Environmental Assessment of Wetland Vegetation: a Case Study of Ashtum El-Gamil Protectorate, Lake Manzala, Egypt | ||||
| Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries | ||||
| Article 32, Volume 27, Issue 3, May and June 2023, Page 569-601 PDF (1.28 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejabf.2023.304854 | ||||
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| Author | ||||
| Mona Mostafa et al. | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Wise use of the Egyptian wetlands through local and national actions as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the country has been implemented. Ashtum El-Gamil Protectorate is a part of Lake Manzala and an ideal wetland habitat. Unfortunately, Ashtum El-Gamil Protectorate was subjected to many encroachments that led to biodiversity loss and habitat destruction during the last decades. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the current state of vegetation distribution and its relationship with environmental variables in the investigated area. The vegetation and soil sampling was carried out using 50 stands. Phyto-sociologically, the vegetation assessment revealed that Ashtum El-Gamil Protectorate is home to 43 species belonging to 38 genera and 22 families. Chenopodiaceae has the highest contribution to the total flora (18.6%), followed by Asteraceae and Poaceae, with 5 species for each (11.6%) of the total number of recorded species. Therophytes (37%) and cryptophytes (34.87%) are the most abundant life forms. Phytogeographically, the Mediterranean (mono-, bi-, and pluriregional) chorotype is represented by the highest percentage of plant species (41.86%). Two-way indicator analysis (TWINSPAN) revealed that the vegetation is classified into four groups. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) confirmed the segregation of these vegetation groups, and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that the most significant environmental variables affecting the distribution of these groups were pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved salts, total organic carbon, total organic matter, nitrate, sodium, sulphate, magnesium, lead, zinc, phosphorus, sand and silt. In conclusion, the Egyptian Government has developed a project that began in 2017, affecting biodiversity and habitat structure. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Ashtum El-Gamil; Floristic analysis; Habitat destruction; Multivariate analysis; Soil-vegetation relationships; Wetlands | ||||
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