Moisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Wetlands are represented in Saudi Arabia in the form of mangrove, sabkha, and wadi (valleys) systems, and these habitats are considered as a sanctuary for biodiversity. The present study aimed to identify different vegetation groups in a wetland site in Wadi Hargan near Alqurainah, Riyadh, Saudi Ara...

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Autores principales:	Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad, Abdulaziz M. Assaeed, Saud L. Al-Rowaily, Basharat M. Dar, Jahangir A. Malik
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	wetlands salinity conservation acacias desert ecosystem <i>Rhazya stricta</i> Biology (General) QH301-705.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/27ec9b99335b44a59b291f640e217dc0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:27ec9b99335b44a59b291f640e217dc02021-11-25T17:22:55ZMoisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia10.3390/d131105871424-2818https://doaj.org/article/27ec9b99335b44a59b291f640e217dc02021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/11/587https://doaj.org/toc/1424-2818Wetlands are represented in Saudi Arabia in the form of mangrove, sabkha, and wadi (valleys) systems, and these habitats are considered as a sanctuary for biodiversity. The present study aimed to identify different vegetation groups in a wetland site in Wadi Hargan near Alqurainah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and to relate different plant communities and plant diversity to soil moisture, salinity, and other soil properties. Floristic analysis and vegetation structure were investigated within 15 stands along the wadi and were subjected to correlation analysis with soil factors via multivariate analysis. The floristic survey revealed the presence of 111 plant species belonging to 39 families. The most represented families were Asteraceae, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, and Papilionaceae, which accounted for the largest proportion (55.4%) of the total species. The therophytes were the dominant life form, where they were represented by 46.9% of the total number of species. The application of cluster analysis (TWINSPAN) to the importance value of each species based on the relative cover and density led to the recognition of four plant communities: (A) <i>Phragmites australis</i>—<i>Tamarix nilotica</i> community, (B) <i>Zygophyllum coccineum</i>—<i>Acacia gerrardii</i> community, (C) <i>Lycium shawii</i>—<i>Zygophyllum coccineum</i> community, and (D) <i>Rhazya stricta</i> community. The soil analysis and correlation test revealed significant variations in the content of salinity, moisture, CO<sub>3</sub>, Cl, SO<sub>4</sub>, Ca, Mg, and Na among the plant communities. It can be concluded that soil moisture and salinity factors were the fundamental driving forces for plant community structure in the studied wadi. The wadi was moderately grazed, mainly by camels; thereby, the invasive plant <i>Rhazya stricta</i> dominated the central region of the wadi. Also, human interference was observed at the end of the wadi, where some weeds sprouted such as <i>Malva parviflora</i>. The presence of those two rare wetland species, <i>Adiantum capillus-veneris</i> and <i>Ficus salicifolia,</i> in the study area, showed the unique properties of the studied wadi and necessitate an urgent biodiversity conservation action to protect its natural vegetation from overgrazing and human interference.Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawadAbdulaziz M. AssaeedSaud L. Al-RowailyBasharat M. DarJahangir A. MalikMDPI AGarticlewetlandssalinityconservationacaciasdesert ecosystem<i>Rhazya stricta</i>Biology (General)QH301-705.5ENDiversity, Vol 13, Iss 587, p 587 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	wetlands salinity conservation acacias desert ecosystem <i>Rhazya stricta</i> Biology (General) QH301-705.5
spellingShingle	wetlands salinity conservation acacias desert ecosystem <i>Rhazya stricta</i> Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad Abdulaziz M. Assaeed Saud L. Al-Rowaily Basharat M. Dar Jahangir A. Malik Moisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
description	Wetlands are represented in Saudi Arabia in the form of mangrove, sabkha, and wadi (valleys) systems, and these habitats are considered as a sanctuary for biodiversity. The present study aimed to identify different vegetation groups in a wetland site in Wadi Hargan near Alqurainah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and to relate different plant communities and plant diversity to soil moisture, salinity, and other soil properties. Floristic analysis and vegetation structure were investigated within 15 stands along the wadi and were subjected to correlation analysis with soil factors via multivariate analysis. The floristic survey revealed the presence of 111 plant species belonging to 39 families. The most represented families were Asteraceae, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, and Papilionaceae, which accounted for the largest proportion (55.4%) of the total species. The therophytes were the dominant life form, where they were represented by 46.9% of the total number of species. The application of cluster analysis (TWINSPAN) to the importance value of each species based on the relative cover and density led to the recognition of four plant communities: (A) <i>Phragmites australis</i>—<i>Tamarix nilotica</i> community, (B) <i>Zygophyllum coccineum</i>—<i>Acacia gerrardii</i> community, (C) <i>Lycium shawii</i>—<i>Zygophyllum coccineum</i> community, and (D) <i>Rhazya stricta</i> community. The soil analysis and correlation test revealed significant variations in the content of salinity, moisture, CO<sub>3</sub>, Cl, SO<sub>4</sub>, Ca, Mg, and Na among the plant communities. It can be concluded that soil moisture and salinity factors were the fundamental driving forces for plant community structure in the studied wadi. The wadi was moderately grazed, mainly by camels; thereby, the invasive plant <i>Rhazya stricta</i> dominated the central region of the wadi. Also, human interference was observed at the end of the wadi, where some weeds sprouted such as <i>Malva parviflora</i>. The presence of those two rare wetland species, <i>Adiantum capillus-veneris</i> and <i>Ficus salicifolia,</i> in the study area, showed the unique properties of the studied wadi and necessitate an urgent biodiversity conservation action to protect its natural vegetation from overgrazing and human interference.
format	article
author	Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad Abdulaziz M. Assaeed Saud L. Al-Rowaily Basharat M. Dar Jahangir A. Malik
author_facet	Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad Abdulaziz M. Assaeed Saud L. Al-Rowaily Basharat M. Dar Jahangir A. Malik
author_sort	Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad
title	Moisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
title_short	Moisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
title_full	Moisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
title_fullStr	Moisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
title_full_unstemmed	Moisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
title_sort	moisture and salinity drive the vegetation composition of wadi hargan, riyadh, saudi arabia
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/27ec9b99335b44a59b291f640e217dc0
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Moisture and Salinity Drive the Vegetation Composition of Wadi Hargan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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