Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat

European Forest Institute | EFI · Mediterranean Facility

Even though genetic resources represent a fundamental reservoir of options to achieve sustainable development goals in a changing world, they are overlooked in the policy agenda and severely threatened. The conservation of genetic resources relies on complementary in situ and ex situ approaches appropriately designed for each type of organism. Envi...

In the last 25 years, almost 50 million hectares of primary forest have been lost due to deforestation. Numerous international initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge and the New York Declaration on Forests have set ambitious goals to restore degraded and deforested lands by 2030. Realizing global commitments on forest and landscape restoration (FLR...

In the last 25 years, almost 50 million hectares of primary forest have been lost due to deforestation. Numerous international initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge and the New York Declaration on Forests have set ambitious goals to restore degraded and deforested lands by 2030. Realizing global commitments on forest and landscape restoration (FLR...

This literature review focuses on the biology and ecology of Juniperus drupacea. Within the context of the series ‘Our Forest Trees’ by the Institute of Dendrology PAS at Kórnik, the following key topics are discussed: taxonomy with paleo-records, morphology, anatomy, geographical distribution, ecology (including habitat, communities, response to b...

Abstract: Allopolyploidy is considered as a principal driver that shaped angiosperms’ evolution in terms of diversification and speciation. Despite the unexpected high frequency of polyploidy that was recently discovered in the coniferous genus Juniperus, little is known about the origin of these polyploid taxa. Here, we conducted the first study d...

The Mediterranean Basin is one of the World’s plant diversity hotspots and a region prone to several anthropic pressures, besides being one of the World’s areas most susceptible to climate change. In this region, which hosts a high percentage of threatened species, there has been a large increase in practical conservation actions to prevent the ext...

https://efi.int/publications-bank/mediterranean-forest-research-agenda-2030 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The first Mediterranean Forest Research Agenda 2010-2020 (MFRA 2020) (Palahi et al., 2009) was written over a decade ago now. Since then, accelerating climate, ecological, socioeconomic and political changes have been transforming the compl...

Purpose of Review Recognizing that in the context of global change, tree genetic diversity represents a crucial resource for future forest adaptation, we review and highlight the major forest genetics research achievements of the past decades in biodiversity-rich countries of the Mediterranean region. For this, we conducted a bibliometric analysis...

The absence of nationally accepted typology to classify and describe habitats has been an obstacle to the development of coordinated research in this field and to the implementation of conservation actions; therefore, a classification of the natural and semi-natural terrestrial habitat types existing in Lebanon is presented and adapted to the hiera...

Intense research efforts over the last two decades renewed our understanding of plant phylogeography and domestication in the Mediterranean basin. We aim to investigate the evolutionary history and the origin of domestication of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua), which has been cultivated for millennia for food and fodder. We used >1000 microsatel...

Second ProofHeading (revised on May 26th, 2022). In Europe, amatoxin-containing mushrooms are responsible for most of the deadly poisonings caused by macrofungi. The present work presents a multidisciplinary revision of the European species of Amanita sect. Phalloideae based on morphology, phylogeny, epidemiology, and biochemistry of amatoxins and...

An error occurred in the key : 1. KOH reaction none or only pale cream yellow . . . . . 5 [not 3] 2. Stipe smooth. Ring complete, not lacerated at maturity, membranous, persistent on stipe, made up of mostly filamentous hyphae .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 [not 5] We all apologize for this mistake.

Cedrus libani est présent naturellement au Liban, en Syrie et en Turquie. Plus de 90 % de la surface occupée par Cedrus libani se trouve en Turquie. Le Liban constitue la limite sud de la répartition géogra-phique de Cedrus libani. Après les périodes glaciaires où ces latitudes étaient très favorables au développement du cèdre, en cette phase de ré...

Le cèdre mythique et divin La fascination des hommes pour la nature et les phénomènes natu-rels ne date pas d'hier. Depuis la nuit des temps, les peintures et gra-vures rupestres de par le monde représentent des bêtes puissantes, craintes ou admirées. Rares sont les représentations de plantes ou d'ar-bres. Nous savons toutefois que certains arbres...

La région méditerranéenne doit faire face aux conséquences du changement climatique. Ces conséquences sont exacerbées par les impacts d’une population en constante augmentation extirpant les ressources naturelles. Les changements climatiques modifient les facteurs abiotiques de l’environnement et peuvent avoir des répercussions importantes sur la s...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) release seed dormancy through an unknown mechanism. We used different seed dormancy‐breaking treatments to decipher the dynamics and localization of ROS production during seed germination. We studied the involvement of ROS in the breaking of Arabidopsis seed dormancy by cold stratification, gibberellic acid (GA3) and l...

Longevity of species populations depends largely on interactions among animals and plants in an ecosystem. Predation and seed dispersal are among the most important interactions necessary for species conservation and persistence, and diet analysis is a prerequisite tool to evaluate these interactions. Understanding these processes is crucial for id...

The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent...

The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent...

During a series of surveys in two valleys of Mount Lebanon between 2014 and 2020, four new occurrences of vascular plants were detected. Atropa bella-donna L. (Solanaceae, Spermatophyte), Circaea lutetiana L. (Onagraceae, Spermatophyte), and Euonymus latifolius (L.) Mill. (Celastraceae, Spermatophyte) were recorded for the first time in Lebanon, wh...

The Caucasian Squirrel, Sciurus anomalus, is the only representative of the Sciuridae family in the Eastern Mediterranean region. In this study, the mitochondrial genome of the Sciurus anomalus species was generated, and we investigate its phylogenetic position within the Sciuridae family. The generated mitogenome sequence is 16,234 bp. It is compo...

The marbled polecat, Vormela peregusna, is one of the least studied species in the Mustelidae family, especially with regard to phylogeography and genetic diversity. In this study, we determined the mitochondrial genome sequence of V. peregusna and investigated its position within the Mustelidae phylogeny. The generated mitogenome is 15,982 bp in l...

Mediterranean forest mammals are still poorly known, and few localities have been properly studied in the East Mediterranean Region (EMR). According to the IUCN Red List, many recorded species in this region are listed as threatened or endangered. Despite all threats, better management and more investments in species monitoring would surely improve...

The Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon, is the only extant mongoose in Europe, with populations still distributed in Africa and the Middle East. In this study, we present the first mitochondrial genome sequence of Herpestes ichneumon and we investigate its phylogenetic position within Feliformia suborder. The resultant mitogenome sequence is 16...

Even though plants represent an essential part of our lives offering exploitational, supporting and cultural services, we know very little about the biology of the rarest and most threatened plant species, and even less about their conservation status. Rapid changes in the environment and climate, today more pronounced than ever, affect their fitne...

Despite covering only 0.82% of the ocean’s surface, the Mediterranean Sea supports up to 18% of all known marine species, with 21% being listed as vulnerable and 11% as endangered. The acceler- ated spread of tropical non-indigenous species is leading to the “tropicalization” of Mediterranean fauna and flora as a result of warming and extreme heat...

ISBN 978-952-7426-46-3 (pdf)ISBN 978-952-7426-47-0 (print)

The firs (genus Abies, Pinaceae) species are a diverse and ecologically and economically important forest trees. In the Mediterranean and Central Europe, the genus Abies comprises twelve taxa with only partially resolved systematic statuses, and it has been classically divided into the sections Piceaster (fir-type 'ancestral' group) and Abies (fir-...

Insights into genome size dynamics and its evolutionary impact remain limited by the lack of data for many plant groups. One of these is the genus Iris, of which only 53 out of c. 260 species have available genome sizes. In this study, we estimated the C-values for 41 species and subspecies of Iris mainly from the Eastern Mediterranean region. We c...

Coastal vegetation includes unique species with adaptations to the specific conditions of this environment, and in the Mediterranean region urban development of coastal areas has severely affected coastal ecosystems. Astragalus berytheus Boiss. & Blanche is a narrow endemic plant of the eastern Mediterranean coast, occurring in Lebanon and Palestin...

Mediterranean Ecosystem report on Climate and Global changes. Balzan MV, Hassoun AER, Aroua N, Baldy V, Bou Dagher M, Branquinho C, Dutay J-C, El Bour M, Médail F, Mojtahid M, Morán-Ordóñez A, Roggero PP, Rossi Heras S, Schatz B, Vogiatzakis IN, Zaimes GN, Ziveri P 2020 Ecosystems. In: Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin –...

Marine ecosystems: Despite covering only 0.82% of the ocean’s surface, the Mediterranean Sea supports up to 18% of all known marine species, with 21% being listed as vulnerable and 11% as endangered. The accelerated spread of tropical non-indigenous species is leading to the “tropicalization” of Mediterranean fauna and flora as a result of warming...

The Mediterranean region is identified as one of the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots, with the earth's most biologically rich yet threatened areas. Lebanon is a hub for Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) biodiversity with 9,116 characterized plant and animal species in total (4,486 for fauna and 4,630 for flora). Using DNA barcoding as a tool has...

Key message Discovery of the first case of allotriploid juniper in a wild population in the French Alps where the parental species occurs in sympatry. & Context Interspecific hybridization and polyploidy are important evolutionary phenomena in vascular plants. Natural hybrid-ization between species living in sympatry can sometimes occur. Less frequ...

Mapping Asia Plants (MAP) is a comprehensive project that aims to build a detailed infrastructure for integrating Asian plant distribution data a global-scale array of knowledge for plant biodiversity conservation. Here, we provide a brief historical review of botanical research in Southwest Asia – an understudied botanical region with high conserv...

Balzan MV, Hassoun AER, Aroua N, Baldy V, Bou Dagher M, Branquinho C, Dutay J-C, El Bour M, Médail F, Mojtahid M, Morán-Ordóñez A, Roggero PP, Rossi Heras S, Schatz B, Vogiatzakis IN, Zaimes GN, Ziveri P 2020 Ecosystems. In: Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future. First Mediterranean...

Phoenicians knowledge of agriculture was exported throughout the western Mediterranean, they were among the first to bring domesticated and wild species to many spots throughout the Mediterranean Basin.

This is the twelfth 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 Asparagaceae (incl. Hyacinthaceae), Boraginaceae, Cactaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae...

The aim of this study is to better understand the phylogeography and evolution of the Lebanese oaks and to assess the convergence between their morpho-ecological and molecular characteristics. We investigated DNA sequence variation in four plastid markers (TrnH-psbA, ycf1, trnK-matK and PetD) of the seven species (three sections) occurring in Leban...

In this booklet, a selection of endemic* plants is presented. It features the high diversity and beauty of El Dichar natural site flowering plants.

Aim Phylogeography of fruit trees is challenging due to recurrent exchanges between domesticated and wild populations. Here we tested the eastern refugium hypothesis (ERH) for the carob tree, Ceratonia siliqua , which supports its natural and domestication origins in the eastern Mediterranean and a feral origin in the west. Location Mediterranean...

Cedar is an emblematic Mediterranean forest tree. Genetic research activities on Mediterranean Cedrus species are progressively developed in relation to conservation, restoration, and exploitation plans of these forest tree species. However, currently available molecular biology tools supporting genetic research in these fields are still scarce and...

This study aims to deepen the analysis of seed germination ecology and salinity tolerance of Sarcopoterium spinosum (Rosaceae). Germination tests were conducted to evaluate the effect of the fruit’s spongy tissue and the intraspecific variability in seed germination among eight populations of the species on responses to light and total darkness, co...

Juniperus drupacea is a unique relict species found in the mountains of southern Greece, southern Turkey, and western Syria and Lebanon. The aim of this study was to describe the natural range of this juniper by determining the current locations of its populations and to predict a theoretical range for the species based on current, past, and future...

Recent research suggests that the frequency of polyploidy may have been underestimated in gymnosperms. One notable example is in the conifer genus Juniperus, where there are already a few reports of polyploids although data are still missing for most species. In this study, we evaluated the extent of polyploidy in Juniperus by conducting the first...

Polyploidy and natural hybridization are considered as two major evolutionary processes involved in plant speciation and diversification. In conifers, natural hybridization has been noticed to be more frequent than polyploidy. Nevertheless, a few cases of polyploidy have been reported in the genus Juniperus. In this genus, a new variety Juniperus s...

Premise of the Study Simple sequence repeat (SSR) or microsatellite markers have been used in a broad range of studies mostly scoring alleles on the basis of amplicon size as a proxy for the number of repeat units of an SSR motif. However, additional sources of variation within the SSR or in the flanking regions have largely remained undetected. M...

Map of identified KBAs in Lebanon (Chapter 3 of Conserving wild plants in the South and East Mediterranean region, 2018). Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are sites that contribute significantly to the persistence of globally important biodiversity. In 2016, a partnership of institutions joined forces to agree on a methodology for countries to identi...

Concluding messages 1. In order to halt and reverse the continuous decline of plant diversity, specific action plans and programmes addressing particular plant conservation challenges must be incorporated in regional and national conservation programmes and strategies. 2. Enhanced cooperation between botanists, practitioners and communities is esse...

Natural History Collections allow tackling many questions in ecology and evolution, through the data provided by both the specimens themselves and the labels linked to the specimens, with rare advantages: data are real, spanned over time, checkable for accurate identifications, and the preserved physical objects make them not questionable. In parti...

Mediterranean Cupressus taxa (C. atlantica, C. dupreziana and C. sempervirens) exemplify a schizo-endemic distribution resulting from vicariant speciation related to climate-induced contraction and fragmentation of their ancestral geographical range. Here, we investigate the evolutionary history of Mediterranean Cupressus taxa and the phylogeograph...

Background and aims – The thermophilous woodlands of the Mediterranean region constitute reservoirs of genetic resources for several fruit trees. Among them, the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) is a key component of traditional Mediterranean agroecosystems but its ecology was never assessed at the scale of its whole distribution area. Fortunately, p...

The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is rich in conifers taxa belonging to Abies, Cedrus, Juniperus and Cupressus genera, and are found in the Taurus Mountains of Turkey, and along the eastern Lebanese mountain range that stretches down to Syria. Climate and geological events played a key role in determining the spread and persistence of these c...

Considered as a hotspot for biodiversity in the Mediterranean Basin, Lebanon is currently witnessing anarchic urbanization and unprecedented destruction of its natural habitats. Unregulated urbanization is also compounded by the surge in Lebanon’s population due to the unabated influx of Syrian refugees since 2012. This work aims to define Importan...

Mediterranean forests are found in the Mediterranean basin, California, the South African Cape Province, South and southwestern Australia and parts of Central Chile. They represent 1.8 % of the world forest areas of which the vast majority is found in the Mediterranean basin, where historical and paleogeographic episodes, long-term human influence...

The taxonomy of Lactuca triquetra, a scoparious subshrub of localized distribution and uncertain generic placement, is assessed. The taxon was described in the early 19th century from Lebanon and more than 100 years later also discovered on Cyprus. Referring to new molecular phylogenetic results published elsewhere, morphological characters, in par...

The genus Juniperus L. belongs to the family of Cupressaceae. It is the most diverse genus of this family and the second most diversified taxon of conifers after the Pinus genus. It has approximately 75 species recognized according to the authors (Adams, 2014; Farjon, 2005). Juniperus forest in Hermel is characterized by the presence of 2 Juniperus...

Archaeological, palaeontological and geological evidence shows that post-glacial warming released human populations from their various climate-bound refugia. Yet specific connections between these refugia and the timing and routes of post-glacial migrations that ultimately established modern patterns of genetic variation remain elusive. Here, we us...

Between October 2008 and early April 2009, a few camphorweed plants belonging to Heterotheca subaxillaris species were first observed in Lebanon near the northern entrance of Tyre Coast Nature Reserve. Camphorweed who belongs to Asteraceae family is native to the southern half of the United States (USDA 2016). This camphorweed was first introduced...

Despite being an important target of conservation concern and horticultural interest, Lebanese irises yet have a confusing taxonomic history and species’ delimitation is often considered problematic, more especially among royal irises (Iris section Oncocyclus). Indeed, these irises of exceptionally large and spectacular flowers have radiated across...

Morphometric data concerning the karyotype of Iris taxa (DOCX)

Accepted names of studied irises and their synonyms according to The Plant List, 2013 (DOCX)

Metaphase plates and karyotypes of selected Iris taxa stained with acetoorcein (TIF)

Carob (Cetatonia siliqua L.) is a well-known Mediterranean tree whose domestication was contemporaneous to that of the first trees (eg. olive, fig) probably in the Middle-East. Since then, carob has played a crucial role in Mediterranean societies due to its edible fruits used for cattle forage and subsistence agriculture. Carob plants are able to...

We investigated the interspecific morphological relationships of two related Mediterranean Cupressus taxa and the possible geographic differentiation of Eastern Mediterranean C. sempervirens using morphometric analysis. A total of 446 individuals, representing eight C. atlantica (Morocco) and 10 C. sempervirens (Greece, Turkey and Lebanon) populati...

Juniperus drupacea is an eastern Mediterranean mountain tree with a disjunct geographical range. We hypothesized that this disjunct occurrence (the Peloponnese in Europe and the Taurus and Lebanon Mountains in Asia) should be reflected in the patterns of genetic and morphological diversity and differentiation. Nuclear microsatellite markers (nSSR)...

Mediterranean forests are found in the Mediterranean basin, California, the South African Cape Province, South and southwestern Australia and parts of Central Chile. They represent 1.8 % of the world forest areas of which the vast majority is found in the Mediterranean basin, where historical and paleogeographic episodes, long-term human influence...