Academic Journal of Plant Sciences 2 (1): 09-15, 2009 ISSN 1995-8986 IDOSI Publications, 2009

Vegetation Analysis of Wadi Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

1

Mohamed Taher Mousa and 2Nael Mohamed Fawzi

1
2

Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, UAE University, P.O. Box 17551, Al Ain, UAE

Flora & Phyto-Taxonomy Researches, Horticultural Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract: The present study deals with the vegetation analysis of wadi Al Ain. 55 stands were selected to represent the variations in different habitats. In each stand the present species were recorded and their cover was estimated visually according to cover dominance scale. 108 species belong to 90 genera and 37 families were recorded. The application of TWINSPAN classification technique on the frequency estimates of the 108 species recorded in 55 stands led to the recognition of six vegetation groups at the level three of classification; these groups are named after the first two dominant species as follows: Cenchrus ciliaris-Cynodon dactylon, Polypogon monspeliensis-Aerva javanica, Polypogon monspeliensis-Sporobolus spicatus, Aerva javanicaSalsola imbricate, Salsola imbricata and Salsola imbricate. Result of ordination using DECORANA indicates a reasonable segregation among these groups along the ordination axis 1 and 2. The effects of environmental factors and human impacts on species diversity and abundance of these communities were assessed. Key words: Vegetation % Wadi % Diversity % Ordination % UAE INTRODUCTION Little attention has been paid for the evaluation of current status of natural vegetation of the United Arab Emirates [1-3]. In addition, visual observation indicated that many habitats in UAE are subjected to over-grazing [4-7]. Satchell et al. [7] indicated that the land classification of UAE being the basis of a stratified scheme for vegetation sampling. El-Ghonemy [4]. described the climate, topography and soil of Al-Ain Oasis and gave a short account of the main plant communities with a detailed description of the monocotyledons taxa. Mousa [8] and Shaltout et al. [9] analyzed the vegetation of rangelands in the United Arab Emirates. The present study analyses the vegetation structure, physical components and land-use in the wadi Al Ain. The main objectives are determining the floristic composition of the different locations and habitats and identifying the main plant communities using the multivariate analysis. This study focuses our attention towards the species diversity of the rangelands in UAE. Study Area: The study area lies between latitude 23 and 25N and longitude 54 and 56E. Semi-mobile dunes are the dominant visual feature, with a relatively high water table resulting in evaporative crusts in many depressions. The sands remain fairly well demarcated between the coastal oolitics and the inland Aeolian [10]. Low rainfall and high temperatures characterize the climate of the UAE. Temperature rises up to 49C in July, while it can be as low as 5C in January, though this is rare on the coast because of the moderating influence of the sea. Most precipitation occurs between December and April, annual precipitation ranges between 87.3 and 180 mm, the range varied from year to anther [11]. Wadi Al Ain extends from Oman mountains at east through Al Ain City and ended in sand formations near Maqam in the west with total length of about 40 km MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty-Five stands each of 2050 m, which approximates the minimal area of the prevailing plant communities, were selected so as to represent the physiographic and physiognomic variation in wadi (Fig. 1). The main haitats are sand (wet.. water present.., little wet..still wet.., dry after wet), gravel and sandy outside wadi. In each stand the present species were recorded. Nomenclature was according to Western [5],

Corresponding Author: Mohamed Taher Mousa, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, UAE University, P.O. Box 17551, Al Ain, UAE

Academic J. Plant Sci., 2 (1): 09-15, 2009

Mandaville [12], Jongbloed [13] and Karim and Fawzi [14, 15]. Plant cover was estimated visually according to Braun-Blanquet [16] method for vegetation analysis. TWINSPAN and DECORANA were applied to the matrix of cover estimates of 108 species in 55 stands according to the computer programme of Hill [17, 18]. Species richness of each vegetation group was calculated as the average number of species per stand. Species turnover (beta diversity) was calculated as the ratio between the total number of species recorded in a certain vegetation cluster and its alpha-diversity [19]. ShannonWiener index (H' =-3Pi log Pi) for the relative evenness and Simpson index (C = 3Pi2) for the relative concentration of dominance were calculated for each vegetation group on the basis of relative cover (pi) of species [20].

The probable environmental significance of DECORANA axes was investigated by the simple linear correlation analysis and the forward selection of stepwise multiple regression. ANOVA test was applied to assess the significance of variation in community and soil variables in relation to the vegetation clusters. These techniques were according to SPSS software [21]. RESULTS The total number of species recorded in the 55 stands was 108 species belong to 29 families, list of the recorded species; families and their percentages are listed in appendix 1. Perennials total 63 species and annuals 41 species. Annual herbs and perennial grasses are the best represented (36 and 15 respectively) Thirty-five species had insignificant cover # 0.1 (Table 1). (Table 2)

Table1: Mean cover values (%) of the recorded species in the six vegetation groups generated after the application of TWINSPAN Vegetation group I II III IV V No. of stands Life 1 27 15 7 3 Species Form Heliotropium bacciferum PSL 1.7 1.3 2.0 2.0 Salsola imbricata PSL 3.9 3.0 5.0 5.0 Zygophyllum mandavillei PSL 2.1 0.2 2.5 2.0 Bassia muricata AH 0.5 0.5 0.5 Cenchrus ciliaris PG 4.0 3.1 3.0 Convolvulus pilosellifolius PSL 0.5 5.0 0.5 Cyperus conglomeratus PH 0.4 r 0.3 r Fagonia ovalifolia PSL 0.5 0.5 0.5 Malva parviflora AH 3.3 2.0 4.0 Prosopis juliflora PT 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 Zygophyllum simplex AH r r 0.3 Acacia tortilis PT 2.0 2.0 2.0 Aerva javanica PS 14.8 3.4 18.3 Amaranthus viridis AH 0.1 0.2 r Aristida adscensionis AG 0.5 0.5 0.5 Calotropis procera PS 0.3 r Citrullus colocynthis AH r 0.4 Crotolaria aegyptiaca PSL r 0.3 r Cynodon dactylon PG 4.0 3.0 2.7 Dichanthium foveolatum PG 2.0 2.0 2.0 Farsetia stylosa PS 2.0 1.0 1.0 Haloxylon salicornicum PS 1.0 2.0 1.0 Launaea mucronata FH r 0.3 r Panicum antidotale PG r 0.3 Sonchus oleraceus AH r 0.5 r Stipagrostis plumosa PG 2.0 2.0 Aizoon canariense FH 1.0 Amaranthus albus AH 0.5 0.2 Amaranthus graecizans AH r 0.3 Chenopodium murale AH r 0.2 Chloris barbata PG 3.0 1.0 Chrozophora oblongifolia PSL 0.4 r Convolvulus arvensis PH r 1.2 Convolvulus prostratus PSL 0.4 r Corchorus trilocularis AH 3.0 1.0 Cornulaca monacantha PS 0.5 Cyperus rotundus PH r 0.5 Echinochloa colona AG 0.5 0.5

VI 2 2.0 5.0 3.0 0.5 2.0 0.5 0.5 4.0 r

0.3 0.2

r 2.0 2.0

Total Out Of 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

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Academic J. Plant Sci., 2 (1): 09-15, 2009

Table1: Continue Vegetation group No. of stands Species Eragrostis barrelieri Eucalyptus sp. Euphorbia granulata Heliotropium digynum Heliotropium europaeum Indigofera intricata Launaea capitata Launaea procumbens Leptadenia pyrotechinica Lotus schimperi Neurada procumbens Paronychia arabica Pennisetum divisum Pennisetum orientale Phragmites australis Pluchea dioscoridis Polypogon monspeliensis Portulaca oleracea Prosopis cineraria Rumex dentatus Rumex vesicarius Schweinfurthia papilonacea Senna italica Solanum nigrum Spergularia diandra Sporobolus spicatus Tamarix arabica Trichodesma africanum Ziziphus spina-christi Abutilon pannosum Aeluropus lagopoides Astragalus eremophilus Calligonum comosum Centropodia forsskaolii Chenopodium album Chloris gayana Conocarpus lancifolius Conyza bonariensis Coronopus didymus Dactyloctenium aegyptium Dipterygium glaucum Eremobium aegyptiacum Ficus microcarpa nitida Forsskaolea tenacissima Grantia aucheri Indigofera arabica Lasiurus scindicus Leucaena leucocephala Lycopersicon esculentum Medicago sativa Melilotus indicus Monsonia nivea Ochradenus arabicus Oligomeris subulata Phoenix dactylifera Physalis minima Physorrhynchus chamaerapistrum Plantago ciliata Polycarpaea repens Reseda muricata Rhazya stricta Salvadora persica Sisymbrium irio

Life Form AG PT AH PSL AH PSL FH FH PS AH AH AH PG PG PG PS AG AH PT AH AH AH PSL AH AH PG PT PSL PT AH PG AH PS PG AH PG PT PH AH AG PS AH PT PSL AH PH PG PT AH AH AH PH PS AH PT AH PH AH PH PH PS PS AH

I 1

II 27 0.5 0.3 0.2 1.4 r r 0.4

III 15 0.5

IV 7

V 3

VI 2

0.2 0.4 2.0 r 0.5 r 3.0 r 2.0 0.2 2.0 2.0 0.5 1.0 21.6 0.5 r 2.0 1.0 1.0

1.7

0.4

r 1.7 3.0 2.0 20.4 0.5 2.0 1.4 3.0 0.7 1.5 r 14.2 1.2 2.0 r r

2.0 r

1.0 r r r 13.4 0.5 0.5 2.0 r

2.1

r r r r 3.0 r r r 4.0 3.0 r r 4.0 r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r r 3.0 r r

Total Out Of 6 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

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Academic J. Plant Sci., 2 (1): 09-15, 2009

Table1: Continue Vegetation group I II III IV V VI Total No. of stands Life 1 27 15 7 3 2 Out Species Form Of 6 Sonchus asper AH r 1 Sporobolus arabicus PG r 1 Taverniera cuneifolia PS r 1 Tragus racemosus AH 3.0 1 Tribulus omanense PH 0.5 1 Tribulus terrestris PH r 1 Zilla spinosa PS r 1 AH: annual herb, AG: annual grass, FH: facultative herb, PH: perennial herb, PG: perennial grass, PSL: perennial shrublet, PS: perennial shrub, PT: perennial tree and r: rare species Table 2: Life forms and cycles of the six groups Vegetation groups -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 2 3 4 5 6 11 29 12 6 9 6 4 5 1 1 11 33 17 7 10 6 1 3 3 1 1 5 4 3 2 11 9 3 3 3 2 11 9 6 5 6 1 5 7 7 1 5 1 5 5 3 1 7 37 47 30 23 14

Life form Annuals Total Facultative Perennials

Herbs Grasses Herbs Herbs Grasses Shrublets Shrubs Trees

Total Table 3:

Total 36 5 41 4 11 15 13 14 10 63

Variation in some plant community attributes (mean stander deviation) of the 6 vegetation types generated after application of TWINSPAN. * Tested by P2, ** Tested by ANOVA Vegetation groups ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Diversity attribute 1 2 3 4 5 6 F-value No. of stands 1.00 26.00 16.00 7.00 3.00 2.00 Total species* 19.00 73.00 47.00 30.00 26.00 21.00 32.40 Species richness** 19.00 13.58 10.63 8.71 13.00 12.00 1.13 7.40 4.70 4.20 3.00 9.90 Species turnover** 1.00 2.69 1.73 1.80 2.00 1.75 0.96 1.30 0.60 0.30 Relative evenness** 2.94 2.46 2.27 2.06 2.54 2.28 1.11 0.55 0.45 0.48 0.24 0.94 Relative concentration of 19.00 40.20 10.60 16.50 13.00 12.00 0.70 dominance** 76.30 4.70 22.10 3.00 9.90 Total cover (%) 11.00 108.20 80.10 48.80 23.00 25.50 Total frequency 19.00 37 3.00 1.59 62.00 39.00 24.00 -

Six vegetation groups (VG) were generated at the level three of TWINSPAN; the results of applications of DECORANA indicated a reasonable segregation among these groups (Fig. 2). The first DCA axis revealed a clear moisture and land form gradient from wetted sandy habitat dominated by Cenchrus ciliaris-Cynodon dactylon (I), the vegetation cluster dominated by Polypogon monspeliensis-Aerva javanica (II) has the widest distribution about 50% of the total stands and was well represented moisten sandy soil, cluster dominated by Polypogon monspeliensis-Sporobolus spicatus represent

about 30% of the total sampled stands and represent clearly dry sandy part of wadi, Aerva javanica-Salsola imbricata, Salsola imbricata and Salsola imbricata represent outside wadi. (VG 1) which inhabits the highly wetted sandy part of the wadi has the highest species richness and relative evenness (19 species standG1 and 2.94 respectively) and the lowest value of total species and species turnover (19 species and 1 respectively); VG 2 which inhabits little wet part of wadi has highest number of species, species turnover, relative concentration of dominance, total cover

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Academic J. Plant Sci., 2 (1): 09-15, 2009

OM AN

Ras Al Khaimah
N

Abu Dhabi Dubai Sharjah Arabian Gulf Ajman Umm Al-Quawain Ras Al-Khaimah Al-Fujairah
ABU DHABI

Umm Al Qwain Ajman Sharjah Dubai

25o

Fujairah 25o

Al Ain 24o

OMAN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Selected location

23o

SAUDI
52 o

ARABIA
53o 54o 55o

50 km

56 o

Fig. 1:.Location map of the United Arab Emirates showing the study area

0
500

X2

400

Level of classification

VG 1 VG 6
300

200

Gulf of Oman
24o
VG 5
200 300

52o

53o

54o

55o

56o

VG 2

100

VG 4 VG 3

3
-300 -200 -100

0 0 100 400

X1
-100

II

III

IV

VI

-200

Fig. 2: The relationship between the six vegetation groups segregated after the application of TWINSPAN classification technique, and their centroides on the first and second axes of DECORANA

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Academic J. Plant Sci., 2 (1): 09-15, 2009

and total frequency (73 species, 2.69, 40.2, 108.2 and 373, respectively). VG 3 which inhabits dry part of wadi has the lowest relative concentration of dominance (10.6). VG 4 which inhabits outside part of wadi has the lowest value of species richness and relative evenness (8.71 species/stand and 2.06 respectively) (Table 3). DISCUSSION Spatial distribution of plant species and communities over small geographic area in desert ecosystems is related to heterogonous topography and land pattern [22, 23]. In the area of the present study, six vegetation groups are generated after the application of two way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) to the cover estimate of 108 species in 55 stands. The application of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) to the same set of data supports the distinction between the 6 vegetation groups. Some groups are dominated by Cenchrus ciliaris-Cynodon dactylon, represent high moisture content of soil as a result of water supplies comes from near station in case of emergency. Polypogon monspeliensis-Aerva javanica and Polypogon monspeliensis-Sporobolus spicatus, occupies vast area of the wadi have little water supply and its soil still moisten in time of study, salt cover this area after water evaporation. Aerva javanica-Salsola imbricata dominated the area of dry land in the wadi. Salsola imbricata dominated outside part of wadi characterized by sandy formation. Most of these vegetation groups were identified by El-Ghonemy [4], Zahran [6], Mousa [8] and Shaltout et al. [9], some of these groups are comparable to those identified in the central and eastern Arabia [24, 25]. Comparing the present vegetation groups with those of neighboring countries, we that most of them are comparable to those described by Abbadi and El-Sheikh [26]. The pattern of vegetation along wadi course is determined by the nature of drainage system i.e. river bed gradient and stream velocity, sediments grain size, ground water level, frequency of overflow, distance from the wadi bed. Soil texture controls distribution of plant species by affecting moisture availability, ventilation and distribution of plant roots. The role of soil moisture, as a key element in the distribution of plant species, is described by El-Sheikh and Yousef [27] in Al-Kharg springs. properties of the wadi deposits are the most important factors affecting the distribution of accidental

(precipitation dependent) vegetation. Topographic features of the wadi and depth of the wadi deposited are the main environmental variables that characterize the permanent (ground water dependent) vegetation, so vegetation distribution is largely dedicated by environmental physiographic gradients that control the availability in an extremely arid desert [28] Vesey-Fitzgerald [29] classed the whole group of perennials in the eastern Arabia as halophytes which vegetate during the hot dry months on subsoil moisture. This case is represented in the present study by the groups dominated by Halocnemum salicornium and Arthrocnemum macrostachym. No doubt that the species that characterize the other groups are not strictly halophytes which contrasted with the Vesey-Fitzgeralds generalization. Plant growth in the study area shows remarkable fluctuations. The notable aspect of these fluctuations is primarily due to the growth of annuals and ephemerals that are drought evades. They usually appear in late winter and early spring in profuse number of individuals. Dominance of perennials could be attributed to the fact that favorable moisture balance and the higher content of silt and clay in the soil. On a relative scale, the present study indicates that the sandy habitat groups seem to be of higher species diversity (in terms of total number of species and species richness) and abundance (in terms of total cover) than the gravel. No doubt, under the harsh conditions of very hot and dry conditions, sand formation keep more moisture than the gravel plain of skeletal soil. REFERENCES 1. Oatham, M.P., M.K. Nicholls and I.R. Swingland, 1995a. Manipulation of vegetation communities on the Abu Dhabi rangelands. I. The effects of irrigation and release from long term grazing. Biodiv. Conser., 4: 696-709. Oatham, M.P., M.K. Nicholls and I.R. Swingland, 1995b. Manipulation of vegetation communities on the Abu Dhabi rangelands. II. The effects of top soiling and drop irrigation and release from long term Grazing, Biodiv. Conser., 4: 710-718. Oatham, M.P., 1997. Water relations of Zygophyllum hamianse, Heliotropium kotschyi and Panicum turgidum. Arid Envir., 35: 95-110. El-Ghonemy, A.A., 1985. Ecology and Flora of Al-Ain Region. I. Ecology and Monocotyledons. Publications of UAE University, Al-Ain, pp: 204.

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17. Hill, M.O., 1979a. TWINSPAN-A FORTRAN Program for Arranging Multivariate Data in an Ordered TwoWay Table by Classification of the Individuals and Attributes. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, pp: 52. 18. Hill, M.O., 1979b. DECORANA-A FORTRAN Program for Detrended Correspondence Analysis and Reciprocal Averaging. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, pp: 90. 19. Whittaker, R.H., 1972. Evolution and measurement of species diversity. Taxon, 21: 213-251. 20. Magurran, A.E., 1988. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. Chapman and Hall, London, pp: 179. 21. Nie, N.H., C.H. Hull, J.G. Jenkins, K. Steinbrenner and D.H. Bent, 2001. SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Science. New York: McGraw Hill Inc. 22. Kassas, M., 1952. Habitat and plant communities of the Egyptian deserts. I. Introduction. J. Ecol., 40:342351. 23. Al Wadie, H., 2002. Floristic composition and vegetation of wadi Talha, Aseer mountains, south west Saudi Arabia, J. Biolog. Sci., 2(5): 285-288. 24. Shaltout, K.H. and M.A. Madi, 1996. Analysis of raudhas vegetation in central Saudi Arabia. J. Arid Envir., 34: 441-454. 25. Shaltout, K.H., E.F. El-Halawany and M.M. ElGarawany, 1997. Coastal lowland vegetation of Eastern Saudi Arabia. Biodiversity and Conservation, 6: 1027-1040. 26. Abbadi, G.A. and M.A. El-Sheikh, 2002. Vegetation analysis of Failaka Island (Kuwait), J. Arid Env., 50: 153-165. 28. Ali, M.M. and M.A. Badri, L.M. Hassan and I.V. Springuel, 1997. Effect of phsioeographical factors on desert vegetation, Wadi Allaqi Biosphere Reserve, Egypt: A multivariate analysis, Ecologie, 28 (2) 119-128. 29. Vesey-Fitzgerald, D.F., 1957. The vegetation of the central and eastern Arabia. J. Ecol., 45: 779-798.

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