Elevation and local refuges ensure persistence of mountain specific vegetation in the Nigerien Sahara

The inselberg structure and the local habitats of the Aïr mountains (Niger) are hypothesized to generate the coexistence of geographically isolated plant species with high conservation values. By studying the diversity and the distribution of plants on the highest peak of these mountains, we aimed to identify the respective effects of local and regional abiotic factors on isolated species. We estimated the regional effects of elevation by comparing 103 floristic quadrats with existing data in the adjacent lowlands, and we tested the effects of local abiotic variables on species distribution with ordination methods. Among the 151 species identified, 12 were recorded for the first time in Niger and 53 were not found in the adjacent lowlands, thus evidencing true mountain specificity. A five-class habitat variable separated a relatively high portion of Saharan-Mediterranean species (8%) located in volcanic gullies, and Guinean-Sudanian-Zambezian species (13%) located in granite boulders. These two habitats provided local abiotic refuges (boulders, gullies), which protected a pool of relictual species from aridity, and probably from grazers. Species persistence may thus be dependent both on regional and local abiotic variables. With probable high genetic divergence because of the surrounding desert matrix, their conservation value may be particularly high.