Heterogeneity of Soil and Vegetation in the Urban Habitats of New Industrial Cities in the Desert Landscape of Egypt

• Main Authors: Monier Abd EL-GHANI, Reinhard BORNKAMM, Nadia EL-SAWAF, Hamdiya TURKY
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Cluj-Napoca 2015-03-01
• Series: Notulae Scientia Biologicae
• Online Access: http://www.notulaebiologicae.ro/index.php/nsb/article/view/9433
• ISSN: 2067-3205; 2067-3264

The relationship between vegetation and soil supporting the habitats in 4 new industrial cities were assessed. Five main habitats were distinguished from inner city toward outskirts: lawns, home gardens, public gardens, waste lands and desert outskirts. After application of Twinspan, 26 vegetation groups were identified in the 5 recognized habitats, demonstrating that some groups are chatracteristic of a certain city, e.g. Asphodelus aestivus - Deverra tortuosa - Thymelaea hirsuta group was confined to the desert habitat of Burg El-Arab city; Thymelaea hirsuta - Linaria albifrons and Atriplex halimus - Atriplex lindleyi subsp. inflata - Suaeda vermiculata - Typha domingensis groups were found in the waste lands of Burg El-Arab city; Conyza bonariensis - Cynodon dactylon - Sonchus oleraceus group in the home garden habitat of 10th Ranadan city; Cynodon dactylon group in the lawns of Burg El-Arab city; Bassia indica - Plantago major group in the public gardens of Burg El-Arab city; Oxalis corniculata - Plantago lagopus group in the public gardens of 10th Ramadan city; Sonchus oleraceus - Cynodon dactylon and Dactyloctenium aegyptium - Leptochloa fusca - Phragmites australis groups in the public gardens of 6th October city. Silt, clay, organic matter, carbonates and carbon contents showed significant diffrences among the 5 habitats.