied, are known to be distinct from European populations which justified creation of the taxon Juniperus thurifera var. africana Maire, oft...

"Thuriferous Juniper (Juniperus thurifera L.) in the Aurès area, Algeria: general considerations, cartography, ecology and plants communities." The present contribution focus on the thuriferous Juniper (Juniperus thurifera L.) in the Aurès region (Eastern of Algeria) Algeria. It results from the synthesis of different approaches such as cartograph...

Algerian and Tunisian coasts host more than one hundred small islands and islets, but are still poorly known. We have compiled recently published and unpublished data from “PIM initiative” (Mediterranean small island initiative) and other kind of expeditions. For each small island or archipelago we seek to establish the membership to or relationshi...

A group of botanists from both shores of the Mediterranean has recently created a collaborative project on North African flora with the aim of gathering botanists from different countries who are interested in this subject. All the people involved in this project will be volonteers and the data will be provided freely. A committee made out of activ...

L’exploration des petites et ilots de la côte algérienne semble s’être limitée, dans l’histoire de la botanique, à l’archipel des Habibas près d’Oran (Maire & Wilczek, 1936). L’exploration botanique des nombreux ilots de la côte orientale apparaît beaucoup plus récente, avec celle de l’île de Serijina près de Skikda (Vela, 2008) et celles de la côt...

Disturbances such as fire profoundly affect plants, but their effects are strongly dependant on species’ biological and life-history traits. Thus, in Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs), where the frequencies and intensities of fires are increasing in association with ongoing land use and climate changes, the composition and diversity of plant com...

The effects of fire recurrence on vegetation patterns in Quercus suber L. and Erica-Cistus communities in Mediterranean fire-prone ecosystems of south-eastern France were examined on stands belonging to 5 fire classes, corresponding to different numbers of fires (from 0 to 4) and time intervals between fires since 1959. A common pool of species was...

Botanical exploration of the La Galite archipelago (NW-Tunisia) long remained incomplete and is still unachieved if we are to believe several recent discoveries. On the occasion of an exploration co-organized by APAL and PIM initiative in May 2008, an unusual orchid was observed blooming on the main island. Serapias nurrica Corrias, first described...