Microhabitats Supporting Endemic Plants in Sinai, Egypt

Endemism is the restriction of a taxon to a defined geographical range. The arid mountains of Sinai support high biodiversity and a reasonable proportion of plant endemics. Six microhabitats are identified in the Sinai Mountains that support the growth of the relatively higher number of endemic plants. These are wadi bed, terrace, slope, gorge, basin and caves. Endemics limited to Sinai are 32 and 4 are known from Sinai beside other regions in mainland of Egypt, or 60.7% of the endemics to Egypt are known from Sinai, of which 54.1% are limited to Sinai. Ecological features and microhabitat supporting the presence of endemic plant species were determined in recent field works of Sinai. The ecological factors linked with topography, soil and vegetation at 200 sample quadrats are collected through the entire distribution range of the 36 endemic plants. Although still in relatively good condition, the mountains of Sinai suffer from increasing human pressure. Habitat destruction threatens resluted from direct effects like grazing, over-collection of medicinal plants, endemic plants, and in several cases, the present status of the populations is not known. The ecology and conservation status of these endemic plants are studied, and the main threats are determined.