FLORA OF ERF JABAL, AL-MAQATERAH DISTRICT, LAHEJ GOVERNORATE, YEMEN

Abstract

The study was conducted during March 2020 until November 2023. 12 sites were identified from various parts of Erf Mount, which represented the presence of all growing habitats of plant species. By which, it aims to identify the flora in the study area, and study life forms and chorotypes of each species recorded in the study area. Plant samples were collected for each species from each site, specifying the coordinates of each site and altitude above sea level, using a GPS. The most important results obtained can be summarized as follows: Recording 293 taxa (including species, sub-species, and varieties) belonging to 185 genera within 69 families. The fern plants were represented by 3 families, while the angiosperm plants were represented by 66 plant families, and one family within the gymnosperm plants. The results proved that the study area is very rich in endemic and near-endemic species, which were represented by 28 plant species, including Aloe irafensis, which is considered a neo-endemism species. The study demonstrated that the most diverse and representative plant families are: Fabaceae (10 genera and 24 species), Asteraceae (15 genera and 22 species), and Acanthaceae (10 genera and 21 species). It found that the most diverse genera within the flora of the study area are: Acacia, with 8 species, followed by the genera Grewia and Indigofera, with 6 species for each one. From the analysis of the life form of the recorded species, it was found that Chamaephytes, Phanerophytes and Therophytes were dominant, as they were represented by 131, 66 and 63 plant species respectively. The study area is rich in aquatic and soil moisture-loving plant species, as 13 plant species belonging to 10 plant families were recorded, representing 4.44% of the total plant species recorded in the study area. Plant species belonging to the Sudano-Zambezian region were dominant in the study area, which represented 96 plant species, constituting 34.78%. The total number of plant species recorded in the study area, the endemic and near-endemic species, and the generic index. All of this indicates that the region is very rich in species and more diverse and needs great attention and special care to preserve its plant diversity.  Especially after the increase and expansion in the number of residents in the mountain and the spread of buildings in a large part of the mountain.