Impact of off-road vehicles on soil and vegetation in a desert rangeland in Saudi Arabia

Joint Authors

al-Banna, Majdi I.
Hijazi, Ahmad Kamil
Asid, Abd al-Aziz M.
al-Ruwayli, Suud L.
Abbud, Abd Allah A. A.
Dar, Basharat A. M.

Source

Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences

Issue

Vol. 26, Issue 6 (30 Sep. 2019), pp.1187-1193, 7 p.

Publisher

Saudi Biological Society

Publication Date

2019-09-30

Country of Publication

Saudi Arabia

No. of Pages

7

Main Subjects

Botany

Topics

Abstract EN

Off-road vehicle driving is considered as main contributor to land degradation in arid regions.

This study examined the impact of off-road vehicles (ORV) on soil and vegetation in a natural recreational desert meadow of Raudhat Khuraim, Saudi Arabia.

Vegetation canopy cover and plant height away from road tracks were assessed.

Also, species density and canopy cover, bare ground cover and soil attributes were assessed in four microhabitats; tracks, inter-tracks, verges, and away from vehicle tracks (undisturbed natural areas).

Results show that the cover of forbs and grasses was negatively associated with distance from road verges.

It was observed that the height of woody species responded negatively to distance away from tracks.

Cover of native species decreased under verge, inter-track and track microhabitats giving more opportunity for weeds to flourish.

Bare ground was highest (60.7%) in tracks.

ORV impact on soil bulk density was clear with an increase of 38% under tracks compared to soils of undisturbed natural vegetation and a similar decrease in porosity was observed.

On the other hand, soil electrical conductivity was significantly higher (5.45 mS cm−1) under disturbance compared to 1.32 mS cm−1 in undisturbed natural vegetation.

Organic matter and nitrogen were not affected significantly by ORV disturbance.

The results emphasize that managing off-road vehicle driving is essential for conserving native vegetation.

American Psychological Association (APA)

Asid, Abd al-Aziz M.& al-Ruwayli, Suud L.& al-Banna, Majdi I.& Abbud, Abd Allah A. A.& Hijazi, Ahmad Kamil& Dar, Basharat A. M.. 2019. Impact of off-road vehicles on soil and vegetation in a desert rangeland in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences،Vol. 26, no. 6, pp.1187-1193.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-889193

Modern Language Association (MLA)

Asid, Abd al-Aziz M.…[et al.]. Impact of off-road vehicles on soil and vegetation in a desert rangeland in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences Vol. 26, no. 6 (Sep. 2019), pp.1187-1193.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-889193

American Medical Association (AMA)

Asid, Abd al-Aziz M.& al-Ruwayli, Suud L.& al-Banna, Majdi I.& Abbud, Abd Allah A. A.& Hijazi, Ahmad Kamil& Dar, Basharat A. M.. Impact of off-road vehicles on soil and vegetation in a desert rangeland in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 2019. Vol. 26, no. 6, pp.1187-1193.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-889193

Data Type

Journal Articles

Language

English

Notes

Includes bibliographical references : p. 1192-1193

Record ID

BIM-889193