Range potentialities of a sector in the mediterranean coastal region in Egypt

Abstract

The Mediterranean coastal region in Egypt is the most promising part in the country for utilization to increase the grazing area. The sector under investigation is a part of this region, in which the plant communities were studied in a previous work (Migahid et al, 1971). The present investigation aims at evaluating the range potentiality of the different associations as well as the whole sector. These associations are recorded by numerous authors in the different parts of the Mediterranean region in Egypt. Therefore, the present study may give an idea about the range potentiality in the whole region. It was found that the area of full range capacity in winter represents 28 % of the total area of the sector. The various associations contribute different values to the total area of full range capacity. ThePlantago association has an area of full range capacity equal to 14 % of the whole sector. Such an area is nearly half that of the total area of full range capacity. This association has the highest range potentiality all over the year. The palatable perennials represent 48.6 % of the plant cover in this association. In other words, they cover about 34.1 % of the land occupied by this association, while the ephemerals cover only 10.5 %. In this association and that ofArtemisia, the characteristics of the association contribute the major part of the palatable species. On the other hand, the characteristics of the alliance growing in these associations represent the main part of the non-palatable species. In the associations ofSalsola, Anabasis andGymnocarpus, the characteristics of the alliance contribute the major part of the palatable species. On the contrary of thePlantago andArtemisia, the characteristics of the three other associations represent the greater part of the non-palatable species. In addition to the low range potentialities of these three associations in winter, their potentialities are greatly reduced in summer. This is referred to the low perennial cover of the palatable species in these associations. For example, the real cover of the palatable species in theAnabasis association is 15.4 % in winter which is reduced to 0.35 % in summer. The associations could be arranged according to their range potentialities in a descending manner as follows:Plantago, Artemisia, Salsola, Anabasis andGymnocarpus associations. One may consider that theArtemisia association is prior to that ofPlantago in summer months, in spite of the latter's high range potentiality. This is referred to thatArtemisia herba-alba, being the only perennial palatable plant with a real cover of 20.2 % in theArtemisia association, is a summer-green plant. This species is usually overgrazed, with low cover value, due to lack of proper range management.