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Scientific name: Abies cilicica (Antoine & Kotschy) Carrière 1855
Synonyms: Abies cilicica subsp. cilicica, Abies kotschyana Fenzl ex Tchich., Abies rinzii Gordon, Abies selinusia Carrière, Abies tchugatskoi Lawson ex Gordon, Picea cilicica (Antoine & Kotschy) Rauch. ex Gordon, Pinus cilicica Antoine & Kotschy, Pinus tchugatskoi Fisch. ex Henkel & Hochst.
Infraspecific taxa: Abies cilicica subsp. isaurica Coode & Cullen 1965
Common names: Cilician fir, Syrian fir, Taurus fir (English), Toros göknarı (Turkish)
Tree to 30 m tall, with trunk to 0.7(-1) m in diameter. Bark gray, becoming flaky and then furrowed with age. Branchlets with scattered short brown hairs or none, grooved between the leaf bases. Buds 3-4 mm long, not resinous or with sparse resin. Needles straight, angled forward, arranged to the sides and above the twigs, 2.5-4 cm long, bright green above, the tips bluntly pointed, rounded, or notched. Individual needles flat in cross section and with a resin canal on either side near the edge usually just inside the lower epidermis but sometimes deep within, usually without stomates in the groove above and with six or seven rows of stomates in each greenish white stomatal band beneath. Pollen cones 10-15 mm long, red. Seed cones cylindrical 15-20(-30) cm long, 4-6 cm across, green when young, maturing reddish brown. Bracts usually much shorter than the scales and hidden by them, occasionally just poking straight out between them. Persistent cone axis narrowly conical. Seed body 9-12 mm long, the wing a little longer. Cotyledons or eight (or nine).
Mountains of Lebanon and south-central Turkey, in the western and central Taurus Ranges (ancient Cilicia, hence the species name). Forming pure stands or mixed with cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) and other conifers and also with evergreen hardwoods at lower elevations; 1,000-1,800(-2,100) m.
Red List Category & Criteria: Near Threatened
Abies cilicica has a relatively wide distribution in Turkey, Lebanon and Syria with an estimated area of occupancy of 3,397 km². The small subpopulations of the typical subspecies in Lebanon and Syria are both heavily degraded and should be considered Critically Endangered at the national level. The Mediterranean vegetation of southern Turkey, especially the montane areas, is considered to be at high risk from climate change. Records clearly show that summer temperatures are rising and in the last five decades the annual rainfall has decreased significantly. These trends are creating an increased risk of fire, and are also contributing to a decrease in the general health of the trees which in turn makes them more vulnerable to pathogen attack. The Taurus Mountains are also seeing a big increase in the number of tourist which also increases the risk of forest fire. If these negative trends continue then this species could qualify for Vulnerable under the subcriteria for B2. However, at this stage an assessment of Near Threatened better reflects its relatively limited area of occupancy and the current extent of decline.
Although there are no accurate figures, historically Abies cilicica (along with its commonly associated species Cedrus libani) has suffered a significant decrease in its area of occupancy in Lebanon and Syria. In Lebanon much of the forest destruction occurred in the 16th century (when logging became an alternative form of tax payments, and as a result increased uncontrollably) and further felling occurred during World War I. In Turkey, although there has been a decrease in the forest cover, this has been on a much lesser scale.
Abies cilicica has an altitudinal range of 1,000- 2,100 m.s.l.. In Turkey it can form pure forests (640 km²), but throughout its range it mainly occurs in mixed forests (1,733 km²), mostly with Cedrus libani. In Turkey it can be associated with Juniperus excelsa, Juniperus oxycedrus, Populus tremula and Quercus libani, while in Syria it grows with Ostrya carpinifolia, Carpinus orientalis, Sorbus torminalis, Fraxinus ornus and Cerasus mahleb. It favours calcareous substrates which are shallow, rocky and well drained.
Lebanon - Very fragmented and degraded due to present-day pressures from urbanization and associated development and historically due to the wood being used for building railways. The forest of Qammoua is one of many examples of ongoing over-exploitation of forests in marginalized rural areas with villagers cutting large quantities of wood for fuel and grazing their livestock in the forest for most of the year. The latter is a large and degraded Cilician fir subpopulation covering an area of over 10 km². The species is considered to having a low natural adaptive capacity to current and future trends as far as Climate Change is concerned (Ministry of Environment 2011). Illegal logging and poor forest management are further threats to the forest (Ministry of Environment 2011).
Syria - This small coastal forest is very degraded due to urbanization, fires, small-scale logging and grazing by goats and because of all these negative factors the forest is in urgent need of protection (Government of Syria 1995).
Turkey - These forests are under less threat than those in Lebanon and Syria, however, large areas of forest are in a state of degradation. For example, 44% of the pure stand forests and 86% of the mixed stand forests are degraded. Much of this has been caused by over-grazing of feral goats. They are particularly destructive as they damage seedlings and young shoots and areas where they have grazed cannot easily regenerate. Other threats include fire (partially as a result of an increase in tourism in the Taurus Mountains) and pathogen attack. There have also been reports of sudden mortality in Abies cilicica subsp. isaurica and a general decline in forest health due to the impacts of higher summer temperatures and decreased precipitation that have been attributed to global warming.
There is local trade in timber from this species. The wood is used for indoor construction mainly as plywood.
Abies cilicica is protected in a National Parks throughout its range. Examples of protected areas are: Lebanon: Horsh Ehden Nature Reserve; Turkey: Kovada Lake National Park; Olimpos-Beydağları National Park. Syria: Latakia Reserve.
Abies cilicica ’H Broom’ Abies cilicica ’Hunnewell WB’ Abies cilicica ’Kostelec’ Abies cilicica ’Lale’ Abies cilicica ’Majestic’ Abies cilicica ’Spring Grove’
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