Abstract
Plant diversity is affected by spatial variables as well as soil physical and chemical variables. In this study, plant species and soil variables were investigated in five sites of Tabuk Province (Saudi Arabia), namely Aldesah, Alzetah, Alawz, Harra and Sharma, to understand if the spatially structured soil variables (pH, electric conductivity (EC), soil texture, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, phosphate, total organic matter (OM), bicarbonate and sodium) influence the plant diversity. A total of 163 plant species belong to 41 families and 124 genera were reported from the 5 sites. Diversity indices including the species richness (alpha), evenness, Brillouin, Menhinick, Margalef, equitability and estimated Chao-1 were significantly different among the studied sites with pronounced high values in Sharma and Aldesah. The highest value of beta diversity was reported in Aldesah (0.253) followed by Sharma (0.171). According to the principal coordinates of neighbourhood matrix (PCNM) analysis, 11 positive spatial vectors (variables) were found. However, after running the forward selection procedures (using 2 stopping criteria), only 3 spatial vectors were retained (PCNM 1 (adj–R2 = 0.043, F = 5.201, p = 0.004), PCNM 2 (adj–R2 = 0.027, F = 3.97, p = 0.006) and PCNM 3 (adj–R2 = 0.019, F = 3.36, p = 0.007)). The linear models between the selected spatial variables (PCNM vectors) and soil variables were produced to investigate their spatial structure. In the first model, the first PCNM 1 axis showed significant relationship with pH and potassium (adj–R2 = 0.175, p = 0.046). In the second model, the second PCNM 2 axis had a significant relationship with OM and sodium (adj–R2 = 0.561, p < 0.001). Lastly, sodium was the only factor significantly correlated with the third PCNM 3 axis (adj–R2 = 0.365, p = 0.002). In conclusion, the spatially structured variables of soil did not show strong influence on plant diversity except pH and potassium, which were correlated with PCNM 1, OM and sodium, which were correlated with PCNM 2, and sodium, which was correlated with PCNM 3.
Highlights
Saudi Arabia has a huge arid and semi-arid area of more than 2 million km2, containing different ecosystems and distinctive habitats harbouring a unique plant diversity [1,2,3], which has exclusive contribution to the flora of the arid region worldwide [3,4].Studying composition of plant communities is the cornerstone in classic ecological studies, since the structure of the communities is subjected to local and regional factors, as well as to biotic and abiotic factors [5,6,7]
Aldesah is an oasis, located in the east of Tabuk, and is characterized by dense and diverse plant communities; Alzetah is located towards the north of Tabuk and is characterized with several plateaus and sand dunes; Alawz is a mountainous site and can reach the altitude of 2400 m.a.s.l.; Harra is known for its unique igneous rocky structure and less vegetation cover; and Sharma is a coastal area with diverse plant species and life forms
A total of 163 plant species of 41 families and 124 genera were reported from all sites
Summary
Saudi Arabia has a huge arid and semi-arid area of more than 2 million km , containing different ecosystems and distinctive habitats harbouring a unique plant diversity [1,2,3], which has exclusive contribution to the flora of the arid region worldwide [3,4]. Studying composition of plant communities is the cornerstone in classic ecological studies, since the structure of the communities is subjected to local and regional factors, as well as to biotic and abiotic factors [5,6,7]. The ecological studies aimed to understand the dispersion of the plant communities through studying the spatial patterns and the underlying factors influencing the diversity [7,11,12,13]. There is immense deterioration in plant diversity, in the arid region, but in every region of the world, due to intensive anthropogenic activities, climate change, agriculture and urban development [10,14,15].
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