In the Baetic Cordillera of Spain, the Rif Mountains of Morocco and the Djebel Babor Mountains of northern Algeria, forests are characterized by Abies, Cedrus and Pinus species together with Taxus baccata. The main distribution of Cedrus atlantica is in the Atlas and Rif Mountains of Morocco as well as the central and eastern coastal mountains of Algeria. Tetraclinis articulatus is widespreaed at lower elevations. Also included in the Western Mediterranean Region are the Tassili N'Ajjer mountain range in the Saharan Desert of south-east Algeria. Here, Cupressus dupreziana occurs in the driest habitat recorded for any conifer species; there there is virtually no associated vegetation. Throughout the region the forests are under continuous threat and have become degraded or even lost due to fire, overgrazing, road construction, tourism, land clearing for agriculture and firewood collection. Impacts associated with climate change such as prolonged droughts, pests and diseases have also had a significant impact in recent decades. Currently ten conifer taxa are globally threatened in this region.