Ecological Investigation of Three Geophytes in the Deltaic Mediterranean Coast of Egypt

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the ecological features of three geophytes namely Asparagus stipularis, Cyperus capitatus and Stipagrostis lanata which grow naturally in the Nile Delta coast of Egypt. C. capitatus and S. lanata are growing in non-saline sandy soils and can tolerate drought stress while, A. stipularis is growing in saline and non-saline sandy and calcareous clay soils and can tolerate drought and salt stress. Multivariate analysis of the vegetation of 100 sampled stands supporting growth of the three geophytic species in the study area led to the recognition of four vegetation groups namely, (A) Alhagi graecorum, (B) Cyperus capitatus, (C) Lycium schweinfurthii var. schweinfurthii-Asparagus stipularis and (D) Juncus acutus subsp. acutus. Vegetationally, the vegetation groups associated with the three species can be distinguished into two community types. The first one is psammophytic community comprising vegetation groups A and B that may represent the non-saline sand formations (flats, hummocks and dunes). The second one is halophytic community including vegetation groups C and D that may represent the saline sand flats and salt marsh habitat types, respectively. Sodium adsorption ratio, electrical conductivity, sodium cation, chlorides, silt and sand fractions, pH value, moisture content, bicarbonates and available phosphorus were the most effective soil factors that controlling the abundance and distribution of the plant communities associated with the investigated geophytes. This study showed the ecological features of the selected geophytes in terms of their habitats, associated plant communities and the most edaphic factors controlling their richness and distribution in the study area.