Africa is the second largest continent after Asia, having a larger than 30 million km² area. Doubtlessly, one of the biggest ecological and societal problems of the twenty-first century is climate change. Since the early 1970s, it has been clear that Africa is already experiencing the effects of climate change, and it has given rise to a wide range of new and unusual phenomena, such as rising temperatures, poor agricultural output, extreme different weather scenarios, and the spread of disease, among other things. Therefore, the current review aims at screening the impact of climate change on agricultural sector, human health and food security in Africa compared to the other continents, evaluating the change projections in future and highlighting the role of African leaders in mitigating and adapting to these effects. Artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and high-tech algorithms were applied to analyze these effects. Historical data were downloaded in near real-time from January 2009 to the present from the FAO Water Productivity Open-access portal WaPOR and Terra Climate datasets on Earth Engine platform. Assessment process was performed using Google Earth Engine, whereas future data were downloaded from WorldClim 2.1. We used 2021–2040 timelines and two scenarios: SSP245 and SSP585. For the SSP and timeline, we downloaded four versions, based on four different global circulation models (GCMs): IPSL-CM6A-LR (France), MRI-ESM2-0 (Japan), CanESM5 (Canadian), and BCC-CSM2-MR (China), to reflect the uncertainty among GCMs. We averaged future projection of each variable and SSP across four GCMs to decrease the uncertainty connected with a particular GCM. We presented the averaged results as maps. Annual precipitation totals were significantly above average in Central and East Africa, while under SSP 245 scenario, Madagascar would experience high rainfall. The highest temperature anomalies were seen in parts of the Greater Horn of Africa, western equatorial regions, and the north-western part of the continent. Minimum and Maximum temperature predictions showed that Africa would experience harsh temperatures than previously recorded in the historical years. A high average maximum temperature is predicted across the sub-Sahara Africa, South Africa, Somalia, and Madagascar under SSP 245 and SSP 585. The MCD64A1 dataset tagged in Earth Engine was used to classify forest fire risk in Africa. Analysis revealed that the highest fire risk was recorded in Savannah in tropical and subtropical Africa. Further, changes in rainfall and increased temperature leading to increased evaporation would directly reduce runoff levels and recharge groundwater which in turn will have negative effects on biodiversity, agriculture, and food security. Notably, African leaders have played positive role in the recent climate negotiations and bright climate initiatives have been emerged. Hopefully they will solve the climate crisis across the continent.

In terms of plant diversity, the Mediterranean Basin is the world’s second richest hotspot, and one of the most important locations on the planet for endemic species. Despite the widespread acknowledgment of the region’s global importance for plant diversity, an up-to-date list of Mediterranean endemics is still unavailable. The available data are frequently insufficient or out of date at both the whole and the national levels. Therefore, the present study aimed at delimiting the Mediterranean floristic region, screening the Mediterranean endemics, and determining the habitats and phyto-geographical distribution of these taxa in Egypt. Hence, a preliminary list of 402 Mediterranean endemic taxa in Egypt was compiled from the available literature. Indeed, the present study has reduced this number to sixty-five (16.2%) Mediterranean endemics belonging to 49 genera and 22 families. Fifteen major habitats are supporting the Mediterranean endemics in Egypt. The most represented habitat was the non-saline depressions (20 taxa = 30.8%), followed by the coastal dunes (19 taxa = 29.2%). Moreover, the Mareotis (west) subsector was the richest with 57 taxa = 87.7%. In conclusion, it’s crucial to clearly define Mediterranean endemic plants and provide an updated documented database of these taxa for a given territory to help guide future management plans that support the conservation and sustainable use of these important species under the current thought-provoking devastating impacts of rapid anthropogenic and climate changes in the region.

The present study aims to study the floristic characteristics of the native trees and shrubs (with height ≥50 cm) in the Egyptian flora. The floristic characteristics include taxonomic diversity, life and sex forms, flowering activity, dispersal types, economic potential, threats and national and global floristic distributions. Nine field visits were conducted to many locations all over Egypt for collecting trees and shrubs. From each location, plant and seed specimens were collected from different habitats. In present study 228 plant taxa belonged to 126 genera and 45 families were recorded, including 2 endemics (Rosa arabica and Origanum syriacum subsp. sinaicum) and 5 near-endemics. They inhabit 14 habitats (8 natural and 6 anthropogenic). Phanerophytes (120 plants) are the most represented life form, followed by chamaephytes (100 plants). Bisexuals are the most represented. Sarcochores (74 taxa) are the most represented dispersal type, followed by ballochores (40 taxa). April (151 taxa) and March (149 taxa) have the maximum flowering plants. Small geographic range - narrow habitat - non abundant plants are the most represented rarity form (180 plants). Deserts are the most rich regions with trees and shrubs (127 taxa), while Sudano-Zambezian (107 taxa) and Saharo-Arabian (98 taxa) was the most. Medicinal plants (154 taxa) are the most represented good, while salinity tolerance (105 taxa) was the most represented service and over-collecting and over-cutting was the most represented threat. Plants with spiny organs such as spiny stipules, leaves, branches, inflorescences and fruits or woody branches with spine-like terminates are the most represented (64 taxa).

An effective method for identifying species and evaluating the effects of changes caused by humans on specific species is the application of species distribution modelling (SDM) in desert environments. The fact that many dry lands and deserts throughout the world are situated in inhospitable regions may be the reason why such applications are still infrequently used on plant species in Egypt's Mediterranean region. Henceforth, the current study aims to map species richness and weighted endemism of Mediterranean endemics in the Mareotis subsector in Egypt and determine the environmental variables influencing distribution of these taxa. We produced a map of species distribution range using Ensemble SDMs. Further, stacked machine learning ensemble models derived from Random Forest (RF) and MaxEnt models were applied on 382 Mediterranean endemics distribution data to estimate and map diversity and endemism using two indices: species richness (SR) and weighted endemism index (WEI). The best models for ensemble modelling were chosen based on Kappa values and the Area Under the Receiver Operator Curve (AUC). The results showed that the models had a good predictive ability (Area Under the Curve (AUC) for all SDMs was > 0.75), indicating high accuracy in forecasting the potential geographic distribution of Mediterranean endemics. The main bioclimatic variables that impacted potential distributions of most species were wind speed, elevation and minimum temperature of coldest month. According to our models, six hotspots were determined for Mediterranean endemics in the present study. The highest species richness was recorded in Sallum, Matrouh wadis and Omayed, followed by Burg El-Arab, Ras El-Hekma and Lake Mariut. Indeed, species richness and endemism hotspots are promising areas for conservation planning. This study can help shape policy and mitigation efforts to protect and preserve Mediterranean endemics in the coastal desert of Egypt. These hotspots should be focused on by policy makers and stakeholders and declared as protectorates in the region. The largest number of species per area would be protected by focusing primarily on the hotspots with high species richness.

The present study aims at: 1) Preparing a checklist of the perennial shrubs (of height ≥ 50 cm) in the Egyptian flora; 2) Determining the species that are considered alien; 3) Determining the endemic or near-endemic species; 4) Analysing the checklist in terms of taxonomic diversity, geographical distribution, abundance, rarity forms, goods and services, threats, and physical defense; 5) Evaluating the IUCN Red List Categories of species; and 6) Determining the in situ and ex situ conservation actions taken towards these plants in Egypt. In the present study, 171 taxa belonging to 99 genera and 37 families were recorded. They inhabit ten natural and four anthropogenic habitats. SNN (Small geographic range — narrow habitat — non abundant plants) are the most represented rarity form (132 taxa). Sinai is the most diverse region in terms of shrubs (96 taxa). The North African-Indian Desert chorotype has the highest occurrence of shrubs (130 taxa), followed by the Sudanese Park Steppe (75 taxa). Medicinal plants (126 taxa) were the most offered goods, while sand accumulation (79 taxa) was the most represented service. Over-collecting and over-cutting are the most important threats. Four taxa are evaluated as Extinct, another two are Extinct in the Wild, while 70 taxa are threatened with extinction (15 taxa are Critically Endangered, 35 taxa are Endangered, and 20 taxa are Vulnerable). In addition, some 89 species are being conserved (59 taxa are under in situ conservation in the protected areas, 15 taxa are included in botanic gardens, while 85 taxa are kept in the herbaria as dry specimens, and five taxa in gene banks as seed samples).