Phytosociological and floristic features of bir gendali, Hyperarid Desert, Egypt

Abstract EN

Wadi Gendali is located across the main traffic road (Katamiya -Ain Sukhna) to the Red sea.

The down stream of the wadi is located near the gravel desert while the middle and upper stream are in the limestone desert.

The application of classification (TWINSPAN) and ordination (CANOCO) techinques produced three vegetation groups; Anabasis articulata - Zilla spinosa, Zygophyllum coccineum – Zilla spinosa and Anabasis articulata – Nitarira retusa .

The correlation between vegetation and soil characters indicated that soil moisture, total dissolved salts and soil textures are the most effective variables on the species and community distribution in Wadi Gendali.

Chamaephyte life form dominates the vegetation constituting 35% of the total recorded species.

The higest values of species richness and diversity values are found in stands of the middle and down stream parts of Wadi Gendali.

The floristic comparision between the pioneer study (El Abyad,1962) and present study reveals that Anabasis articulata and Nitraria retusa still the main communities in the wadi.

The Zilla spinosa and Zygophyllum coccineum associated species become the main communities in this study.

Fifty one species are recorded in this study of which 14 species are not recorded in the previous study.