Abstract
Thirty-four vegetation clusters identified in the present study, after the application of TWINSPAN and DCA multivariate techniques, were assigned into 8 vegetation types, each of definite vegetation and habitat characters. The suggested vegetation types are well segregated along the DCA axis one which reflects soil moisture, salinity (as indicated by EC values), fertility (as indicated by the organic matter and nitrogen contents) and species diversity gradients. In general, soil moisture and soil fertility increase and species diversity decreases with the following sequence of vegetation types:Echinops spinosissimus-Ononis serrata on inland sand dunes,Pancratium maritimum on coastal sand dunes,Halocnemum strobilaceum-Salsola kali in saline sand deposits,Atriplex halimus-Chenopodium murale along the terraces and slopes of drains,Arthrocnemum glaucum-Tamarix nilotica in salt marshes,Chenopodium murale along the slopes of drains,Phragmites australis along the littoral zones of drains, andLemna gibba-Potamogeton crispus in the water zone. This sequence reflects also a gradient of human interference, starting with the vegetation of the less disturbed habitats (sand dunes and saline sand deposits) and ending with the fully man-made habitats (drain zones).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, S. E., Grimshaw, H. M., Parkinson, J. A. & Quarmby, C. 1974. Chemical analysis of ecological materials. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.
Ayyad, M. A. 1973. Vegetation and environment of the western. Mediterranean coastal land of Egypt. I. The habitat of sand dunes. J. Ecol. 61: 509–523.
Ayyad, M. A. & El-Bayyoumy, M. A. 1980. On the phytosociology of the sand dunes of the western Meditteranean desert of Egypt. In: Singh, J. & Gopal, B. (eds.). Glimpses of Ecology, p. 219–237. Sci. Publ., London.
Ayyad, M. A. & El-Ghareeb, R. E. 1982. Salt marsh vegetation of the western Meditteranean desert of Egypt. Vegetatio 49: 3–19.
Batanouny, K. H. & El-Fiky, A. M. 1984. Water hyacinth in Egypt: Distribution and magnitude. Proc. Inter. Conf. on Water Hyacinth, Hyderabad, India, U.N. Envir. Prog.
Bornkamm, R. & Khel, H. 1990. The plant communities of the western desert of Egypt. Phytocoenologia 19: 149–231.
Canfield, R. 1941. Application of the line interception method in sampling range vegetation. J. For. 39: 288–393.
El-Demerdash, M. A., Zahran, M. A. & Serag, M. S. 1990. On the ecology of the deltiac Mediterranean coastal land, Egypt. III. The habitat of salt marshes of Damietta-Port Said coastal region. Arab Gulf J. Scient. Res. 8: 103–119.
El-Gabaly, M., Gewaifel, I. M., Hassan, M. N. & Rozanov, G. 1969. Soil map and land resources of the United Arab Republic. Res. Bull 22: 1–14.
Garcia, L. V., Maranon, T., Moreno, A. & Clemente, L. 1993. Above ground biomass and species richness in a Mediterranean salt marsh. J. Veg. Sci. 4: 417–424.
Hill, M. O. 1979a. DECORANA. A fortran program for detrended correspondence analysis and reciprocal averaging. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY.
Hill, M. O. 1979b. TWINSPAN. A fortran program for averaging multivariate data in an ordered two-way table by classification of the individuals and attributes. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY.
Holzner, M. 1978. Weed species and weed communities. Vegetatio 38: 13–20.
Imam, M. & Kosinova, J. 1972. Studies on the weed flora of cultivated land in Egypt. 2. Weeds of rice fields. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. Stutgart 92: 139–153.
Jackson, M. L. 1962. Soil chemical analysis. Constable & Co. Ltd, London.
Kassas, M. 1971. The river Nile ecological system, a study towards an international programme. Biol. Conser. 4: 19–25.
Kassas, M. 1972. A brief history of land use in Mareotis region, Egypt. Minerva Biologica 1: 167–174.
Khattab, A. F. & El-Gharably, Z. A. 1984. The problem of aquatic weeds in Egypt and methods of management. Proc. EWRS Third Symp. on Weed Problems in the Mediterranean: 335–344.
Kowvarik, I. 1990. Some responses of flora and vegetation to urbanization in Central Europe. In Sukopp, H. & Hejny, S. (eds.): Urban Ecology, SPB Academic Publishers bv, The Hague.
Kutiel, P. & Danin, A. 1987. Annual-species diversity and above ground phytomass in relation to some properties of the sand dunes of the northern Sharon plains, Israel, Vegetatio 70: 45–49.
Mashaly, I. A. 1987. Ecological and floristic studies of Dakahlia-Damietta region. Ph. D. Thesis, Fac. Sci., Mansoura Univ.
Mohler, C. L. & Liebman, M. 1987. Weed productivity and composition in sole crops and intercrops of barely and field pea. J. Appl. Ecol. 24: 685–699.
Orlova, G. & Zenkovich, V. 1974. Erosion of the shores of the Nile Delta. Geoforum 18: 68–72.
Pielou, E. C. 1975. Ecological diversity. Wiely Interscience, New York.
SAS 1988. SAS/STAT user's guide. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.
Shaltout, K. H. 1985. On the diversity of the vegetation in the western Mediterranean coastal region of Egypt. Proc. Egypt. Bot. Soc. 4: 1355–1376.
Shaltout, K. H. & El-Ghareeb, R. 1992. Diversity of the salt marsh plant communities in the western Mediterranean region of Egypt. J. Univ. Kuwait (Sci.) 19: 75–84.
Shaltout, K. H. & Sharf El-Din, A. 1988. Habitat types and plant communities along a transect in the Nile Delta region. Feddes Report. 99: 153–162.
Shaltout, K. H., Sharf El-Din, A. & El-Fahar, R. A. 1992. Weed communities of the common crops in the Nile Delta region. Flora 187: 329–339.
Shaltout, K. H. & El-Shiekh, M. A. 1993. Vegetation-environment relations along water courses in the Nile Delta region. J. Veg. Sci. 4: 567–570.
Shaltout, K. H., Sharaf El-Din, A. & El-Shiekh, M. A. 1994. Species richness and phenology of vegetation along irrigation canals and drains in the Nile Delta region, Egypt. Vegetatio 112: 35–43.
Whittaker, R. H. 1972. Evolution and measurement of species diversity. Taxon 21: 213–251.
Whittaker, R. H. & Levin, S. A. 1977. The role of the mosaic phenomena in natural communities. Theoretical Population Biology 12: 117–139.
Wright, G. H. 1939. Soil analysis. Marby Co., London.
Zahran, M. A., El-Demerdash, M. A. & Mashaly, I. A. 1985. On the ecology of the deltiac coast of the Mediterranean sea, Egypt. I. General survey. Proc. Egypt. Bot. Soc. 4: 1392–1406.
Zahran, M. A., El-Demerdash, M. A. & Mashaly, I. A. 1990. Vegetation types of the deltiac Mediterranean coast of Egypt and their environment. J. Veg. Sci. 1: 305–310.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shaltout, K.H., El-Kady, H.F. & Al-Sodany, Y.M. Vegetation analysis of the Mediterranean region of Nile Delta. Vegetatio 116, 73–83 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045280
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00045280