The
present study provides a vegetation analysis and species distribution at 50
sites, emphasizing the environmental factors that affect species distribution.
A total of 74 plant species belonging to 67 genera and related to 23 families
of vascular plants are recorded. Asteraceae, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae,
Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and
Zygophyllaceae are the largest
families, and therophytes (41.89) and chamaephytes (24.32%) are the most
frequent, indicating a typical desert life-form spectrum. Chorological analysis
revealed that 25 of the studied species were Mediterranean taxa,
Saharo-Sindian
chorotypes, either pure or penetrated into other regions, comprised
47 species. After application of the TWINSPAN and DCA programs, 4 vegetation
groups (A-D) were identified, groups A and B were dominated by
Achillea
santolina, group C was
codominated by
Zygophyllm coccinum and
Launaea spinosa and group D was dominated by
Leptadenia pyrotechnica.
Groups A and B may represent the vegetation types of the Western Mediterranean
coast of Egypt, while groups C and D may represent the
Wadi Hagul. The
linear correlation of soil variables with the importance values of some
dominant species and the application of
Canonical Correspondence
Analysis (CCA-biplot) indicates significant associations between the
floristic composition of the studied area and the edaphic factors such as
electrical conductivity, pH, calcium carbonate, sulphates, bicarbonate, cations
(Na
+, K
+, Ca
++ and Mg
++) and PAR.