The Salt Marsh (Sabkha) in the Western Part of Libya

Abstract

The total coastline of Libya is about 1975 km long. Numerous salt marshes bordered by sabkhas occur along the coast. These sabkhas cover some a very large area on the coast line and most of them are completely dry during the summer season. One of the larger sabkhas is located in the western part of Libya and is called “the Abu Kammash salt marsh (Abu Kammash subkha)” and it is found along the coastal Libyan-Tunisian highway about 150 km west of Tripoli in the Abu Kammash area near the Tunisian border, at an altitude of 2.5–4.0 m below sea level. This is a typical salt marsh of coastal Mediterranean region. It is generally a flat sabkha with a total area of about 50 km². There are 38 wells in the sabkha, from which brine water is pumped through pipelines to Abu Kammash factory (chemical plant) which was established on the area near the seashore for the mass production of pure salt and bleaching agents. The saline ponds and pools are formed when such low land area floods in rainy winters, and 12 km long and 4 km wide small seasonal lake is formed. In summer, however, most of these lakes dry up. The high salinity and evaporation lead to precipitation of a thick layer of salt on the sabkha floor.The phytoplankton density is quite low. The sabkha has been identified as a natural biotope for brine shrimp (Artemia). Next to the Artemia comes the birds which are also found in moderate number. Majority of the birds are migratory, as such the sabkha may serve as good refuge for such birds provided certain measures are taken. There is a very poor vegetation cover composed mainly of halophytes and desert plant taxa around the sabkha due to coarse sand texture and prevailing semiarid conditions.