Vegetation Composition of the Halophytic Grass Aeluropus lagopoides Communities within Coastal and Inland Sabkhas of Saudi Arabia.

Basharat A Dar,Saud L Al-Rowaily,Abdulaziz M Assaeed,Ahmed M Abd-Elgawad,Abdullah A Al-Doss

doi:10.3390/plants11050666

Basharat A Dar, Saud L Al-Rowaily + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11050666

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Abstract

Sabkhas are unique, highly saline ecosystems, where specially adapted plants can grow. Aeluropus lagopoides (L.) Thwaites is a halophytic forage plant growing in salt marsh habitats of inland and coastal sabkhas of Saudi Arabia. The present study provides an analysis of vegetation composition and distribution of the A. lagopoides community in five different regions within Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the environmental factors that affect species distribution. The floristic survey revealed the presence of 48 species, belonging to 26 families. Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Mimosaceae, Zygophyllaceae, and Asteraceae are the largest families (50% of total species). Phanerophyte, followed by chamaephytes, are the most frequent forms, indicating a typical saline desert life-form spectrum. The vegetation analysis revealed the dominance of A. lagopoides in all locations, where it was the most dominant species in Qareenah, Qaseem, and Salwa locations, and the second most dominant species in Jouf and Jizan locations. The flourishment of this halophytic grass within a wide soil range in sabkhas revealed its adaptability to the harsh environment, which could be ascribed to its structural adaptations and modifications, as well as the phenotypic plasticity. The Qareenah and Qaseem locations attained the highest species richness and evenness, while the Jizan location was the least diverse. Within the studied locations, other highly salt-tolerant species were determined with high abundances, such as Suaeda aegyptiaca (Hasselq.) Zohary, Zygophyllum album L.f., Tamarix nilotica (Ehrenb.) Bunge, Cressa cretica L., and Salicornia europaea L. The soil analysis showed a significant variation for all parameters among the studied locations, except for pH, chloride, and clay content. The Qaseem location revealed the highest values of most soil parameters, while the Jizan location showed the lowest. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed that the community structure and diversity are mainly affected by the soil salinity and moisture. Due to the economic potentialities of A. lagopoides as a forage plant and sand stabilizer, the conservation of its habitats is of vital importance. In addition, this grass could be integrated as a promising forage candidate that can be planted in saline-affected areas, even in the summer dry season.

Highlights

Sabkhas are geological phenomena formed in an arid or semi-arid climate, as broad plains or salt flats, containing evaporates dictated by the local water table [1]
The coastal sabkhas (Salwa and Jizan) recorded the highest number of species (43 species: 36 perennials and 6 annuals), which is represented by 60% of total recorded species, compared to the inland sabkhas (Qareenah, Qassem, and Jouf) that represented 40% of the total recorded species (29 species: 21 perennials and 8 annuals)
The present study revealed variance among the community structure of A. lagopoides, within different sabkhas in Saudi Arabia

Summary

Introduction

Sabkhas are geological phenomena formed in an arid or semi-arid climate, as broad plains or salt flats, containing evaporates dictated by the local water table [1]. It has a large habitat range, distributed worldwide through Southeast Europe, the siliciclastic coast of California, Mexico, North Africa from Morocco to Somalia, the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, Australia, and Asia [2–4]. Coastal and inland saline habitats, called sabkhas, are highly stressful environments, as they are highly saline and wet unique ecosystems, where specially adapted halophytic plants can grow [13] These sabkhas are mostly saturated with brine, and the soil surface is often encrusted with thick salt crust [14]. Vegetation composition in these ecosystems is influenced by complex heterogonous environmental factors, including duration and degree of inundation by seawater and both overground and underground freshwater input [16], coastal and inland geomorphology, microtopography, soil moisture content, and soil type [17]

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