Cupressus dupreziana var. dupreziana
| Kingdom |
Phylum |
Class |
Order |
Family |
| PLANTAE |
TRACHEOPHYTA |
CONIFEROPSIDA |
CONIFERALES |
CUPRESSACEAE |
| Scientific Name: |
Cupressus dupreziana var. dupreziana |
| Species Authority |
A.Camus |
Assessment Information
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| Red List Category & Criteria: |
Critically Endangered
A2c, C1
ver 2.3
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| Year Assessed: |
1998 |
| Assessor/s |
Conifer Specialist Group |
Geographic Range
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| Range Description: |
A paper by Abdoun and Beddiaf (2002) has summarised and updated what is know about this variety in Algeria. Until the mid-1940s, it was thought that there were no more than ten living individuals of this cypress. However, by 1949 the population was estimated to have 200 living trees. The counting of the trees has gone on for a number of decades. Between 1950 and 1965 various expeditions to the area undertook censuses of the living trees, but in most cases this was simply a record of the number of individuals in each wadi. A methodological survey started in 1965, when 85 individuals were sufficiently described to be recognized again. Betweem 1971 and 1972, a forester, Säid Grim, counted 230 living trees and numbered each one. Those numbers are still evident today. An inventory between 1997 and 2001 conducted by Abdoun and Beddiaf (2002) discovered that 20 of the 230 trees counted by Grim had died, while there were 23 new ones added to the tally. The current population size is therefore 233 living cypresses, in varying states of health. About ten of the newly listed trees are very young, indicating that recruitment does continue in spite of the current drought.
The 233 trees are distributed over a strip 12 km long by 6 km (on average) wide, along the southwestern border of the Tassili plateau.
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| Countries: |
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Population
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Habitat and Ecology
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| Habitat and Ecology: |
The cypresses are presumably the remnants of a forest that flourished in a wetter climate. Today they occur only in wadis and sheltered areas in the Sahara Desert.
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| Systems: |
Terrestrial |
| Major Threat(s): |
Regeneration in the wild is evident, but this is very limited. It is believed that the water table has sunk to an extent that regeneration is impeded. There is evidence that cypresses were found further north in the mid-19th century, and the apparently rapid retreat of some 100 km in their northern limit has been ascribed to intense human exploitation (Abdoun and Beddiaf 2002).
The total number of cypresses in the Tassili has fallen by almost 8% in 30 years. The causes of this loss are not easy to identify. On the majority of the dead trees, there are traces of branches having been chopped off (presumably by shepherds), and some have been burnt to death. Two trees appear to have succumbed because of the drought. At wadis frequented by shepherds and tourists, all dead cypress wood is rapidly removed.
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Conservation Actions
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| Conservation Actions: |
The main concentration is in Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, which has been designated a World Heritage Site. The species has been successfully established in cultivation.
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