The Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan

Ex-Situ Conservation of Native Plants: Climate change

mitigation

Prepared by:

Oraib S. Nawash

PhD, Plant Ecology and Vegetation ScienceUniversity of Hohenheim

Stuttgart, Germany

• In this presentation:

• Bio-regions in Jordan

• - What is a native plant?

• Methods of preserving native plant.

• Re-creation of five plant habitats in Jordan at Tell Ar-Rumman site

• Water harvesting

•What is a native plant?

"A native plant species isone that occurs naturallyin a particularregion, country, ecosystem, and habitatwithout direct or indirecthuman actions."

•Bio-geographical regions of

Jordan

• The Mediterranean Region

• Irano-Turanian Region

• Saharo-Arabian

• Sudanian

• The Mediterranean region

• Restricted to the highlands of Jordanextending from Irbid in the north to Ras En-Naqab in the south

• Altitude ranges from 700-1750 m above sealevel.

• Rainfall ranges from 300-600 mm.

• Comprises the most fertile part of Jordanand presents the best climate for the forestecosystem.

• Irano-Turanian Region• Narrow strip of variable width which

surrounds the entire Mediterranean region except in the north

• Mainly small shrubs and bushes

• Altitudes usually range from 500-700 m,

• Rainfall ranges from 150 to 300 mm.

•The Saharo-Arabian region• Almost 80% of the of total area.

• Altitude ranges from 50 to 200 mm.

• Vegetation is dominated by smallshrubs and small annuals located inwadi beds.

•The Sudanian region

• - This region started at al-Karamah in thenorth and continues to the south throughthe Dead Sea depression and Wadi Araba,which end at the tip of Gulf of Aqaba.

• - Altitude is the main feature, consideredthe lowest point on earth (-400m below sealevel). In some points it reaches 120 mabove sea level

• - Annual rainfall ranges from 50 to 100 mm.

• - Is characterized by the presence of tropicaltree elements

•Why we need to conserve native plants?

Conservation of native plants

In-situ and Ex-Situ conservation

i

In-Situ Conservation

• The conservation of species in their natural habitats

Ex-Situ Conservation

• Involves conservation outside the native habitat

• E.g. seed storage and botanical gardens.

Ex-Situ conservation of native plants at the RBG of Jordan-Recreation of five habitats

Habitat based conservation

Taking into consideration

• Bio-geographic conditions

• The complete watershed area

• Soil condition

• Exposure to the elements

Yarmouk Highlands deciduous oak

Dibben Pine Forest Habitat

Dana habitat

Jordan Valley Habitat

Fresh Water Habitat

• Ensuring the propagation of threatened species

• Stocking the garden for landscaping purposes

• Providing the public with native species nursery

Water Harvesting

climate change

• Is a change in the statistical properties of theclimate system when considered over longperiods of time, regardless of cause.

What is BIODIVERSITY!???

What is it’s value!!!!

What are Climate Change effects on plant biodiversity

According to Earth watch Institute (Europe) Climate change has already produced significant and

measurable impacts on almost all ecosystems, taxa

and ecological processes, including changes in

species distribution, timing of biological behaviours,

, ecological interactions and community dynamics.

FACT

Species have evolved over millions of years to adapt

to specific climatic conditions as well as to variations

in climate, but the current increase in temperature

and differing weather patterns has occurred over an

extremely short period of time which evolutionary

processes are not able to match. Therefore, many

species of plants and animals are not able to adapt

to changing temperature and weather.

Global climate change creates conditions that may be suitable for some invasive species to become

established in new areas.

Shifting seasons and phenology

•Changes in seasons are already being noticed in

many temperate regions

Plants and pollinatorrelationships

What do you expect to happen??

Example: Colorado Rocky Mountains, United States,

Research on pollination ecology in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, United States, found that flowering time for plants is determined by the snow melt, which is likely to change in response to climate change.

“The difference in timing between seasonal events atlow and high altitudes has negatively influencedmigratory pollinators such as hummingbirds, whichhibernate at lower altitudes and latitudes.

If climate change disturbs the timing of flowering andthe behavior of pollinators such as butterflies andbumblebees, then the intimate relationshipsbetween plants and pollinators that have co-evolvedover thousands of years will be irrevocably altered”.

Changing patterns ofprecipitation and evaporation

• It is widely expected that rainfall variability

and dry season severity will increase.

Protect our Natural Resources and Conserve our Biodiversity

Thank You