Romulea nivalis

The main threat affecting most of the subpopulations located on the plateaux of Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon is overgrazing, which slowly affects the durability of the species. Even though only the aerial parts of the plant are grazed, this impact reduces the ability of the species to reproduce and disseminate its seeds, and conducts to the disappearance of the individuals on a long term. This is the case on the heights of Kneisse, Sannine, Mneitre, Ainata and Mount Hermon, and the Syrian localities in Anti-Lebanon, where grazing is very important. Some subpopulations are greatly affected by the creation of quarries, which irreversibly destroy the habitat of the species, namely in Dahr el-Baidar, Aintoura Metn, and Mayrouba. Other subpopulations are affected by development for touristic, commercial and recreational activities. Particularly, some subpopulations have partly disappeared on the ski resorts of Faraya, Kfardebian, Laqlouq and Bcharre due to the construction of houses, roads and soil levelling. Subpopulations located on the southern side of Mount Hermon may be also affected as developments have been carried out in this area to implement a ski resort. Also, one subpopulation is affected by the extension of agricultural land for the plantation of apple trees in the region of Sahlat Chawiye (H. El Zein pers. comm. 2017).

The potential for future climate change (through the decrease in snow-fall and hence snow-melt volumes) requires research.

Two subpopulations, Barouk and Jabal Barouk, occur in the protected area of Shouf Biosphere in Lebanon, and subpopulations of Mount Hermon are located within the protected area of Mount Hermon (IUCN and UNEP-WCMC 2017); less than 10% of its population is present in protected areas.

There are not conservation actions known to be in place for this species. The most important conservation actions needed are habitat and site management, the development of national legislation, education and awareness, and ex situ conservation initiatives such as a genome resource banks. More research on the threats and plant´s ecology is also highly recommended.