Factors affecting the distribution of Pluchea dioscoridis (L.) DC. and its associated species in Gharbia Governorate, Nile Delta, Egypt. | ||||
| Taeckholmia | ||||
| Article 1, Volume 38, Issue 1, 2018, Page 1-16 PDF (774.31 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/taec.2018.11892 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
Dalia Ahmed  ; M. El-Beheiry; A. Sharaf El-Din; G. T. El-Taher
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| Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Pluchea dioscoridis is a perennial ruderal shrub. It has been classified as a weed controller due to its bushy growth, medicinal plant due to its strong antioxidant and anti-liver cancer activity and a phytoremediator plant. The present work aims to study the environmental factors affecting the distribution and common associated species of P. dioscoridis in Gharbia governorate, Nile Delta, Egypt. It aims also to assess the diversity and behavior of the common species along the different environmental factors. Seventy three stands, representing four common urban habitats (wastelands, railway sides, canal and drain banks), were selected. In each stand; the florisitic composition and cover of the studied species and its common associated species were estimated. Seventy-two species were recorded as being associated with P. diosocridis. Therophytes were the most represented, while parasites were the least. Mediterranean taxa had the highest chorological contribution. The highest coverage percentage of P. dioscoridis was recorded in the canal banks. TWINSPAN and DCA techniques led to the recognition of four vegetation groups; these groups were indicated by Persicaria salicifolia (A); Echinochloa stagnina and Chenopodium album (B); Arundo donax (C) and P. dioscoridis (D). Vegetation group D, which occupied wastelands, was the most diverse, while VG B occupied drain banks, was the least diverse. Soil analysis indicated that VG A occupied canal banks had the highest values of OM (7.7%) and P (41.2 mg100g-1), but the lowest water holding capacity (20.8%), Cl (0.08%), CO3 (0.07%) and HCO3 (0.04%). Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed that chloride, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, carbonate, and calcium cations were the most effective environmental variables on the distribution of P. dioscoridis and its associated species in the study area. This study may be a beneficial tool to use P. dioscoridis as indicator of ecological change and to estimate the relationship between soil variables and wild communities of it. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Chorotype; Habitat; Pluchea dioscoridis; Species diversity; species cover; soil measurement | ||||
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