Biodiversity in Israel and Palestine is about the

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

and

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

in the geographical region of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and of the

State of Palestine Palestine ( ar, فلسطين, Filasṭīn), Legal status of the State of Palestine, officially the State of Palestine ( ar, دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn, label=none), is a state (polity), state located in Western Asia. Officiall ...

(the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and the and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

). This geographical area within the historical

region of Palestine Palestine ( el, Παλαιστίνη, ; la, Palaestina; ar, فلسطين, , , ; he, פלשתינה, ) is a geographic region in Western Asia. It is usually considered to include Israel and the State of Palestine (i.e. West Bank and Gaza S ...

extends from the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

and

Wadi Araba The Arabah, Araba or Aravah ( he, הָעֲרָבָה, ''hāʿĂrāḇā''; ar, وادي عربة, ''Wādī ʿAraba''; lit. "desolate and dry area") is a loosely defined geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the borde ...

in the east, to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

and the

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

desert in the west, to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

in the north, and to the gulf of

Aqaba Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...

, or

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...

in the south. The area is part of the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

, located in the

Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

, whose climate supports the

Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

. This includes the

Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and the

Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests The Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests ecoregion, in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, is in the eastern Mediterranean Basin. Lebanon cedar (''Cedrus libani'') is a characteristic tree. Geography The ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

s. There are five different geographical zones and the climate varies from semi-arid to temperate to subtropical. The region is home to a variety of plants and animals; at least 47,000 living species have been identified, with another 4,000 assumed to exist. 116 species of mammals are native to Israel, as well as 511 bird species, 97 reptile species, and seven amphibian species. There are also an estimated 2,780 plant species.

Geography

The

with the Gaza Strip, Israel, and the West Bank are located at the eastern end of the

, traditionally called the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

. Israel is bounded on the north by Lebanon and on the northeast by Syria. Jordan lies to the east and southeast of the West Bank and Israel; Israel and the Gaza Strip are bordered on the southwest by the Egyptian

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea.

Climate

The region is divided into three major climate zones, and one microclimate zone: #The

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

zone, characterized by long, hot, rainless summers and relatively short, cool, rainy winters. The rainfall may go from as much as 400mm for a year (in the south around Gaza), to 1,200mm for a year (in the northernmost end of Israel). The Mediterranean landscapes include several kinds of forest,

garrigue Garrigue or garigue ( ), also known as phrygana ( el, φρύγανα , n. pl.), is a type of low scrubland ecoregion and plant community in the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. It is found on limestone soils in southern Fra ...

scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

-like-grassland. The fauna and flora are mostly of European origin. #The

Steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

climate zone. It is a narrow strip (no wider than 60 km, and mostly, much narrower) between the Mediterranean zone and the Desert zone. The rainfall varies from 400mm for year to 200mm for year. This climate zone includes mostly low-grasslands and hardy forms of scrub. The fauna and flora are mostly of Asian and Saharan origin. #The

Desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

zone, which is the largest climate zone of Israel, covers the country's southern half as the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

, while the

Judean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert ( he, מִדְבַּר יְהוּדָה, Midbar Yehuda}, both ''Desert of Judah'' or ''Judaean Desert''; ar, صحراء يهودا, Sahraa' Yahuda) is a desert in Palestine and Israel that lies east of Jerusal ...

extends to the Dead Sea region through the West Bank and into the southern

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

. Rainfall is as low as 32mm per year in the southernmost tip of Israel in the

Arabah The Arabah, Araba or Aravah ( he, הָעֲרָבָה, ''hāʿĂrāḇā''; ar, وادي عربة, ''Wādī ʿAraba''; lit. "desolate and dry area") is a loosely defined geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the borde ...

valley. This dry climate zone grows scattered shrub vegetation or desert-grassland in its wetter parts. In the more arid regions, the vegetation is confined to dry riverbeds and gullies, known as

wadi Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...

s and in some places it is almost absent. In some of the greater valleys, desert-scrub and

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

-woodland are to be found. The fauna and flora are mostly of Saharan origin. Sudanese flora is present as well. #The Tropical (Sudanese) Microclimate by the springs of the Judean Desert. Refers mostly to

Ein Gedi Ein Gedi ( he, עֵין גֶּדִי‎, ), also spelled En Gedi, meaning "spring of the kid", is an oasis, an archeological site and a nature reserve in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves. Ein Gedi, a kib ...

spring and Arugot creek. Due to the high

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

in the region, and the steady, hot climate of the Judean desert, a tropical savanna-related flora (not rainforest, as many think) of East-African origin has established in the area of the springs. The fauna is that of the Desert zone. The climate is determined by the location between the subtropical aridity of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

and the Arabian deserts, and the subtropical humidity of the

or eastern Mediterranean. The climate conditions are highly variable within the area and modified locally by altitude, latitude, and the proximity to the Mediterranean sea.

Taxonomification

{{see also, List of native plants of Palestine (A-D), List of native plants of Palestine (E-O), List of native plants of Palestine (P-Z), List of adventive wild plants in Israel, Wildlife of Israel The following is a taxonomical classification up to Phylum level of all species found in the area. *Regnum Protista *Regnum Fungi **Plyla:Ascomycota - Basidiomycota - Glomeromycota - Myxomycota - Zygomycota - Chytridiomycota - Anamorphic fungi *Regnum Plantae **Phyla: Anthocerophyta - Bryophyta - Charophyta - Chlorophyta - Cycadophyta - Equisetophyta - Ginkgophyta - Gnetophyta - Hepatophyta - Lycopodiophyta - Magnoliophyta - Ophioglossophyta - Pinophyta - Psilotophyta - Pteridophyta *Regnum Animalia **Subregnum: Parazoa ***Phylum: Porifera **Subregnum: Agnotozoa ***Phyla: Orthonectida - Placozoa - Rhombozoa **Subregnum: Eumetazoa ***Superphylum: Radiata ****Phyla: Cnidaria - Ctenophora ***Bilateria: Protostomia ****Phyla: Acanthocephala - Annelida - Arthropoda - Brachiopoda - Bryozoa - Chaetognatha - Cycliophora - Echiura - Entoprocta - Gastrotricha - Gnathostomulida - Kinorhyncha - Loricifera - Micrognathozoa - Mollusca - Myzostomida - Nematoda - Nematomorpha - Nemertea - Onychophora - Phoronida - Platyhelminthes - Priapula - Rotifera - Sipuncula - Tardigrada ***Bilateria: Deuterostomia ****Phyla: Echinodermata - Hemichordata - Chordata - Xenoturbellida

Online databases

The following are online well prepared databases about the biodiversity in the Palestine Israel area. *Flora of Israel Online, The Hebrew University, Jerusale

*BioGIS: Israel Biodiversity Information Syste

*Botanical Garden University E Boo

*Biodiversity of Jordan and Israe

Articles

*Bird Species in Israe

Societies

*Palestine Wildlife Societ

*Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authorit

Bird watching

*Birding Israel: the world of birds, birding tours and birdwatching in Israe

*International Center for the Study of Bird Migratio

*The Israeli Center for Yardbird

*The

Jerusalem Bird Observatory The Jerusalem Bird Observatory is an urban bird observatory in Israel, sited on a 5000 m2 plot in central Jerusalem between the Knesset and the Supreme Court. History The Jerusalem Bird Observatory was established in 1994 by the Society for t ...

br>

Photographers

*Rittner Oz. Amazing collection of great images of small creatures in the area with fine scientific classification

*Ilia Shalamaev: Excellent photographs of wildlife in the area

*Vadim Onishchenk

*The Edg

A searchable collection of nature photos. Search for Palestine, Israel in the database. Site created by Niall Benvie

Neighbouring countries

*The Arabian Oryx Websit

;Biologists ;Nature conservation projects ;Natural reserves

Selected images

Image:Rakefet03.jpg,

Cyclamen persicum ''Cyclamen persicum'', the Persian cyclamen, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to above sea level, from south-central Turkey to Lebanon-Syria and the ...

Image:Kalanit01.jpg,

Anemone coronaria ''Anemone coronaria'', the poppy anemone, Spanish marigold, or windflower, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Anemone coronaria'' is a herbaceous perenni ...

Image:Tamarix aphylla.jpg,

Haloxylon persicum ''Haloxylon persicum'', the white saxaul, is a small tree belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Its range is Western Asia, including the Palestine (region)#Flora distribution, Palestine region, Egypt, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai, South Iraq, Saudi Ar ...

Image:Scabiosa prolifera.jpg,

Scabiosa prolifera ''Lomelosia prolifera'', the Carmel daisy, is a flowering plant of the family Caprifoliaceae. Its flowers in February to May, are creamy yellow, and when the petals are shed they leave a greenish-looking dried flower, good for arrangements. It is ...

* Environment of the State of Palestine Environment of Israel Environment of Palestine (region) Natural history of Israel Biodiversity ar:الحياة البرية في الشام