Vegetation analysis and species diversity of the invasive plant Heliotropium curassavicum growing naturally in heterogeneous habitats

Marium Hamdy,El‐Sayed F El‐Halawany,Yasser A El‐Amier,Ashraf Elsayed

doi:10.25081/jp.2022.v14.7377

Abstract

Heliotropium curassavicum is an invasive annual weed plant that spreads quickly, especially on disturbed saline soils and coastal locations in arid and semiarid habitats. This study aimed to assess the vegetation composition of invasive plant H. curassavicum. The soil factors and associated species of this plant were studied in natural coastal desert habitats (northern Nile delta coast) and inland habitats (farrow land and canal bank habitats). The floristic composition revealed the occurence of 109 species (67 annuals, 2 biennials and 40 perennials) belonging to 86 genera and related to 29 families. Asteraceae, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Fabaceae (53.21 % of all species reported) are the most abundant families. Therophytes and cryptophytes are the mainly abundant life forms and the Mediterranean chorotype is the most representative. The cluster analysis of stands expressed four vegetational groups (A, B, C and D). The most dominant species with group A was Polypogon viridis, with group B was H. curassavicum, with group C (the largest one) was Cynodon dactylon and H. curassavicum and with group D was Phragmites australis. Diversity indices expressed more richness and evenness of vegetation group B (H. curassavicum communities). The major soil factors influencing the studied invasive species are soil texture, WHC, organic carbon, cations (Na+, K+, Ca++, and Mg++), and SAR.

Highlights

Invasive plants have been identified as one of the most severe environmental issues globally (Barney et al, 2013)
Human intervention enforces weedy plants to displace native plants in the reclaimed regions, that are considered as transitional habitats between old cultivated lands and deserts (Baessler & Klotz, 2006)
The current study looks at the vegetation in the Nile Delta that is dominated by Heliotropium curassavicum

Summary

Introduction

Invasive plants have been identified as one of the most severe environmental issues globally (Barney et al, 2013). In Egypt, the growing population necessitates the expansion of agricultural land. This has been accomplished in recent decades by the reclamation of arid regions (Hegazy et al, 2004). Human intervention enforces weedy plants to displace native plants in the reclaimed regions, that are considered as transitional habitats between old cultivated lands and deserts (Baessler & Klotz, 2006). The involvement of bioactive phytochemical constituents (allelochemicals) into chemical weapons of invasion is one of the processes of plant invasion (Zheng et al, 2015). Allelochemicals are a class of beneficial secondary metabolites that includes phenolic acids, glucosinolates, flavonoids, and essential oils (Einhellig, 1995; El-Amier et al, 2014b)

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Conclusion