مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Contribution to the characterization of forest fragmentation on the Eastern flank of Mount Lebanon over 33 years

Abstract :

Fragmentation has become central issue in ecological studies as it is detrimental for biodiversity across the landscapes. It threats forest resources throughout the world. This study investigates the changes and fragmentations of the forests spatial configuration over 33 years (1965 forest map at 1/50,000 and 1998 landcover map at 1/20,000) at the eastern slope of Mount Lebanon. Legends on both maps were first harmonized and entered into atypical forest fragmentation analysis. Spatial scale was then resampled for straight forward analysis. A set of landscape indices were applied to quantify changes. Junipers and oaks are the main forest types at the study area. The landscape over the study area showed to be highly fragmented and subjected to severe degradations. In particular, total forest area decreased by 47% (from 33,369 to 17,668 ha) during the investigated period. Patch number increased by 5 times, mean patch size decreased by 17 times and total edge has doubled. Inside-outside patch forest fragmentation analysis was used to detect the most degraded area and determine the forest regeneration dynamics. This paper provides significant contribution to the analysis of forest fragmentation in the Mediterranean environments using older forest spatial data toward the investigation of forest ecological conditions. Forest fragmentation analysis, however, requires lower level biodiversity investigations such as species level.