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(PDF) The biodiversity value of olive groves in Palestine [1]

['Authors']

Date: 2024-01

29 Simon Awad & Omar At tum

The biodiversity value of olive groves in Palestine

Traditional olive g roves a nd other forms of agr icultur e a re a dominant

feature of t he Palesti nian landscape. However, the b iodiversit y value of

these areas needs to be better unders tood. T his study compares t he t ree

and bird richness of olive groves a nd ﬁeld agr icultu ral sites in Beit Sahour

of Bethlehem, Palestine. A total of sixteen bird species were recorded, with

fourteen species observed in olive groves a nd¬ six species obser ved i n the

ﬁeld agr icultura l sites. Olive groves had sig niﬁca ntly higher tree a nd bird

richness tha n ﬁeld agricult ural sites. Our results corr oborate other studies

that suggest ol ive groves have biodiversit y value as a cu ltural la ndscape.

Key words: Agricult ure, Birds, Cultu ral landscapes, Olive groves, Palesti ne.

INTRODU CTION

Cultural landscape s have the potential to contribu te to biodiversi ty

conservat ion, as most of the wo rld’s biodiversity exists outside of na ture

preserves and p rotected areas (Farina, 2000; Dudley et al , 2005). Cul tural

landscapes are areas of cultural and heritage importance that have a long-

term history of hum an interactions with the env ironment, which has

dictated species distribution and assemblages (Farina , 2000; UNESCO, 2011).

Tradition al, low-impac t ag riculture is often the majo r act ivity in cultural

landscape s that shapes the environme nt, energy ﬂow, and habitat structure

(Farina, 2000; Harrop, 2007). In contrast to other forms of agriculture, areas

of traditional agricultu re may mimic some aspects of more natural habitats

by a cting as corridor s be tween natural are as a nd c ontaining hab itat structur es

that allow some wildlif e to persist (Beaufoy, 2001; Chape et al, 2005; Dudley

et al, 2005; Davy et a l, 200 7; Att um et al, 2011; Rey, 20 11). The Mediterr anean

landscape , including h istoric Pal estine, has a l ong history o f h uman habita tion

and agriculture that have been sus tained by cultur al s ystems, which ha s

resulted in a landscap e that consists of a mosaic of nat ural and semi-m odiﬁed

landscapes (Naveh, 1975; Beaufoy, 2001; Biondi et al, 2007). Olive groves ( Ol ea

europaea ) are domi nant f eatures of the Palestini an lan dscape and have evolved

as a prod uct of e fﬁcient use of en ergy, nutrients, and natural production

cycles (M akhzoumi, 1997; Bi ondi et a l, 2007).

ABSTRA CT

Simon Awad 1 and Omar Attum 2 *

1. Environment al Education Center (EEC /ELCJ HL), Bethlehem, Pa lestine.

2. India na University S outheast, New Alba ny, Indiana, USA

* Correspondi ng author email: oat tum@iu s.edu

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[1] Url: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338197552_The_biodiversity_value_of_olive_groves_in_Palestine

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