Climate change and hydrological regime in arid lands: Impacts of dams on the plant diversity, vegetation structure and soil in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

As the direct effects of climate change on the hydrological regime, Saudi Arabia has constructed more than 522 dams of various capacities as part of economic and environmental development. The study aims to assess the impact of dams on plant diversity, vegetation structure and soil in Saudi Arabia. Thirty-five stands were selected from the dams of different sizes of Saudi Arabia. Vegetation samples were established before (upstream) and after (downstream) the dam, and at the undammed (unaffected by the dam) to compare species diversity in the dam sites and undammed sites and to document the potential effects of dams on vegetation structure. A total of 151 plant species belonging to 36 families have been recorded. The vegetation associations are essentially shrubby with widespread annuals. Six novel associations were identified with the application of TWINSPAN, DCA, and CCA programs. They were named after the characteristic species as follows: VG I: Acacia gerrardii-Caralluma retrospiciens; VGII: Acacia tortilis-Maerua oblongifolia; VGIII: Lycium shawii-Farsetia aegyptiaca; VG IV: Farsetia stylosa-Cornulaca monocantha; VG V: Suaeda aegyptiaca-Salsola imbricata-Prosopis farcta and VGVI: Xanthium strumarium-Ochradenus baccatus. These plant communities are evaluated and discussed according to their floristic structure, vegetation diversity and edaphic variables. The riparian or streamside zones upstream and downstream that are periodically flooded contain highly diverse plant communities that are structured by flooding, which creates disturbance and acts as a dispersal mechanism for plants than undammed sites.