Summary
The hydro-ecological relationships (interaction of rainfall, topography and soil type) and the effect of the biotic factor (grazing and human interference) on the distribution, establishment and dynamics of the communities characterizing the vegetation of Khartoum Province, Sudan are outlined.
In this arid region the type, density and performance of the plants depend on the water resources of the habitat and an intimate relationship exists between landform and plant growth. The small local differences in ground level control the direction of water, thus increasing the water and the soil of one area at the expense of another. The “favoured areas” show dense growth, vegetation follows and marks the water-leading and water-collecting channels. Thus the distribution of the community types in this locality seems to be a function of the interaction of soil type, topography and moisture content.
Grazing, in addition to reducing the vegetative material, changes the species composition of the plant communities and induces, in some plants, the production of a certain growth form.
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Obeid, M., Mahmoud, A. Ecological studies in the vegetation of the Sudan. Plant Ecol 23, 177–198 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02326661
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02326661