Floristic diversity and vegetation analysis of Wadi Al-Noman, Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Wadi Al-Noman in Mecca is one of the most important wadis. It was included among the most important water sources where the springs and wells of Zobida run and it provides drinking water for the holy places in Mecca and visitors to the Kaaba and Arafat regions. The present study provides an analysis of floristic composition, vegetation types, and structure and species distribution at 20 sites, emphasising the environmental factors that affect species distribution. A total of 126 species representing 39 families of vascular plants are recorded. Fabaceae, Poaceae, and Boraginaceae are the largest families, and therophytes and chamaephytes are the most frequent, indicating a typical desert life-form spectrum. The floristic composition of the different geomorphologic landscape units shows differences in species richness. The highest species richness value (23 species stand -1 ) is recorded in the wadi bed. The lowest species richness value (18 species stand -1 ) is recorded in the wadi plateau and fissures. Chorological analysis revealed that 52% of the studied species are bioregional, native to the Saharo-Arabian-Sudano-Zambezian region. After application of the TWINSPAN, DCA, and CCA programs 4 vegetation groups were identified, and they were named after the characteristic species as follows: (I) Aristolochia bracteolata-Cucumis prophetarum; (II) Calotropis procera-Acacia hamulosa-Caralluma russeliana; (III) Acacia abyssinica-Acacia hamulosa-Tephrosia desertorum; and (IV) Argemone ochroleuca-Senna italica. The associations and speciation of these Wadi Al-Noman plants demonstrate significant variation in pH, electrical conductivity, soil mineral contents, and human impact.

Characteristics of desert vegetation along four transects in the aridenvironment of southern Egypt

“…Generally, the vegetation of this transect was highly affected by water content, gravels, clay, silt, Mg +2 , and SO 4 -2 . Our results were partially in agreement with those of Li et al (2004) in the Shapotou-Jingtai Region on the southeastern fringe of the Tengger Desert of China, and those of Abdel Khalik et al (2013) in Wadi Al-Noman of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.…”

Floristic Compositions and Its Affinities to Phytogeographical Regions in Wadi Khulab of Jazan, Saudi Arabia

“…5). These results agree with chorological characteristic in other parts of Saudi Arabia [29] on Khulais region, [30] on Wadi Al-Noman and [31] on Wadi Arar. The results indicate that Saharo-Arabian elements predominate the studied area (66 species, 55.5%) because this area mainly deserted and located within the belt of Saharo-Sindian also it is a part of that belt between Saharo and Sindian.…”

Applying a hydrogeomorphic channel classification to understand spatial patterns in riparian vegetation

“…Although the channel classification examined here has not been previously applied in vegetation studies, differences in species and functional group composition between these channel types have been described for dryland stream networks around the world. Distinctive vegetation types occur in the equivalents of bedrock, incised alluvium and braided channels from ephemeral watersheds throughout Saudi Arabia (Abdel Khalik, El‐Sheikh, & El‐Aidarous, ; Al Wadie, ; Alatar, El‐Sheikh, & Thomas, ; Al‐Rowaily, El‐Bana, & Al‐Dujain, ; El Ghazali, Al‐Soqeer, & El Tayeb, ), Egypt (Ali, Dickinson, & Murphy, ; Kassas & Imam, ) and Algeria (Benhouhou, Boucheneb, Kerzabi, & Sassi, ), as well as along intermittent and perennial rivers in South Africa (Van Coller, Rogers, & Heritage, ) and Italy (Angiolini et al., ; Nucci, Angiolini, Landi, & Bacchetta, ). Floristic differences between bedrock with alluvium and incised alluvium channels have been observed in ephemeral stream networks of the southwestern USA (Shaw & Cooper, ) and northern Africa (Benhouhou et al., ; Kassas & Imam, ).…”