During his internship semester at the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability, Julius Pahl from Faculty N studied the orchid diversity of Palestine. The result is a scientific publication that can help to document changes in the distribution of this beautiful plant family. Using GIS, he has mapped old and current occurrences and analyzed threats. The abundance of orchid species in the eastern Mediterranean is not only threatened by global warming, with sometimes drastic consequences for the region, but also by the rapid growth of settlements, the creation of large agricultural areas and the pollution with waste and sewage that is unfortunately everywhere. The demanding orchids are often dependent on certain insect species (bees, bumblebees, flies...) for pollination. The extent to which the decline in insect diversity will affect orchid populations in Palestine is still unclear and offers an exciting question for further research projects.

Contact person:

Julius Pahl, e-mail: Julius.Pahl@stud.hszg.de