Abstract
Due to drought, low soil fertility, little rain fall, elevated levels of evapotranspiration, salinization of the soil and a lack of ground water, the problem of desertion of agricultural areas has developed in KSA in recent years (e.g. Tabuk region). In the Saudi Arabia, agricultural land abandonment’s negative impact on the composition of perennial vegetation, soil quality, and the structure of population was investigated. In the several abandoned fields of the research region, eleven species of perennial plants pertaining to nine families, eleven genera were found. Following the use of the ordination of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), four plant communities were found. Zygophyllum hamiense, Prosopis farcta, Seidlitzia rosmarinus, Traganum nudatum. The indicators were Pulicaria undulate, Calligonum comosum. Populations of Calligonum comosum and Zygophyllum hamiense were found to be either negatively skewed or inversely J-shaped, indicating fast-growing populations with strong reproductive potential, according to demographic research. Traganum nudatum, Prosopis farcta and S. Rosmarinus, on the other hand, have a nearly symmetrical size-frequency distribution (like a bell in shape). The current research highlights the importance of managing deserted agricultural fields in order to restore and improve range lands having adapted native plants to regional conditions like little water demand.
Highlights
The highest mean density was found in Prosopis farcta (35.84 ± 12.3 plants/25 m2) among the species studied, Zygophyllum hamiense (18.57 plants/25 m2)
The four communities were clearly separated, indicating that the succulent halophytes bushes were represented on the first axis of the detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) diagram (i.e. Zygophyllum hamiense-Seidlitzia rosmarinus and Traganum nudatum-Seidlitzia rosmarinus)
The Calligonum comosum-Pulicaria undulata community was separated on the right side of the DCA
Summary
Several uncultivated plant species instinctively occupy fertile grounds with which plants compete for space, light, and nutrients [2]. Such species are agronomically thought-out a pest, but they have a fundamental ecological role through making a significant contribution to biodiversity support. The abandonecy of agricultural lands revert to their former vegetation through natural succession or passive restoration. Passive restoration is a significant method of rehabilitating abandoned fields while improving biodiversity and ecological services [4]. Long-term changes in land use have an impact on vegetation structure and habitat. Grass and woody plant species, for example, are reliant on land-use disturbance regimes in abandoned fields, which are termed semi-natural environments. Like the soil seed bank or group of biogeographic species, management style, the history of land-use, and might have a greater impact on plant variety [9]
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