phytosociolocial study and a preliminary assessment of land resemces at Mersa Gargub-Egypt

ABSTRACT

The western Mediterranean desert of Egypt, is one of the arid regions which has a long history of intensive land use. The study area encompasses a number of habitats, each of which shelters a fairly distinct vegetation. Vegetation was sampled in 30 stands representing the different habitats in the study area. The stands were classified by NT-SYS method. This analysis recognizes four groups. The dominant plants in each group varied, Ammophila arenaria-Pancratium maritimun in group I; Sprobolus virginicus - Aeluropus lagpoides in group II; Anabasis articulata-Anabasis oropedionun in group III and Lycium europaeum - Pinuranthos tortuostus, Hammada scoparia-salsola tetrandra in group IV. The different habitats are well separated on the three dimensional ordination plane. The analysis of panchromatic aerial photographs indicates that nearly 69% of the total area is under greazing on rangeland while 31.4% is under farming operations and orchard plantations