Fig 1.
Schematic presentation of drivers and describing proxies of biocultural diversity.
Proxy groups are listed for both biological and cultural diversity (see section: Proxies for biocultural diversity in oases). Temporal change plays an overarching role as it affects environmental factors (e.g.,. climate and size of oasis), degree of connectivity, and human influences.
Fig 2.
Oases (palm tree) and different trade routes in the Sahara Desert.
Individual oasis settlements are grouped based on their location in the same valley, depression, or region (compare S1 File: Table S1). The trade routes represent the pathways between stop-over sites (trade nodes, such as marketplaces). Trade routes are used for the transport of cargo and provide a link between producers and buyers (based on Old World Trade Routes Project: http://www.ciolek.com/owtrad.html [58]). The map shows that oases are often located along trade routes and form important trade nodes along these routes.
Table 1.
Correlations between (i) area, human population, and distance and (ii) biological and cultural diversity proxies on the level of (A) individual oases and (B) oasis groups in Algeria.
Significant correlations are in bold.
Fig 3.
Relationships between similarity in biocultural diversity.
Relationships between similarity in biological and cultural diversity between individual oases in Algeria (different proxies given on y-axes) and their geographic distances (x-axes). Pearson correlation coefficients (r) and significance values (p) are shown.