Anthropogenic Disturbance on Vegetation Dynamics: History
View Latest Version
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Subjects: Plant Sciences
Contributor:
Amira Ibrahim

Irresponsible human interventions, encroachment of natural habitats, and climate change negatively affect wildlife. In this study, the effects of human influence on Wadi Hagul, an unprotected area in the north of the Egyptian Eastern Desert that has recently been subjected to blatant encroachments of vegetation, were studied. The most important of these threats is the construction of the new road Al-Galala–Wadi Hagul–Zafarana. In Wadi Hagul, 80 species are reported in this study; the most represented plant families are Asteraceae (15 species) and Brassicaceae (6 species). Perennial, chamaephyte and Saharo-Arabian species were recorded in the highest percentage. Detrended canonical correspondence analysis showed that latitude, longitude, altitude, silt, sand contents, pH, and CO32− content are the factors that have the highest effect on vegetation distribution in the studied stands. Several invasive and alien species such as Euphorbia prostrata have been listed; these species typically have a negative effect on native species. The Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) indicated a decrease in plant cover during the study period, as compared to previous years. In 2013 and 2020, SAVI ranged from −0.02 to 0.42 and from −0.18 to 0.28, respectively. Recently, the violation and destruction of wildlife have increased, therefore, preserving it along with general biodiversity has become an urgent necessity.

  • plant diversity
  • anthropogenic impacts
  • vegetation dynamics
  • wildlife
  • Wadi Hagul
  • DCCA
  • SAVI

1. Introduction

Land degradation and vegetation reduction caused by external stresses, affect biodiversity and natural ecosystems and the numerous services they provide [1]. Environmental deterioration, habitat changes, inappropriate vegetation management, translocation, fragmentation, and deforestation modify biotic and abiotic ecosystem components, resulting in changes in ecological processes such as vegetation dynamics [2][3][4]. Overgrazing, road building, overharvesting, solid wastes, salinization, industrialization, urbanization, and military activities are considered to be the main anthropogenic activities that lead to changes and transformation of vegetation and natural habitat loss in arid and semi-arid environments [5][6][7].
In terrestrial ecosystems, climate and land cover changes such as cover, height, biomass, relative humidity, soil temperature, moisture, fertility, and erosion affect the structural properties of vegetation [8]. Biodiversity decline is influenced by various types of human activities, including land cover changes, the introduction of invasive species, overexploitation, and pollution [9][10][11]. Alteration of vegetation growth is the result of climate variation, and human activities can modify atmosphere–biosphere interaction, causing changes in the hydrological cycle, either directly or indirectly [12][13][14].
Environmental issues, including soil fertility decline, heavy winds, increase in the evaporation rate, high temperature, and heavy rainfall, lead to dramatic changes in plant species community structure [7][15][16]. Ecosystem services and biodiversity contribute approximately 57% of gross domestic production [17], therefore, there is a pressing need to save biodiversity, especially endangered species through convert these locations to protected areas [18]. There are a variety of approaches that are able to reverse biodiversity loss, ranging from economic, through ecological, to ethical [19].
Human pressures in Africa, include agricultural and pasture activities, illegal timber harvesting, and bush fires. All of these stresses have a negative impact on the plant ecosystem [20]. From the middle of the last century, the human population of the earth doubled [21]. Population growth and urbanization are the most important causes of ecosystems collapse [22]. Rapid population growth leads to many problems such as fire prevalence, air pollution, light pollution, loss of genetic diversity, the prevalence of invasive species, and wildlife destruction [23]. Human activities, through the civilizational and agricultural expansion and by the destruction of natural habitats, have increased extinction rates up to 500 times [24] (Baillie et al., 2004). Over the ages, human activities have caused three powerful waves of extinction [25]. It is estimated that nearly 8390 plant species are listed as endangered [26]. Approximately 32% of the existing plant species are classified as either critically endangered or extinct [27], nearly 20% being extinct because of human activities [28]. In China, nearly 11% of the plant species that were evaluated are extinct [29].
Species with a narrow distribution range are more likely to be lost, while widespread species are more likely to survive [30]. Some wild plants have adapted to the conditions and survived in their natural habitats [31]. However, invasive species spread causes disturbance in communities and may lead to the extinction of endemic and native species [32].
Anthropogenic activities are causing changes in natural plant communities in Egypt from ancient times through draining of lakes and marshes and reduction of species number in aquatic communities [33]. Remote sensing is one of the most unique techniques used for estimating environmental changes [34]. Some characteristics of vegetation detected using remote sensing techniques are photosynthetic activity, chlorophyll content, plant density, green leaf biomass, the leaf area index, and plant health [35]. The second factor that includes climatic measures includes air temperature and solar radiation [36][37][38]. SAVI is one of the most common vegetation indices used as a tool to discriminate vegetation covers [39]. SAVI can be used efficiently in arid regions [40]. In areas where vegetative cover is low (i.e., <40%) and the soil surface is exposed, the reflectance of light in the red and near-infrared spectra can influence vegetation index values. This is especially problematic when comparisons are being made across different soil types that may reflect different amounts of light in the red and near-infrared wavelengths (i.e., soils with different brightness values). The soil-adjusted vegetation index was developed as a modification of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to correct for the influence of soil brightness when vegetative cover is low [41]. The output of SAVI is a new image layer with values ranging from −1 to 1. The lower the value, the lower the amount/cover of green vegetation [42].
A wadi is a natural depression on the earth’s surface. Wadi Hagul is a morphotectonic depression located between Gebel Ataqa’s southern scarps in the north and El-Galala El-Bahariya Plateau’s northern scarp in the south. Wadi Hagul is one of the unprotected wadies in Egypt and is one of the most anticipated project areas in Egypt to alleviate congestion. As a result, several integrated development projects are being worked on that implement many critical infrastructure areas such as quarries, roads, power plants, mines, landfills, and resorts. The most important national project is the development of the northern part of the Gulf of Suez pipeline surcharge, implemented through the main track of the study area and its environment [43]. Three main sectors can be recognized based on the vegetation and geological aspects of Wadi Hagul: upstream, middle, and downstream. Two distinct plant communities can be found in the upstream section of Wadi Hagul’s main channel: one is dominated by Zilla spinosa on elevated terraces of mixed deposits. The other is dominated by Launaea spinosa and represents a further stage in the building up of the wadi bed. In the middle section, Leptadenia pyrotechnica community occurs. In the downstream section, the vegetation is dominated by Hammada elegans with individuals of Launaea spinosa and Lygos raetam [44].

2. Discussion

In Wadi Hagul, 80 plant species belonging to 30 families were recorded. Among them, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, and Zygophyllaceae were the most frequent families. These results are very similar to those reported in 2009 by Zahran and Willis [44] (31 species recorded) and in 2000 by Marie [45] (37 species recorded), who found that Asteraceae and Zygophyllaceae were the most common plant families in Wadi Hagul. By contrast, in 2016, Abdelaal [46] recorded 98 species, where Asteraceae and Poaceae were the most frequent families. Eight families (Aizoaceae, Cistaceae, Cleomaceae, Liliaceae, Neuradaceae, Polygonaceae, Urticaceae and Verbenaceae), each represented by only one plant species, were recorded in Abdelaal [46], and none of them were recorded in this study. Asteraceae were reported as the most common family in other Eastern desert wadies (Wadi Asyouti and Wadi Habib) [47]. Asteraceae was known for having a proportion of salt-tolerant and xerophytic species [48]. Asteraceae makes up the bulk of floristic composition in Egypt. It is represented by 98 genera, and 234 species [49][50]. Mashaly [51] reported a list of 62 species, with no alien species found.
The perennial plant group was most represented (67.5%) in the current study; this is consistent with the results of Zahran and Willis [44], Marie [45], and Abdelaal [46], who studied vegetation in the same study area during previous years. Regarding the number of annual species in Wadi Hagul, it has changed over the years of the study. This may be due to variation in the total rainfall during the studied years.
Life forms of species depend mainly on adaptation to the environment, particularly climate [52][53][54][55]. Life forms of desert plants are closely related to precipitation [56][57] and are correlated with both landform and topography [58][59][60]. In the present study, the chamaephyte life form was most represented (40%). Therophyte was the second most common life form (31.3%). These results are in accordance with the results of Abd El-Galil [61], who studied the floristic composition of Wadi Al-Assiuty, Eastern Desert, Egypt. In arid and semi-arid regions, chamaephyte and therophyte were found to be the most common life-forms [62][63][64].
Saharo-Arabian species captured the highest percentage in the floristic categories (43.75%). This result is concordant with Zahran and Willis [44], Marie [45], and Abdelaal [46]. It is worth noting that Saharo-Arabian species are good indicators for desert environmental conditions [65][66][67].
Species richness, which refers to the number of various plant species in the stands, is one of the most important indices of species diversity. In the studied stands, the average of species richness recorded three species, which is a low number. This could be due to a variety of factors, including the severe environment and climate that characterize the study area, which may be an obstacle to the growth of some plant species. Species evenness is a description of the distribution of species abundance in a community. The average of species evenness was 0.7. Species evenness is measured on a scale of 0 to 1, with 0 representing the lowest evenness (one species has 100% coverage) and 1 representing the highest evenness (coverage is evenly spread among a number of species). This may be due to the presence of a very dominant species in a community causes the less competitive species to be suppressed [68]. Shannon index depends strongly on species richness [69]. Simpson index is not a very intuitive measure of diversity since higher values indicate lower diversity [70].
The results of DCCA analysis indicated that latitude, longitude, altitude, silt and sand contents, pH, and CO32− content are the most important factors affecting the distribution of vegetation in Wadi Hagul. These results are somewhat consistent with those of Mashaly [47], who stated that the most influential soil factors for the distribution of vegetation in Wadi Hagul are soil texture, Na+, pH, and organic matter. Abdelaal [46] mentioned that K+, Na+, organic matter, moisture content, pH, E.C., and Cl− were the most affecting soil parameters for the distribution of vegetation in Wadi Hagul. Plant species associated with the increase in the proportion of sand in the soil and soil pH were Tamarix nilotica, Ochradenus baccatus, Launea nudicalus, Launea nudicalus and Rumex vesicarius. The longitude and the amount of Mg2+ in the soil were the most important factors associated with many plant species such as; Zilla spinosa, Zygophyllum simplex and Zygophyllum coccineum. Most of the salinity factors (E.C., T.D.S., Ca2+, Cl− , Na+ and K+), CO32− , HCO3− and the percentage of silt in soil were associated with some species such as; Lycium shawii, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Panicum turgidum and Haloxylon salicornicum. Latitude, altitude and the amount of organic carbon in soil were important factors in the distribution of some plant species such as Echinops spinosus, Erodium laciniatum, Erodium glaucophyllum and Reaumuria hirtella.
Many of the threatened plant species recorded in previous studies were not recorded in this study, including Aizoon canariensis, Artemisia judaica, Ifloga spicata, Silene viviani, Sphaerocoma hookeri, Helianthemum lippi, Astraglus spinosus, Senna alexandrina, Salvia aegyptiaca, Schismus barbatus, Hyoscyamus muticus, and Verbena officinalis. As a result, action must be taken to safeguard threatened species by a variety of measures, including the establishment of protected areas, criminalizing exposure to endangered plants, creating a gene bank for these plants, and attempting to increase their numbers in practice.
In this study, many alien and invasive species, such as Euphorbia prostrate, were recorded [71]. The introduction of invasive and alien species into natural habitats represents a threat to existing species. Assaeed et al. [72] indicated that invasive and exotic plants may pose a threat to natural resources and biodiversity, especially in arid habitats. Successful invaders often exhibit great degrees of adaptability, allowing them to thrive in a variety of environments [73][74]. Plant shoot and root system features are thought to be good morphological criteria for predicting successful invasion in many habitat types [75]. Many invasive species contain allelopathic chemicals that enable them to invade and control plant communities [76].
Climate changes, in addition to human encroachments such as the construction of roads and the establishment of new cities, pose the main pressure on vegetation. Climate changes and human impact negatively affect biodiversity in several Wadies in the Egyptian Eastern Desert [77].
In this study, SAVI decreased during 2013 (from −0.02 to 0.42), 2015 (from −0.011 to 0.32), and 2020 (from −0.18 to 0.28). This result could be due to various human impacts in Wadi Hagul such as the construction of the new road Al-Galala–Hagul–Zafarana, which is 84 km long and 24 m wide and crosses Wadi Hagul, in addition to many other threats such as overgrazing, plant collection, and increasing demand for energy, which have led to exploration for oil and natural gas near Wadi Hagul. Large population growth in recent times has also led to increasing demand for building materials and opening quarries inside Wadi Hagul, which resulted in a local increase in transport and pollution. Finally, it was discovered that if environmental conditions (such as human interventions and climate changes) alter and become unsuitable for plant growth, they have a negative impact on vegetation cover, thus lowering the SAVI values.
In recent times, the preservation and protection of wildlife have become an urgent necessity, especially in the light of misuse of natural resources and encroachment of wildlife. Economic development and wildlife conservation can be simultaneously achieved by following the principles, rules, and requirements of sustainable development for balanced usage of available resources.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/plants10091906

References

  1. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Desertification Synthesis; World Resources Institute: Washington, DC, USA, 2005.
  2. Referowska-Chodak, E. Pressures and threats to nature related to human activities in European urban and suburban forests. Forests 2019, 10, 765.
  3. Newton, A.C.; Cayuela, C.; Echeverría, C.; Armesto, J.J.; Del Castillo, R.F.; Golicher, D.; Geneletti, D.; Gonzalez-Espinosa, M.; Huth, A.; López-Barrera, F.; et al. Toward integrated analysis of human impacts on forest biodiversity: Lessons from Latin America. Ecol. Soc. 2009, 14, 2.
  4. Kapos, V.; Lysenko, I.; Lesslie, R. Assessing Forest Integrity and Naturalness in Relation to Biodiversity; Forest Resources Assessment Programme, Working Paper 54; Forestry Department FAO: Rome, Italy, 2002.
  5. Moustafa, A.A.; Abd El-Wahab, R.H.; Zaghloul, M.S. Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants in Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosystems of Egypt; Final Report; Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environmental Facilities (GEF): Giza, Egypt, 1999.
  6. Nakahama, N.; Hirasawa, Y.; Minato, T.; Hasegawa, M.; Isagi, Y.; Shiga, T. Recovery of genetic diversity in threatened plants through use of germinated seeds from herbarium specimens. Plant Ecol. 2015, 216, 1635–1647.
  7. Hussein, E.A.; Abd El-Ghani, M.M.; Hamdy, R.S.; Shalabi, L.F. Do anthropogenic activities affect floristic diversity and vegetation structure more than natural soil properties in hyper-arid desert environments? Diversity 2021, 13, 157.
  8. Sebastian, O.; Sibyll, S.; Wolfgang, L.; Dieter, G. Three centuries of dual pressure from land use and climate change on the biosphere. Environ. Res. Lett. 2015, 10, 044011.
  9. Titeux, N.; Henle, K.; Mihoub, J.B.; Regos, A.; Geijzendorffer, I.R.; Cramer, W.; Verburg, P.H.; Brotons, L. Biodiversity scenarios neglect future land-use changes. Glob. Chang. Biol. 2016, 22, 2505–2515.
  10. Pereira, H.M.; Navarro, L.M.; Martins, I.S. Global biodiversity change: The bad, the good, and the unknown. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 2012, 37, 25–50.
  11. Zhu, P.; Cao, W.; Huang, L.; Xiao, T.; Zhai, J. The impacts of human activities on ecosystems within China’s nature reserves. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6629.
  12. Wu, J.W.; Miao, C.Y.; Wang, Y.M.; Duan, Q.Y.; Zhang, X.M. Contribution analysis of the long-term changes in seasonal runoff on the Loess Plateau, China, using eight Budyko-based methods. J. Hydrol. 2017, 545, 263–275.
  13. Kong, D.; Miao, C.; Borthwick, A.G.; Lei, X.; Li, H. Spatiotemporal variations in vegetation cover on the Loess Plateau, China, between 1982 and 2013: Possible causes and potential impacts. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2018, 25, 13633–13644.
  14. Enright, N.J.; Miller, B.P.; Akhter, R. Desert vegetation and vegetation-environment relationships in Kirthar National Park, Sindh, Pakistan. J. Arid Environ. 2005, 61, 397–418.
  15. Abd El-Wahab, R.H. Plant assemblage and diversity variation with human disturbances in coastal habitats of the western Arabian Gulf. J. Arid Land 2016, 8, 787–798.
  16. Kotanska, M.; Buziak-Chmielowiec, E.; Dabrowska, A.; Gladysz, M.; Jakielaszek, A.; Wójcik, T. Human impact on the plant coverof four villages in SE Poland. Steciana 2015, 19, 115–121.
  17. TEEB. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Mainstreaming the Economics of Nature: A Synthesis of the Approach, Conclusions and Recommendations of TEEB; United Nations Environment Programme: Geneva, Switzerland, 2010; Volume 1, 47p.
  18. Koagne, M.D. Evaluation of Ecological Monitoring System of the Dynamics of Human Activities in the Benue National Park and Its Periphery; Engineer Memory of Water, Forests and Hunting, FASA, Dschang University: Dschang, Cameroon, 2009; 98p.
  19. Blicharska, M.; Grandin, U. Why protect biodiversity? Perspectives of conservation professionals in Poland. Int. J. Biodivers. Sci. Ecosyst. Serv. Manag. 2015, 11, 349–362.
  20. Dimobe, K.; Wala, K.; Batawila, K.; Dourma, M.; Woegan, Y.A. Analyse spatiale des différentes formes de pressions anthropiques dans la réserve de faune de l’Oti- Mandouri (Togo). VertigO—La Revue Électronique en Sciences de l’Environnement 2012, 14, 1–22. (In French)
  21. Cohen, J.E. Human population: The next half century. Science 2003, 302, 1172–1175.
  22. United Nations. World Population Prospects: The Revision, Key Findings and Advance Tables; Working Paper No., ESA/P/WP/; Population Division, Ed.; Department of Economic and Social Affairs: New York, NY, USA, 2017; 248p.
  23. Finn, H.C.; Stephens, N.S. The invisible harm: Land clearing is an issue of animal welfare. Wildl. Res. 2017, 44, 377–391.
  24. Baillie, J.E.; Hilton-Taylor, C.; Stuart, S.N. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: A Global Species Assessment; IUCN: Gland, Switzerland; Cambridge, UK, 2004; 191p.
  25. Foreman, D. Rewilding North America; Island Press: Washington, DC, USA, 2004; 312p.
  26. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Red List of Threatened Species. Gland, Switzerland: The World Conservation Union. 2006. Available online: https://www.iucnredlist.org (accessed on 1 April 2006).
  27. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Red List of Threatened Species (Gland, Switzerland: International Union for Conservation of Nature, 1999). 2011. Available online: http://www.iucnredlist.org (accessed on 31 December 2011).
  28. Brummitt, N.A.; Bachman, S.P.; Griffiths-Lee, J.; Lutz, M.; Moat, J.F.; Farjon, A.; Aletrari, E. Green plants in the red: A baseline global assessment for the IUCN sampled Red List Index for plants. PLoS ONE 2015, 10, e0135152.
  29. Qin, H.; Yang, Y.; Dong, S.; He, Q.; Jia, Y.; Zhao, L.; Xiang, J. Threatened species list of China’s higher plants. Biodivers. Sci. 2017, 25, 696.
  30. McKinney, M.L.; Lockwood, J.L. Biotic homogenization: A few winners replacing many losers in the next mass extinction. Trends Ecol. Evol. 1999, 14, 450–453.
  31. Hunter, P. The human impact on biological diversity: How species adapt to urban challenges sheds light on evolution and provides clues about conservation. EMBO Rep. 2007, 8, 316–318.
  32. Mack, R.N.; Simberloff, D.; Lonsdale, W.M.; Evans, H.; Clout, M.; Bazzaz, F.A. Biotic invasions: Causes, epidemiology, global consequences, and control. Ecol. Appl. 2000, 10, 689–710.
  33. Kassem, H.S.; Bello, A.R.S.; Alotaibi, B.M.; Aldosri, F.O.; Straquadine, G.S. Climate change adaptation in the delta Nile Region of Egypt: Implications for agricultural extension. Sustainability 2019, 11, 685.
  34. Turner, B.L., II; Lambin, E.F.; Reenberg, A. From the cover land change science special feature: The emergence of land change science for global environmental change and sustainability. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2007, 104, 20666–20671.
  35. Benzer, N. Using the geographical information system and remote sensing techniques for soil erosion assessment. Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2010, 19, 881–886.
  36. Zhang, X.; Hu, Y.; Zhuang, D.; Qi, Y.; Ma, X. Ndvi spatial pattern and its differentiation on the Mongolian plateau. J. Geogr. Sci. 2009, 19, 403–415.
  37. Kaspersen, P.S.; Fensholt, R.; Huber, S. A spatiotemporal analysis of climatic drivers for observed changes in Sahelian vegetation productivity (1982–2007). Int. J. Geophys. 2011, 2011, 715321.
  38. Hope, A.S.; Boynton, W.L.; Stow, D.A.; Douglas, D.C. Interannual growth dynamics of vegetation in the kuparuk river watershed, alaska based on the normalized difference vegetation index. Int. J. Remote Sens. 2003, 24, 3413–3425.
  39. Rhyma, P.P.; Norizah, K.; Hamdan, O.; Faridah-Hanum, I.; Zulfa, A.W. Integration of normalised different vegetation index and Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index for mangrove vegetation delineation. Remote Sens. Appl. Soc. Environ. 2020, 17, 100280.
  40. Ren, H.; Zhou, G.; Zhang, F. Using negative soil adjustment factor in soil-adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) for aboveground living biomass estimation in arid grasslands. Remote Sens. Environ. 2018, 209, 439–445.
  41. Senseman, G.M.; Bagley, C.F.; Tweddale, S.A. Correlation of rangeland cover measures to satellite-imagery-derived vegetation indices. Geocarto Int. 1996, 11, 29–38.
  42. Ahmad, F. Spectral vegetation indices performance evaluated for Cholistan Desert. J. Geogr. Reg. Plan. 2012, 5, 165–172.
  43. Seleem, T.A.; Aboulela, H.A. Seismicity and geologic structures indubitable in Wadi Hagul, north Eastern Desert, Egypt. Int. J. Geosci. 2011, 2, 55.
  44. Zahran, M.A.; Willis, A.J. The Vegetation of Egypt, 2nd ed.; Springer: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2009; 437p.
  45. Marie, A. A Model for the Use of GIS in Vegetation Mapping of a Phytogeographical Region in Egypt. Ph.D. Thesis, Faculty of Science Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, 2000; 206p.
  46. Abdelaal, M. Current status of the floristic composition in Wadi Hagul, northwest Suez gulf, Egypt. Rendiconti Lincei 2016, 28, 81–92.
  47. Salama, F.M.; Sayed, S.A.; Abd Abd EL-Gelil, A.A. Plant communities and floristic composition of the vegetation of Wadi Al-Assiuty and Wadi Habib in the Eastern Desert, Egypt. Not. Sci. Biol. 2014, 6, 196–206.
  48. Aronson, J.A. HALOPHA: A Data Base of Salt Tolerant Plants of the World; Whitehead, E.E., Ed.; Office of Arid Land Studies, University of Arizona: Tuscon, AZ, USA, 1989; 77p.
  49. Boulos, L. Flora of Egypt: Verbenaceae-Compositae); Al-Hadara Publishing: Cairo, Egypt, 2002; Volume III, 373p.
  50. Täckholm, V. Students’ Flora of Egypt, 2nd ed.; Cooperative Printing Company: Cairo, Egypt, 1974.
  51. Mashaly, I.A. On the phytosociology of Wadi Hagul, Red Sea coast. Egypt. J. Environ. Sci. 1996, 12, 31–54.
  52. Martiny, N.; Camberlin, P.; Richard, Y.; Philippon, N. Compared regimes of NDVI and Rainfall in semi-arid regions of Africa. Int. J. Remote Sens. 2006, 27, 5201–5223.
  53. Parmesan, C.; Hanley, M.E. Plants and climate change: Complexities and surprises. Ann. Bot. 2015, 116, 849–864.
  54. Irl, S.D.H.; Obermeier, A.; Beierkuhnlein, C.; Steinbauer, M.J. Climate controls plant life-form patterns on a high-elevation oceanic island. J. Biogeogr. 2020, 47, 2261–2273.
  55. Pausata, F.S.R.; Gaetani, M.; Messori, G.; Berg, A.; Souza, D.M.D.; Sage, R.; Demenocal, P. The greening of the Sahara: Past changes and future implications. One Earth 2020, 2, 235–250.
  56. Nafus, M.G.; Tuberville, T.D.; Buhlmann, K.A.; Todd, B.D. Precipitation quantity and timing affect native plant production and growth of a key herbivore, the desert tortoise, in the Mojave Desert. Clim. Chang. Responses 2017, 4, 4.
  57. Ruhm, J.; Böhnert, T.; Weigend, M.; Merklinger, F.F.; Stoll, A.; Quandt, D.; Luebert, F. Plant life at the dry limit—Spatial patterns of floristic diversity and composition around the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert. PLoS ONE 2020, 15, e0233729.
  58. Batanouny, K.H. Topography and plant life. In Plants in the Deserts of the Middle East; Batanouny, K.H., Ed.; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2001; pp. 25–29.
  59. Wang, J.; Wang, H.; Cao, Y.; Bai, Z.; Qin, Q. Effects of soil and topographic factors on vegetation restoration in opencast coal mine dumps located in a loess area. Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 22058.
  60. Baartman, J.E.M.; Temme, A.J.A.M.; Saco, P.M. The effect of landform variation on vegetation patterning and related sediment dynamics. Earth Surf. Process. Landf. 2018, 43, 2121–2135.
  61. Abd El-Galil, A. Floristic Composition and Eco Physiological Studies on Some Xerophytic Plants in Wadi El-Assiuty, Eastern Desert, Egypt. Master’s Thesis, Faculty of Science Assiut University, Asyut, Egypt, 2014; 330p.
  62. El-Amier, Y.A. Vegetation structure and soil characteristics of five common geophytes in desert of Egypt. Egypt. J. Basic Appl. Sci. 2016, 3, 172–186.
  63. Jafari, Z.; Kianian, M.; Aslani, F.; Akbarlo, M. Floristic composition, life forms and geographical distribution (case study: Lashgardar rangelands of Malayer, Iran). J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2016, 9, 140–148.
  64. Al Shaye, N.A.; Masrahi, Y.S.; Thomas, J. Ecological significance of floristic composition and life forms of Riyadh region, Central Saudi Arabia. Saudi J. Biol. Sci. 2020, 27, 35–40.
  65. Galal, T.M.; Fahmy, A.G. Plant diversity and community structure of Wadi Gimal protected area, Red Sea Coast of Egypt. Afr. J. Ecol. 2012, 50, 266–276.
  66. Abbas, M.S.; Afefe, A.A.; Hatab, E.-B.E.; Gaber, E.-S.I. Vegetation-Soil Relationships in Wadi El-Rayan Protected Area, Western Desert, Egypt. Jordan J. Biol. Sci. 2016, 9, 97–107.
  67. Bouallala, M.H.; Neffar, S.; Chenchouni, H. Vegetation traits are accurate indicators of how do plants beat the heat in dry lands: Diversity and functional traits of vegetation associated with water towers in the Sahara Desert. Ecol. Indic. 2020, 114, 106364.
  68. Mohler, C.L.; Liebman, M. Weed productivity and competition in sole crops and intercrops of barley and field pea. J. Appl. Ecol. 1987, 24, 685–699.
  69. Hurlbert, S. The non concept of species diversity: A critique and alternative parameters. Ecology 1971, 52, 577–586.
  70. Jost, L.; Chao, A. Diversity Analysis; Taylor & Francis: Milton Keynes, UK, 2008.
  71. Shaltout, S. Ecological Studies on the Alien Species in the Egyptian Flora. Master’s Thesis, Faculty of Science Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt, 2014; 206p.
  72. Assaeed, A.M.; Al-Rowaily, S.L.; El-Bana, M.I.; Hegazy, A.K.; Dar, B.A.; Abd-ElGawad, A.M. Functional traits plasticity of the invasive herb Argemone ochroleuca sweet in different arid habitats. Plants 2020, 9, 1268.
  73. Hegazy, A.K.; Soliman, M.I.; Mashaly, I.A. Perspectives on the biology of Heliotropium curassavicum in the Deltaic Mediterranean coast of Egypt. Arab Gulf J. Sci. Res. 1994, 12, 525–545.
  74. Gupta, S.; Narayan, R. Phenotypic plasticity of Chenopodium murale across contrasting habitat conditions in peri-urban areas in Indian dry tropics: Is it indicative of its invasiveness? Plant Ecol. 2012, 213, 493–503.
  75. Herpigny, B.; Dassonville, N.; Ghysels, P.; Mahy, G.; Meerts, P. Variation of growth and functional traits of invasive knotweeds (Fallopia spp.) in Belgium. Plant Ecol. 2012, 213, 419–430.
  76. Abd-ElGawad, A.M.; El Gendy, A.E.-N.G.; Assaeed, A.M.; Al-Rowaily, S.L.; Omer, E.A.; Dar, B.A.; Al-Taisan, W.A.A.; Elshamy, A.I. Essential oil enriched with oxygenated constituents from invasive plant Argemone ochroleuca exhibited potent phytotoxic effects. Plants 2020, 9, 998.
  77. Abd El-Ghani, M.M.; Salama, F.; Salem, B.; El Hadidy, A.; Abdel-Aleem, M. Biogeographical relations of a hyper arid desert flora in Eastern Egypt. Afr. J. Ecol. 2014, 52, 173–191.
More
© Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
This entry is offline, you can click here to edit this entry!
Video Production Service
Feedback