Important Plant Areas of Algeria

21 IPAs have initially been identified for northern Algeria. 8 IPAs are entirely or partly located inside national parks, while 13 others enjoy no management or protection measures.

Habitats

Algerian IPAs cover all vegetation stages present in the Mediterranean part of the country and are often marked by a large elevational range, as in the Aurès Massif (100–2,300m) and Djurdjura (600–2,300m). Several coastal IPAs (El Kala 1, Edough Peninsula, Taza and Gouraya National Parks, Sahel d’Oran, Mount Chenoua, Cape Ténès, Trara Mountains et Habibas Islands) have high plant diversity and are rich in restricted range species, which are often highly localised (stenoendemic).

Forested habitats are well represented, particularly with cedars (in Belezma, Djurdjura, Theniet El Had and Chréa National Parks, the Babor Mountains and Aurès Massif) or oaks (Quercus canariensis, Q. suber and Q. ilex). Several IPAs are rich in wetland habitats (El Kala 1 & 2, Edough Peninsula, Guerbes/Senhadja Plain, Djebel Ouahch, and Taza and Chréa National Parks).

Climate

Since Algeria is influenced by the sea, relief and elevation, its climate is classed as ‘temperate extra-tropical Mediterranean’, characterized by a long period of summer drought that varies from 3–4 months on the coast to 5–6 months on the high plains and more than 6 months in the Saharan Atlas. All Mediterranean bioclimates are represented in the north, from perhumid (Babor Mountains) to semi-arid (Sahel d’Oran).

Algerian Flora

The Algerian flora comprises approximately 4,000 taxa in 131 families and 917 genera. There are 464 national endemics (387 species, 53 subspecies and 24 varieties). The number of restricted range or locally endemic taxa in northern Algeria is 407. These include 224 endemic to Algeria alone, 124 shared with Morocco, 58 with Tunisia and one with Sicily.

Some IPAs have a flora with a particularly high proportion of national endemics or stenoendemics, such as Djurdjura National Park with over 25 sub-national and stenoendemics, and El Kala 1 & 2 and the Babor Mountains, each with 20.