The wildlife of the Levant encompasses all types of wild plants and animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fresh and saltwater fish, and invertebrates, that inhabit the region historically known as the Levant, the Sham, or Greater Syria. This is the region that today includes the following countries: Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Hatay Province of Turkey and the areas of Turkish occupation of northern Syria, to which some add Cyprus and part of the Sinai Peninsula.
The Levantine region is notable for its remarkable biodiversity, which is a consequence of its diverse climatic conditions and its strategic location at the crossroads of the ancient world, encompassing Asia, Africa, and Europe. This has resulted in the region acting as a conduit for the migration of numerous species, both northward and southward, and has led to distinct and occasionally conflicting climatic patterns. This enabled a vast array of creatures to colonize it. A significant number of species of megafauna in the Levant have become extinct as a result of the destruction of natural habitats for human settlement and exploitation, or due to overhunting since ancient times. Since the late 20th century, several nature reserves have been established throughout the Levant, sometimes through local and international efforts, to preserve the remaining animal species and their natural habitats. Some of these reserves have successfully preserved wildlife and their habitats.
The importance of the Levant in biodiversity and the emergence of agriculture The Levant and Iraq (the Fertile Crescent) represent the origin of numerous plants that were subsequently domesticated and became integral to agricultural practices. These include two varieties of wheat, barley, lentils, chickpeas, caraway, peas, and flax, collectively known as the founding crops of civilization.Zohary, Daniel and Hoff, Maria. 2000. Plant Domestication in the Ancient World. Third edition. Oxford University Press. Additionally, fruit trees such as almonds, olives, figs, and a diverse array of medicinal, aromatic, and ornamental plants originated in this region.
As posited by botanist George Edward Post, the Levant is of paramount importance on Earth, not only due to the pivotal human events that have transpired there, but also due to its distinctive geological structure and the remarkable diversity of its terrain, climate, fauna, and flora.
Geographic location and terrain The Levant denotes the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, extending eastward to the borders of Mesopotamia and extends from the Taurus Mountains in the north to the Sinai Peninsula in the south. The Levant is distinguished by the presence of two parallel mountain ranges, the western and eastern, which extend from the northern to the southern extremities of the region in a north–south orientation parallel to the coastline.
The West Coastal Range is located in the White River region near Kahramanmaraş. Situated between the Taurus and Amanus mountains. Its northernmost point is at the confluence of these two mountain ranges. The Amanous Range extends to the Orontes River gully in the Gulf of Suwaidiya, with a maximum elevation of 2,240 meters. A second series, complementary to the first, extends from the mouth of the Orontes River to the southern Nahr al-Kabir. This series is known as the Nusairiya Mountains. The Akkar Plain serves to differentiate the Nusairiya Mountains from their southern extension within Mount Lebanon, in this latter region, the highest mountains of the Levant are situated and reach a peak height of 3088 meters in Qurnat as Sawda'. Proceeding in a southerly direction, the mountains begin to recede from the sea and gradually diminish in height. The highest peak in the Galilee (Jabal al-Jarmaq) reaches an altitude of 1,208 meters. The Nablus Mountains originate from Mount Carmel in Haifa and extend until they merge with the Hebron Mountains in the south. The hilly and mountainous areas continue to Ras Muhammad in the southernmost part of Sinai. Mount Ebal is the highest peak in the Nablus Mountains (981 m), while the Hebron Mountains reach their highest point at Halhul (1020 m). The length of this mountain range, extending from Kahramanmaraş to Ras Muhammad, exceeds 1,100 kilometers.
The parallel chain begins with a group of hills from roughly the same point at an area called Kapu Tcham near Marash and extends south to Suf Dagh and Aleppo Mountain. It then turns into ranges of hills down to the Homs Plain and the Akkar Plain, which form Inner Syria's window to the sea. The Qalamoun Mountains, which extend from south of Homs to Damascus and meet with the Golan Heights at Mount Hermon, with its highest peak at 2814 meters, constitute the next segment of the chain. After a plain that extends for approximately 60 kilometers through Hauran, the Ajloun mountain range begins. The chain continues through the As-Salt, Moab, and Al-Sharat mountains to the Gulf of Aqaba, where it connects with the Hijaz Mountains.
In addition to the two mountain ranges previously mentioned, there are numerous other internal mountains scattered throughout the region. These include Jabal al-Balaas, the Palmyrene mountain range, Mount Abdulaziz, and Jabal al-Druze. Inland, the highest peaks in Jabal al-Druze reach approximately 1,840 meters.
A deep, narrow valley extends between these two mountain ranges, forming the northern portion of the Great Rift Valley. This valley contains the lowest point on Earth's surface. The Orontes River has its source in the center of the gully and flows northward between the two mountain ranges in the Beqaa Valley, the Al-Ghab Plain, and the Amik Valley, ultimately discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. From a nearby point, the Jordan River rises and flows in a southerly direction, traversing the Hula Valley, the edges of the Beisan Plain, and the Jordan Valley, before ultimately flowing into the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth's surface.
To the west of the coastal range lies a narrow coastal plain strip that widens and narrows. The coastal plain reaches its maximum width in the south of the Gaza Strip, where it disappears completely at certain points, such as Jebel Aqra, situated to the south of the Alexandretta, and in Jounieh and Mount Carmel, where the feet of the mountains are washed by seawater.
Climate and habitat diversity
The Levant is at the confluence of the three continents that constituted the ancient world. It is a transition zone between the mountainous regions of the Iranian Turanian climate, the Mediterranean Basin, the desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula, and the subtropical climate of Africa and southern Arabia. The distinctive characteristics of this location have influenced the composition of the flora and fauna, with some plant and animal species from the surrounding areas now present.
In addition to the influence of geographical location, the Levant is distinguished by a distinctive topographical and climatic diversity. The region encompasses areas where skiing is possible on Mount Hermon, the western Lebanon mountain range, and the Amanous Mountains. It also includes locations where swimming in the Dead Sea or the Red Sea is feasible on the same day. The climate of the region can be broadly classified into three categories: sub-humid Turanian in the high mountains, Mediterranean in the coastal areas, and arid and desert in the interior, with subtropical conditions prevailing in the Jordan Valley. The climatic and topographical variation observed in the region results in considerable variation in annual precipitation rates. The highest rates, exceeding 1,500 millimeters per year, are observed in the Latakia Mountains, while the lowest rates, below 200 millimeters per year, are observed in the Syrian Desert. Temperature fluctuations are observed, with the highest values occurring during the summer in desert regions and the lowest in mountainous areas and some interior areas. While the Jordan Valley and the coastal plain remain relatively warm in winter, temperatures frequently drop below zero degrees Celsius in the highlands and the interior.Climate Guide for Lebanon: Average temperatures, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, and percentage of sunlight received per day, month , and year Archived 4 January 2015, at Wayback Machine.
Vegetation variety
The French botanist Jacques Labillardière published a study of plants from Mount Lebanon, Qalamoun, Damascus, and Cyprus between 1791 and 1812 under the title in Latin Icones plantarum Syriae rariorum. Following this, there were a number of less comprehensive studies until Pierre Edmond Boissier published his celebrated Latin Flora Orientalis in five volumes between 1867 and 1888. This work records the plants he observed during his travels between Aswan and Aleppo.
In 1896, the American botanist George Post published the most comprehensive modern survey of the flora of the Levant, titled Flora of Syria, Palestine and Sinai, which was published by the Syrian Protestant College in Beirut, which later became the American University. In an updated version of this book, published in Beirut in 1932, he recorded approximately 4,200 species from 955 genera and 142 families.
In a 1970 study, French botanist Paul Mouterde enumerated 3,459 species in Syria and Lebanon, belonging to 865 genera in 131 families. Of these, approximately 300 species are endemic to Syria and Lebanon and not found elsewhere. In 2006, 900 plant species belonging to 130 families were recorded in Syria."Twenty-five new varieties in the Shuh and Cedar forests". 11 December 2006. Al-Thawra. Retrieved 10 August 2011. Archived 11 September 2020, at Wayback Machine. A study conducted by the Ministry of Local Administration has revealed that 3,100 seed-covered plant species, representing 1.4% of the 220,000 known species worldwide, have been documented in Syria. Furthermore, 12 species of gymnosperms were identified.Ministry of Local Administration. National Biodiversity Strategy. Section I: Biodiversity in Syria. Accessed 8 August 2011. Archived 16 December 2019, at Wayback Machine. The most significant families are Asteraceae, angiosperms, and legumes. A total of 47 genera and 450 species of legumes are documented in Syria.Mansour, Ghaitha, Hamad, Ibtisam, and Al-Qadi, Imad, 2005. Foliaceae in the Horn Valley. Damascus University Journal of Basic Sciences, 21, 65–84. Archived 5 March 2016, at Wayback Machine. The cattad is the most diverse species in the Levant, with Post recording 115 species distributed throughout the Levant and Sinai. The distribution of plant ecosystems is influenced by climatic and topographical factors. The following sections present an overview of the most significant climatic zones in the Levant, accompanied by a description of the plant communities that are characteristic of each zone.
Wet bioclimatic floor
The humid Iranian-Turanian climate is prevalent in the high regions of the coastal mountains, particularly in the northern and central areas, including Amanous, Nusairiya, and Western Lebanon. This is due to the high rainfall rates and cold temperatures experienced in winter, coupled with moderate temperatures in summer. The high mountains are distinguished by a paucity of species and a high degree of specialization, which is attributed to the cold and strong winds.
The area has three distinct vegetation groups. The first group is the high tree line. The second is the snowy (or alpine) meadows. The third is the semi-alpine or subalpine meadows.