Vegetation dynamics and species distribution patterns in the inland desert wadis of South Sinai, Egypt

• Autores: Fawzy M. Salama, Monier Abd El-Ghani, Salah El Naggar, Mohamed Aljarroushi
• Localización: Ecologia mediterranea: Revue internationale d'écologie méditerranéenne = International Journal of Mediterranean Ecology, ISSN 1775-4100, Vol. 39, Nº. 2, 2013, págs. 93-110
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Dynamique de la végétation et répartition des espèces dans les oueds du désert intérieur du Sud-Sinaï en Égypte
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• Resumen

  • The present study aims to investigate the varia tion in vegetation and species diversity in three inland wadis (Wadi Solaf, W. Romana and W. El Akhdar) which drain their water from sur rounding high mountains to the main channel of Wadi Feiran in South Sinai. It attempted to compare the floristic diversity between these wadis to recognize the different distribution patterns of species, and to assess the role of the edaphic factors which control the distribution of the plant communities. Forty-five sample plots were selected to represent as much as pos sible the variation in the vegetation, and geo referenced using GPS techniques. A total of 116 species (45 annuals and 71 perennials) belong ing to 95 genera and 37 families were recorded, with Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, and Zygophyllaceae represented the species-rich families. Therophytes constituted the main bulk of the flora, followed by chamaephytes, phanerophytes and hemicryptophytes. As part of the Saharo-Arabian region, the Saharo-Arabian chorotype dominated the others. Classification of the vegetation resulted in 5 vegeta tion groups: (A) Zilla spinosa, (B) Artemisia judaica-Zilla spinosa, (C) Artemisia judaica, (D) Anabasis articulata-Artemisia judaica-Fagonia mollis, and (E) Fagonia mollis-Zilla spinosa. Species richness was significantly negatively cor related with chlorides, while the Shannon's diversity index showed significant negative cor relation with chlorides and positively correlated with calcium.Vegetation-soil relationships were assessed by Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) using 13 soil factors indicated that gravel, coarse sand, fine sand, silt, clay, sodium and chlorides were the key soil variables that affect the distribution of plant communities in the inland wadis of South Sinai.