IMPLEMENTATION OF A PHYTOECOLOGICAL DATABASE FOR NORTHERN ALGERIAN SPECIES

Abstract

The Algerian Northern area is very biodiverse. It is one of the richest Mediterranean hotspot countries in terms of species, most of which are considered rare to extremely rare. It totals nearly half of Algerian flora threatened with disappearance and presents many endemics. Unfortunately, the continental natural ecosystems face various threats. Studies involving assessing biodiversity through inventories and systematic surveys to better understand these natural environments still need improvement. Because of its interest as a synthetic tool to store and manage data, an ecological Northern Algerian flora database was conceived using access, a relational database management system. Built around four tables, it allows for several queries about the floristic and ecological characteristics of about 1699 Phyto-ecological surveys. Each species is identified by a code and is characterised by several qualitative traits relating to abundance, plant formation, climatic and bioclimatic conditions, topography, and biogeographical distribution. For better exploitation of the database, “MapInfo” software, which is a Geographic Information System (GIS), has been used to map the results of queries. The produced maps reveal significant changes in the distribution of biogeographical ranges of species.