Abstract
This study aimed at investigating the effect of sand encroachment on plant biodiversity of desert pavements, called ‘Reg’ at the region of El-Guerrara in Ghardaia (Sahara Desert of Algeria). A total of 15 floristic surveys were performed in three sites representing desert pavements ‘Reg’ with different levels of sand encroachment (low, medium, high), with five replicates. In each sample-plot (100 m2), the number of individuals ‘density’ of every plant species identified was determined. Plant community of desert pavements included 19 plant species classified into 18 genera and 13 families, with Asteraceae and Poaceae the most important families. The species Anabasis articulata characterized low sand encroachment desert totaling eleven species, whereas Thymelaea microphylla and Genista saharae are the characteristic species of deserts with moderate (14 species) and high (10 species) level of sand encroachment, respectively. The highest values of species richness and biodiversity were recorded in sites with moderate sand encroachment. Conversely, lower values of these ecological parameters were obtained in Reg with high sand encroachment. Desert pavements with low sand encroachment levels were characterized with the highest values of species abundances. High sand encroachment intensity of desert habitats favors the degradation of vegetation cover and triggers biodiversity erosion.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abd El-Ghani, M.M.A., Huerta-Martínez, F.M., Hongyan, L., Qureshi, R.: Plant Responses to Hyperarid Desert Environments. Springer, Cham (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59135-3
Azizi, M., Chenchouni, H., Belarouci, M.E.H., Bradai, L., Bouallala, M.: Diversity of psammophyte communities on sand dunes of the Sahara Desert. J. King Saud Univ. Sci. 33 (8), 101656 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2021.101656
Bouallala, M.: Etude floristique et nutritive spatio-temporelle des parcours camelins du Sahara Occidental Algérien: Cas des régions de Béchar et Tindouf. PhD thesis, Univ. Ouargla, Algeria (2013)
Bradai, L., Bouallala, M., Bouziane, N.F., Zaoui, S., Neffar, S., Chenchouni, H.: An appraisal of eremophyte diversity and plant traits in a rocky desert of the Sahara. Folia Geobot. 50, 239–252 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-015-9218-8
Chehma, A.: Etude floristique et nutritive spatio-temporelle des parcours camelins du Sahara septentrional algérien. Cas des régions de Ouargla et Ghardaia. Doctoral thesis, Univ. Annaba, Algeria (2005)
Chenchouni, H.: Diversité floristique d'un lac du Bas—Sahara algérien. Flora diversity of a lake at Algerian Low-Sahara. Acta Bot. Malacitana 37, 33–44 (2012). https://doi.org/10.24310/abm.v37i0.2664
Chenchouni, H.: Diet of the little owl (Athene noctua) during the pre-reproductive period in a semi-arid Mediterranean region. Zool. Ecol. 24, 314–323 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1080/21658005.2014.965919
FAO: Manuel de formation à la lutte contre la désertification, la fixation des dunes et la gestion des boisements en Mauritanie. 2nd Edition, FAO, MEDD, APEFE, Nouakchott (2014)
Ferchichi, A.: Essai de fixation biologique des dunes en Tunisie présaharienne. In: Proceedings du Séminaire la lutte contre l’ensablement et la stabilisation des dunes. Médenine, Tunisia. Printed by ISESCO, Rabat, Morocco, pp. 165–174 (1996)
Guemmaz, F., Neffar, S., Chenchouni, H.: Physicochemical and bacteriological quality of surface water resources receiving common wastewater effluents in drylands of Algeria. In: Negm, A., Bouderbala, A., Chenchouni, H. Barcelo, D. (eds). Water Resources in Algeria: Part II: Water Quality, Treatment, Protection and Development. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/698_2019_400
Kouba, Y., Merdes, S., Mostephaoui, T., Saadali, B., Chenchouni, H.: Plant community composition and structure under short-term grazing exclusion in steppic arid rangelands. Ecol. Indic. 120, 106910 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106910
Merdas, S., Kouba, Y., Mostephaoui, T., Farhi, Y., Chenchouni, H.: Livestock grazing-induced large-scale biotic homogenization in arid Mediterranean steppe rangelands. Land Degrad. Dev. 32(17), 5099–5107 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4095
Mihi, A., Nacer, T., Chenchouni, H.: Monitoring dynamics of date palm plantations from 1984 to 2013 Using Landsat Time-Series in Sahara Desert Oases of Algeria. In: El-Askary, H.M. et al. (eds.) Advances in Remote Sensing and Geo Informatics Applications. pp. 225–228. Springer, Netherlands (2019a). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01440-7_52
Mihi, A., Tarai, N., Chenchouni, H.: Can palm date plantations and oasification be used as a proxy to fight sustainably against desertification and sand encroachment in hot drylands? Ecol. Indic. 105, 365–375 (2019b). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.11.027
Neffar, S., Chenchouni, H., Beddiar, A., Redjel, N.: Rehabilitation of degraded rangeland in drylands by Prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) plantations: effect on soil and spontaneous vegetation. Ecologia Balkanica 5(2), 63–83 (2013)
Neffar, S., Menasria, T., Chenchouni, H.: Diversity and functional traits of spontaneous plant species in Algerian rangelands rehabilitated with prickly pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) plantations. Turk. J. Bot. 42(4), 448–461 (2018). https://doi.org/10.3906/bot-1801-39
Ozenda, P.: Flora and Vegetation of the Sahara. CNRS, Paris (1991)
Parsons, A.J., Abrahams, A.D. (eds).: Geomorphology of Desert Environments. Springer, Dordrecht (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5719-9
Quézel, P., Santa, S.: Nouvelle flore de l’Algérie et des régions désertiques méridionales, vol. 1. CNRS, Paris (1962)
Quézel, P., Santa, S.: Nouvelle flore de l’Algérie et des régions désertiques méridionales, vol. 2. CNRS, Paris (1963)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bouallala, M., Bradai, L., Chenchouni, H. (2022). Effects of Sand Encroachment on Vegetation Diversity in the Sahara Desert. In: Chenchouni, H., et al. New Prospects in Environmental Geosciences and Hydrogeosciences. CAJG 2019. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72543-3_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72543-3_30
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-72542-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-72543-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)