Alzahrani Ibrahim Jamaan, Magos Brehm Joana, Maxted Nigel
School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha 65779, Saudi Arabia.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Aug 23;14(17):2629. doi: 10.3390/plants14172629.
Medicinal plant species are crucial biological resources, and yet their conservation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains insufficiently studied. This study conducts a comprehensive gap analysis of 74 priority medicinal plant species in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assess their spatial distribution, identify conservation gaps and propose strategic recommendations. Occurrence records were collected from field surveys and global biodiversity databases, followed by ecogeographical land characterization and conservation gap analyses using the CAPFITOGEN3 tools. The results reveal significant disparities in in situ and ex situ conservation efforts, with two biodiversity hotspots, Asir and Jazan, containing the highest species diversity. While 66 species occur within protected areas, seven species are currently only recorded outside protected areas, indicating opportunities for expanding conservation efforts. Complementarity analysis identified 13 optimal protected areas for priority medicinal plants' conservation, alongside 20 potential sites outside protected areas that could serve as other effective area-based conservation measures. Ex situ conservation remains critically limited for many species, with only 10 represented in genebanks and all accessions currently stored internationally, although some medicinal plant species may have broader global distributions. To bring about improved outcomes of conservation, the expansion of in situ conservation coverage, integration of other effective area-based conservation measures, strengthening of national genebanks and leverage of biotechnology and geospatial tools is recommended by this study. The findings of this study can be used to develop a more systematic and sustainable approach to the conservation of medicinal plants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
药用植物物种是至关重要的生物资源，然而沙特阿拉伯王国对它们的保护研究仍不充分。本研究对沙特阿拉伯王国的74种优先药用植物物种进行了全面的差距分析，以评估它们的空间分布，确定保护差距并提出战略建议。从实地调查和全球生物多样性数据库收集了出现记录，随后使用CAPFITOGEN3工具进行生态地理土地特征分析和保护差距分析。结果显示，原地和迁地保护工作存在显著差异，阿西尔和吉赞这两个生物多样性热点地区拥有最高的物种多样性。虽然66种植物出现在保护区内，但目前有7种仅记录在保护区外，这表明有扩大保护工作的机会。互补性分析确定了13个优先药用植物保护的最佳保护区，以及20个保护区外的潜在地点，可作为其他基于区域的有效保护措施。许多物种的迁地保护仍然极为有限，基因库中仅保存了10种，目前所有种质都保存在国际上，尽管一些药用植物物种可能具有更广泛的全球分布。为了实现更好的保护成果，本研究建议扩大原地保护覆盖范围，整合其他基于区域的有效保护措施，加强国家基因库，并利用生物技术和地理空间工具。本研究的结果可用于制定一种更系统、可持续的沙特阿拉伯王国药用植物保护方法。
