Omayed Protected Area In 2017 , Photo By Hatem Moushir 13
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Omayed ( ar, العميد) is a 75,800 ha
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
designated
Biosphere Reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
in western
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in a sparsely populated region of coastal desert 80 kilometers west of
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
and 200 kilometers east of Matruh. It was designated as a biosphere reserve in 1981 and extended in 1998. The area includes four villages with a total 400 inhabitants. Habitats include coastal
calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an adje ...
dunes, inland ridges, saline depressions, nonsaline depressions and inland plateau. The area provides important moss habitat. The Khashm El-Aish plateau in Omayed Protected Area (OPA) is home to 29 moss
taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
recorded for the first time from Mediterranean coast, Egypt and 16 of them new records to the western Mediterranean coast. OPA includes 0.07% of Egypt's land mass but is home to more than 17 percent of its moss flora.Mosses of the Egyptian Conservation Areas: II. Omayed Protected Area
Wagieh El-Saadawia,*, Hanaa M. Shabbara & aSahar I. A. El-Sakatya a Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Abbassia, Cairo, Egypt
Ecosystems: * Coastal Dunes: ''
Ammophila arenaria ''Ammophila arenaria'' is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is known by the common names marram grass and European beachgrass. It is one of two species of the genus '' Ammophila''. It is native to the coastlines of Europe and North Afr ...
'', ''
Euphorbia paralias ''Euphorbia paralias'', the sea spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae, native to Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. The species is widely naturalised in Australia. It invades coastal areas, displacing local ...
'' and ''
Pancratium maritimum ''Pancratium maritimum'', or sea daffodil, is a species of bulbous plant native to the Canary Islands and both sides of the Mediterranean region and Black Sea from Portugal, Morocco and the Balearic Islands east to Turkey, Syria, Israel and t ...
'' * Inland ridges with minimal soil: '' Thymellaea'' spp., '' Gymnocarpus decadrum'', '' Plantago albicans'' and '' Asphodelus microcarpa'' * Salty marsh depressions dominated by ''
Salicornia fruticosa ''Salicornia fruticosa'', synonym ''Sarcocornia fruticosa'', is a species of glasswort in the family Amaranthaceae (pigweeds). It is native to southern Europe, north Africa, Western Asia and Yemen. It is a halophyte A halophyte is a salt-to ...
'', ''
Cressa cretica ''Cressa cretica'' is a species of flowering plant in the morning glory family. It is found in northern and central Africa, southern Europe and western Asia, as well as parts of southeastern Asia and Australia. It has long been used in tradition ...
'', ''
Atriplex halimus ''Atriplex halimus'' (known also by its common names: Mediterranean saltbush, sea orache, shrubby orache, silvery orache; ; also spelled orach) is a species of fodder shrub in the family Amaranthaceae. Description The plant has small gray leav ...
'' * Non-saline depressions and inland plateau: ''
Artemisia monosperma ''Artemisia monosperma'' is a species of flowering plant in the wormwood genus '' Artemisia'', family Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera ...
'', ''
Hammada elegans A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev de ...
'', ''
Anabasis articulata ''Anabasis articulata'' is a plant of the genus '' Anabasis''. It a salt-tolerant xerophyte that is found in the Syrian desert. Bedouins often use the plant's ashes as a soap substitute. The plant is also known for its medical properties. Alger ...
'', ''
Hammada scorpia A hamada ( ar, حمادة, ) is a type of desert landscape consisting of high, largely barren, hard rocky plateaus, where most of the sand has been removed by deflation. The majority of the Sahara is in fact hamada. Other examples are Negev de ...
'', ''
Suaeda pruinosa __NOTOC__ ''Suaeda'' is a genus of plants also known as seepweeds and sea-blites. Most species are confined to saline or alkaline soil habitats, such as coastal salt-flats and tidal wetlands. Many species have thick, succulent leaves, a character ...
'', ''
Salsola tetrandra ''Salsola'' is a genus of the subfamily Salsoloideae in the family Amaranthaceae. The genus ''sensu stricto'' is distributed in central and southwestern Asia, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. A common name of various members of this genus and ...
'' * Agricultural areas of grazing land and
fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
plantationsOmayed Biosphere Reserve
UNESCO


See also

*
World Network of Biosphere Reserves in the Arab States Under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, there are 31 biosphere reserves recognised as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in the African States and Arab States. These are distributed across 12 countries in the region . Biosphe ...


References

{{coord, 29.0900, N, 30.4500, E, source:wikidata, display=title Protected areas of Egypt 1981 establishments in Egypt Protected areas established in 1981