An Assessment of Biodiversity in Tabuk Region of Saudi Arabia: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Biodiversity refers to all of the all types of species in one geographical region or ecosystem. It consists of plants, animals, bacteria, and other life forms. As an estimate, around 1.7 million species are on record globally and approximately 15,000–18,000 new species are added each year. Global climate change is accelerating species extinction due to habitat destruction. Further, various abiotic and biotic environmental factors are limiting the pattern of biodiversity in a geographical region. A change in species category from endangered to extinction occurs due to their physiological, morphological, and life history pattern, which limits them to a specific niche. Biodiversity is very important for energy production and flow, bioremediation, and biogeochemical cycling of nutrients in terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems and vice versa. It is further required for human existence in the form of food, fibers, medicines, and biological control. Therefore, consistent monitoring, assessment, and conservation of ecological habitats and diversity of flora and fauna of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is the need of the hour. In this article, we are presenting an assessment based upon the literature survey on the biodiversity of Tabuk region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A comprehensive study on the biodiversity of plants, animals and microorganisms of the Tabuk region (Tabuk city, Tayma, Haql, Sharma, Duba, Al Wajh and Umluj, Al Zetah, Al Beda’a, etc.) are included in this review. This study will be a landmark as it is conducted at the inception of NEOM project in Tabuk region. It will help the authorities to enhance the native green cover, decrease desertification, regenerate biodiversity in natural environments, and advance the quality of life, to achieve the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and VISION 2030. However, studies and investigations on Tabuk biodiversity are still limited and need further exploration. Recently, a joint work between King Salman Royal Natural Reserve (KSRNR) and Department of Biology of University of Tabuk is underway to monitor the baseline data of flora and fauna of this region.

Monitoring West Africa Sanctuary Encroachment and Degradation through Remote Sensing: A Focus on National Parks in Nigeria

“…The post-interpretation process included the development of LULC maps and the identification of their alterations. In the current study, the categorization assessment was employed as a method of change detection [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]. After that, the overlay images of land use and land cover over the past 35 years were put into an adjustment matrix.…”

The Bio-herbicidal potential of some wild plants with allelopathic effects from Tabuk Region on selected local weed species

“…Weeds are considered one of the plant parasites that interfere with economic crop growth and development and cause eventually significant yield loss (Abdallah et al, 2021;Ansari et al, 2022;Khamare et al, 2022). Weeds compete with crops on light, nutrients, water, and space that diminishes crop growth and yield.…”

Floristic Diversity of Jabal Al-Ward, Southwest Tabuk Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

“…Al Mutairi [9] reported one hundred and sixty-three species assigned to fortyone families at five sites (Aldesah, Alzetah, Alawz, Harra and Sharma). Ansari et al [18] have estimated the identified species cited in the different studies of Tabuk and mentioned two hundred twenty-seven species in their comprehensive review. These species belonged to 157 genera and 45 angiosperms' families, including 12 endangered species.…”