Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
2
Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University
10.21608/mjb.2022.459806
Abstract
This study was performed to explore the floristic and ecological-attributes of the Echinops spinosissimus Turra community in the deserts of Egypt. E. spinosissimus and its associated plant species were studied in relation to soil variables. A total of 108 species, 89 genera, and 30 families were detailed in 38 stands. Asteraceae, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Brassicaceae, Boraginaceae, Polygonaceae, and Zygophyllaceae were the most species-rich families. Therophytes, Saharo-Sindian and Mediterranean elements predominated among recorded species. Applying TWINSPAN of the associated species with E. spinosissimus yielded three groups identified after the 1st and 2nd dominant species. Group (A): Zilla spinosa- Echinops spinosissimus, group (B): Echinops spinosissimus- Carthamus tenuis and group (C): Avena fatua- Echinops spinosissimus. Group A represents the vegetation of coastal deserts along the Deltaic Mediterranean coast, group B represents the inland desert along the Eastern Desert, and group C may represent a transitional stage with more similarity to group B. A CCA-biplot of the characteristic species and soils specified, calcium carbonates, sodium, silt, bicarbonates, sand, chlorides, electric conductivity, total nitrogen and pH were the most leading variables affecting the E. spinosissimus community. In particular, E. spinosissimus was disjointed at the right-upper on the CCA diagram and positively-correlated with CaCO3, silt fraction, HCO3, total dissolved phosphorous, clay fraction, and potassium.
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