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Enot Zukim, an oasis on the shore of the Dead Sea, was originally prized for its diversity of herbaceous cover and meadow-like landscapes. It has been monitored for about 20 years during changes induced by removal of Bedouin grazing, accumulation of combustible biomass, subsequent wildfires, decline in water quality and quantity, invasion by Phragmites australis, reintroduction of grazing by donkeys to reduce the P. australis, and expansion of Tamarix sp. coverage. Monitored permanent plots failed to document the reduction in P. australis but did show the change in composition and decline of species diversity with Tamarix sp. expansion. Conservation management faces a dilemma at Enot Zukim: when grazing reduces the invasive P. australis coverage, it seems that Tamarix sp. increases in its place. We do not yet know an effective strategy to both reduce wildfires and control all major invasive plant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands are among the most important and endangered of Mediterranean landscapes. The wetlands of Israel have enhanced importance as resting stops on the seasonal route of birds migrating between Eurasia and Africa. For these reasons, two major wetland nature reserves, En Afeq and Hula, are internationally recognized Ramsar Convention sites. Rapidly dropping water levels and reduced water quality, urban and agricultural encroachment, and heavy tourism pressure all threaten these fragile systems. A joint effort of Dutch and Israeli conservationists and ecologists studied both sites in an effort to apply scenario modeling as a tool for conservation management, as used today in the Netherlands. Our conclusion was that the Israeli sites are far more unstable than comparable Dutch wetlands, making scenario modeling difficult and perhaps irrelevant. Conservation management can do little more in these sites than to maximize water quality and quantity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]