ArftficleFlora rfichness as an findficaftor off deserft habfiftaft qualfifty fin Kuwafift

Yahya Al-Shehabfi & Kevfin Murphy

26 February 2017 | Vol. 9| No. 2 | Pp. 9777–978510.11609/joft.3364.9.2.9777-9785

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Cfiftafion: Al-Shehabfi, Y. & K. Murphy (2017). Flora rfichness as an findficaftor off deserft habfiftaft qualfifty fin Kuwafift. Journal off Threaftened Taxa 9(2): 9777–9785; hftp://dofi.org/10.11609/joft.3364.9.2.9777-9785

Copyrfighft: © Al-Shehabfi & Murphy 2017. Creafive Commons Aftrfibufion 4.0 Infternafional Lficense. JoTT allows unresftrficfted use off fthfis arficle fin any medfium, reproducfion and dfisftrfibufion by provfidfing adequafte credfift fto fthe aufthors and fthe source off publficafion.

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Conlficft off Infteresft: The aufthors declare no compefing finfteresfts.

For Aufthor Deftafils and Aufthor Conftrfibufion: see end off fthfis arficle.

Acknowledgemenfts: We wfish fto fthank all our colleagues; Mr. Sham Davande ffor fthe help durfing fthe sftudfies, and Dr. M. Zaffar-ul Islam (Research Coordfinaftor aft fthe Nafional Wfildlfiffe Research Cenfter, Tafiff, Saudfi Arabfia) ffor edfifing fthe manuscrfipft. Proffessors Dan Haydon and Paft Monaghan (Unfiversfifty off Glasgow) co-supervfised fthe sftudy.

Flora rfichness as an findficaftor off deserft habfiftaft qualfifty fin Kuwafift

Yahya Al-Shehabfi 1 & Kevfin Murphy 2

1 Head off Proftecfted Areas, Envfironmenft Publfic Aufthorfifty, Shuwafikh, Kuwafift2 College off Medfical Vefterfinary and Lfiffe Scfiences, Insfiftufte off Bfiodfiversfifty, Anfimal Healfth and Comparafive Medficfine, Unfiversfifty off Glasgow, Glasgow, Unfifted Kfingdom1 yahya30@hoftmafil.com (correspondfing aufthor), 2 mearnskevfin@googlemafil.com

ISSN 0974-7907 (Onlfine)ISSN 0974-7893 (Prfinft)

OPEN ACCESS

Absftracft: An assessmenft off fthe vegeftafion fin fthe arfid deserft habfiftafts off Kuwafift was carrfied ouft fin 2008 and 2009. The rfichness off vegeftafion was examfined fin relafion fto human acfivfifty (e.g., grazfing, recreafional campfing) and fimpacft ffacftors fin ftwo open areas (norfth off SAANR, NS; soufth off Kabd, SK) were compared wfifth ftwo proftecfted areas (SAANR, Kabd). In ftoftal, 420 quadrafts were sampled along 84 ftransecfts aft random locafions along off-road vehficle ftracks fin fthe sftudy area. The dafta were classfified usfing ftwo-way findficaftor specfies analysfis (TWINSPAN) fto dfivfide samples finfto fthree groups off hfigh finfternal sfimfilarfifty fin fterms off planft specfies presence. Toftal planft specfies rfichness was 20, 35, 2 and 17 specfies per area fin SAANR, Kabd, NS and SK, respecfively. Compared fto proftecfted areas, open grazed land had markedly ffewer specfies and reduced vegeftafion cover fin fthe fform off grasses, fforbs and shrubs. Habfiftaft condfifions were especfially fimpoverfished fin NS, wfifth 99% off samples supporfing only one planft specfies. The low planft dfiversfifty fin fthe unproftecfted open rangelands demonsftraftes fthe need ffor a new sftraftegy fto rehabfilfiftafte ecologfical habfiftafts.

Keywords: Bfiodfiversfifty, campfing, deserfificafion, grazfing, proftecfted area, rangeland.

Abbrevfiafion: SAANR - Sabah Al-Ahmed Naftural Reserve; PA - Proftecfted area; NS - Norfth off Sabah Al-Ahmed Naftural Reserve; SK - Soufth off Kabd Scfienfific Research Sftafion.

Arftficle

Arabfic Absftracft:

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 February 2017 | 9(2): 9777–97859778

Flora richness in Kuwait Al-Shehabi & Murphy

INTRODUCTION

Plant cover is strongly influenced by the geomorphological characteristics, soil and climate of a region. Kuwait mostly comprises a flat, low-lying sandy, arid landscape characterized by four ecological systems: (i) sand dune, (ii) salt marsh and saline depression, (iii) desert plain, and (iv) desert plateau (Daoud & Al-Rawi 1985; El-Shora & Jasim 1996). In this study vegetation was sampled in the desert plain ecosystem which occupies the greater part of the country and contains three main communities: (i) Cyperus Steppe, (ii) Rhanterium Steppe, and (iii) Haloxylon Steppe (Halwagy & Halwagy 1974). The vegetation is categorized by a few grasses and herbs, and short scattered shrubs. Halwagy & Halwagy (1974) described the vegetation of Kuwait “as a poor open scrub of under-shrubs, perennial herbs and ephemerals”. They added that tall shrubs are restricted to favourable sites where they grow to ‘about a man’s height’.

Previous studies on the flora of Kuwait have revealed 374 native and adapted plant species in 55 families, of which 256 (68.4%) are annuals, 34 (9.1%) are shrub, under-shrub and tall shrubs such as Lycium shawii (0.3%), and 83 (22.2%) are herbaceous perennials (Boulos & Al-Dosari 1994). Dickson (1955) classified Kuwait vegetation cover into four plant communities, and subsequently five plant communities were recognized in Kuwait (Kernick 1966; Halwagy & Halwagy 1974). More recently, Omar et al. (2001) defined eight dominant plant communities by integrating soil and vegetation information using a GIS study. The original dominant plant species are being replaced by secondary dominant plant species due to overgrazing, quarrying and other ecological disturbances (Omar et al. 2000).

Both the distribution and abundance of dominant perennial shrubs have declined, being replaced by grassy and annual plants, or spiny species (Halwagy & Halwagy 1974; Omar et al. 2000). A rangeland in Kuwait will reach the climax ecosystem when it is mostly occupied by Rhanterum epapposum or Haloxylon salicornicum perennials (both are small woody shrubs). When growth of Cyperus conglomeratus (short thin grassy perennial plant species) dominates an area rangeland is said to reach its mid-level succession stage, which is somewhat palatable for grazing animals. Rangeland reaches a bad condition when there is an abundance of Cornulaca species (very spiny leafless plant) and/or annual forbs, while the lowest level stage of succession is bare ground (Omar et al. 2000).

In Kuwait, natural vegetation cover was seriously

degraded in large areas of desert habitats by the early 1990s (Khalaf & Al-Ajmi 1993) and became an indicator of land degradation (Al-Awadhi et al. 2003). Natural vegetation covers less than 10% of many land areas in Kuwait (Al-Awadhi et al. 2003). Intensive human activities combined with fragile ecological conditions accelerated environmental degradation. The rate of desertification is approximately 285km2 per year (Al-Awadhi et al. 2003) and average width of annual sand drift rate is 20m3 across one meter land width (Khalaf & Al-Ajmi 1993). El-Sheikh and Abbadi (2004) found 139 plant species belonging to 32 families in Sabah Al-Ahmed Natural Reserve (SAANR). SAANR includes rare and endangered plant species (Daoud & Al-Rawi 1985; Bolous & Al-Dosari 1994; El-Sheikh & Abbadi 2004). In addition, it includes one individual of Acacia pachyceras which was the only tree species occurring in Kuwait until 85 years ago (Omar et al. 2005).

ObjectivesThis study aimed to : (i) identify the richness of plant species in protected

and unprotected areas of Kuwaiti desert habitats; (ii) quantify the habitat quality of protected and

unprotected areas; and (iii) evaluate the effect of human activity factors

(e.g., grazing, recreational camping) on desert habitat ecology and its vegetation richness.

METHODS

Study sitesThe study sites were located in protected and

unprotected areas in northern and western Kuwait and surveyed during December 2008–January 2009. Two protected areas were selected: Sabah Al-Ahmed Natural Reserve (SAANR: 330km2 in the north), and Kabd Scientific Research Station (Kabd: 40km2 in the west); similar adjacent open, unprotected areas, labelled “North of Sabah Al-Ahmed Natural Reserve” (NS: 80km2), “South of Kabd Scientific Research Station” (SK: 40km2); were studied for comparison with the protected areas (Fig. 1).

The unprotected lands are used as rangeland areas; NS and SK were both characterized by sparse bushy and grassy desert plants. The vegetation was sampled by identifying 84 transects at random locations adjacent to roads in the study area (Images 1 & 2). Random numbers (5–25 m left or right hand) were previously acquired by random number generation, using MS Excel. For

Journal off Threaftened Taxa | www.fthreaftenedftaxa.org | 26 February 2017 | 9(2): 9777–9785

Flora rfichness fin Kuwafift Al-Shehabfi & Murphy

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each ftransecft, 5 quadrafts (1x1 m) were lafid ouft along a

ftransecft dfisftance off 5–25 m ffrom efifther fthe left or rfighft

hand sfide off fthe road. Thus fthere were 105 quadrafts

fin each area, gfivfing a ftoftal off 420 quadrafts (Image 3).

Vegeftafion dafta fincludfing densfifty and percenftage cover

were esfimafted vfisually wfifthfin each quadraft.

Sftafisfical Analysfis

Specfies percenftage ffrequency off occurrence wfifthfin

fthe five quadrafts makfing up each ftransecft sample was

calculafted. Percenftage ffrequency off planft specfies per

ftransecft sample was as ffollows: zero (noft presenft fin any

one ouft off five quadrafts), 20% (presenft fin one ouft off

five quadrafts), 40% (presenft fin ftwo ouft off five quadrafts),

60% (presenft fin fthree ouft off five quadrafts), 80%

(presenft fin ffour ouft off five quadrafts) and 100% (presenft

fin all five quadrafts). Two-way findficaftor specfies analysfis

(TWINSPAN ffor Wfindows 2.3) was used fto classfiffy fthe 84

ftransecfts samples. Cuft-off levels ffor fthe analysfis were

selecfted fto gfive 4 pseudo-specfies: 1(20%F), 2 (40%F), 3

(60%F) and 4 (≥60%F). Oftherwfise a deffaulft analysfis was

selecfted.

Ffigure 1. Kuwafift Map; 1 - SAANR PA; 2 - NS; 3 - Kabd PA; 4 - SK

Image 1. Habfiftafts off unproftecfted areaa: Norfth off Sabah Al-Ahmed Naftural Reserve (NS), Soufth off Kabd Scfienfific Research Sftafion (SK).

© Yahya Al-Shehabfi

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Flora rfichness fin Kuwafift Al-Shehabfi & Murphy

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RESULTS

In ftoftal, 46 planft specfies ffrom 20 ffamfilfies were

fidenfified ffrom fthe ftransecft sample sfiftes wfifthfin fthe

sftudy areas (Table 1). Dfiversfifty off planft specfies was very

low fin unproftecfted areas fin comparfison fto proftecfted

areas (Ffig. 2). In unproftecfted areas (NS and SK) number

off findfivfiduals (N) was 59 and 325 compared fto 842 and

2014 fin proftecfted areas (SAANR and Kabd). Composfiftae

and Legumfinosae fformed fthe mosft common ffamfilfies

fin fthe sftudfied areas, consfiftufing fto 10 (21.7%) and 5

(10.9%) off fthe ftoftal planft specfies respecfively.

Famfilfies and specfies represenft fthe ftoftal numbers

whfich were seen wfifthfin 105 quadrafts randomly chosen

fin each area. SAANR proftecfted area showed rfichness

off specfies and ffamfilfies more fthan 10 fimes fthaft off NS

unproftecfted area, whereas Kabd proftecfted area showed

ftwfice fthe rfichness off SK unproftecfted area (Table 2).

SK was ftoftally devofid off shrubs whfile NS conftafined

only one specfies off shrub, Haloxylon salficornficum (Ffig.3).

The presence off Cornulaca aucherfi (a spfiny unpalaftable

planft specfies) fin SK (open area) was an findficaftor off

fifts poor range land habfiftaft. The mosft commonly

encounftered specfies fin SK were annual specfies whfich

have a shorft lfiffespan, and fthey dfid noft fform a sftable

communfifty. Proftecfted areas were characfterfized

by fthe presence off sftable habfiftaft communfifies

such as Haloxyleftum (Haloxylon salficornficum) and

Sfipagrosfieftum (Sfipagrosfis plumosa). Also, ftree

specfies Lycfium shawfifi and a shrub specfies Rhanfterfium

epapposum were only seen fin proftecfted areas. The

fformer was seen fin SAANR whfile fthe lafter was seen fin

Kabd. Furfthermore, five rare specfies: Helfianfthemum

kahfirficum, Gagea reficulafta, Allfium sfindjarensfis.

Rhanfterfium epapposum, and Sclerocephalus arabficus

were seen fin proftecfted areas buft absenft ffrom open

areas. Rhanfterfium epapposum was a rare shrub specfies

fin open areas and fifts dfisftrfibufion low.

In addfifion fto rare specfies, some medficfinal specfies

were fidenfified fthaft are off scfienfific as well as economfic

value (Abbas & Alsaleh 2002). SAANR and Kabd proftecfted

areas bofth ftogefther accounfted ffor 11 medficfinal specfies.

Three off fthese specfies were seen fin open areas:

Haloxylon salficornficum, Planftago bofissfierfi, Molfikfiopsfis

cfilfiafte, buft wfifth lower abundance and usually sftunfted

growfth. A grass specfies, Sfipagrosfis plumosa, was fthe

only common specfies fthaft was presenft fin open as well

as proftecfted areas.

Shrub, grass and herb specfies represenft fthe ftoftal

numbers observed wfifthfin 105 quadrafts randomly

chosen fin each area. Shrub specfies fin SAANR proftecfted

area were five fimes hfigher fthan fin NS unproftecfted area.

In SK unproftecfted area, shrub specfies were absenft.

Absence off annuals fin NS relecfts fthe sftaftus off fthe sofil

fin fthfis habfiftaft (Ffig. 4). Ifts sofil fis very compacfted and

noft sufiftable ffor annual specfies fto grow. Annual specfies

rfichness fin SAANR and Kabd proftecfted areas were 12

and ftwo fimes hfigher fthan NS and SK unproftecfted areas

Image 2. Exfisfing roads were used fto sample vegeftafion fin each surveyed area

Image 3. Vegeftafion samplfing fin unproftecfted areas NS and SK

© Yahya Al-Shehabfi

© Yahya Al-Shehabfi

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Flora rfichness fin Kuwafift Al-Shehabfi & Murphy

9781

Table 1. Planft specfies occurrence fin proftecfted areas and unproftecfted areas.

Specfies name Recorded fin

Aeluropus lfiftoralfis (Gouan) Parl. SK

Allfium sfindjarensfis SAANR, Kabd

Arnebfia decumbens (Venft.) Coss. & Kralfik SAANR, SK, Kabd

Asphodelus ftenufiffolfius Cav. Kabd

Asftragalus annularfis Forssk. SAANR, SK, Kabd

Asftragalus corrugaftus Berftol. SAANR, Kabd

Asftragalus hauarensfis Bofiss. Kabd

Asftragalus spfinosus (Forssk.) Muschl. SAANR

Brassfica ftournefforfifi Gouan SK, Kabd

Cakfile Arabfica Velen. Kabd

Calendula arvensfis M. Bfieb. Kabd

Carduus pycnocephalus L. SK, Kabd

Cornulaca aucherfi Moq. SK

Cressa crefica L. Kabd

Crucfianella membranacea Bofiss. Kabd

Cyperus conglomeraftus Roftb. SK, Kabd

Emex spfinosa (L.) Campd. SAANR

Fagonfia brugufierfi DC. SAANR, Kabd

Gagea reficulafta (Pall.) Schulft. & Schulft.ff. Kabd

Gymnarrhena mficranftha Desff. SK

Gymnocarpos sclerocephalus (Decne.) Dahlgren & Thulfin

SAANR

Gynandrfisfis sfisyrfinchfium SK, Kabd

Haloxylon salficornficum (Moq.) Bunge ex Bofiss. SAANR, NS

Specfies name Recorded fin

Helfianfthemum kahfirficum Delfile SAANR

Iloga spficafta (Forssk.) Sch.Bfip. SAANR, SK, Kabd

Koelpfinfia lfinearfis Pall. Kabd

Lappula spfinocarpos (Forssk.) Asch. ex Kunftze SK,Kabd

Launaea capfiftafta (Spreng.) Dandy SAANR

Launaea mucronafta (Forssk.) Muschl. SAANR

Lomelosfia olfivfierfi (Coulft.) Greufter & Burdeft Kabd

Loftus halophfilus Bofiss. & Spruner SK,Kabd

Lycfium shawfifi Roem. & Schulft. SAANR

Malva parvfilora L. SAANR, Kabd

Molfikfiopsfis cfilfiafta SAANR, SK, Kabd

Neurada procumbens L. SAANR, SK, Kabd

Pficrfis babylonfica Hand.-Mazz. Kabd

Planftago bofissfierfi Hausskn. & Bornm. SAANR, SK, Kabd

Reseda murficafta C. Presl Kabd

Rhanfterfium epapposum Olfiv. Kabd

Rumex vesficarfius L. Kabd

Salsola fimbrficafta Forssk. Kabd

Savfignya parvfilora (Delfile) Webb Kabd

Schfismus barbaftus (L.) Thell. SAANR, SK, Kabd

Senecfio glaucus L. Kabd

Sfipagrosfis plumosa Munro ex T. Anderson SAANR, NS, SK, Kabd

Trfigonella angufina Delfile Kabd

Name Specfies rfichnessShannon-Wfiener Dfiversfifty

Index (H’)

SAANR 20 1.75

NS 2 0.15

Kabd 35 2.30

SK 17 1.81

Table 2. Toftal planft specfies rfichness and Shannon-Wfiener findex off dfiversfifty (H’) fin proftecfted areas and unproftecfted areas.

Ffigure 2. Planft specfies dfiversfifty fin unproftecfted and proftecfted areas.respecfively. Lfikewfise, perennfial specfies rfichness fin

SAANR and Kabd proftecfted areas were also ffour and

ftwo fimes hfigher fthan NS and SK unproftecfted areas,

respecfively. NS ffared fthe worsft, wfifth no annual specfies

and only ftwo perennfial planft specfies. Mosft perennfial

planft specfies were grazed or fin bad condfifion and plyfing

off off-road ftrucks prevenfted growfth off annual planft

specfies.

One way ANOVA ftesfing showed a sfignfificanft

dfifference fin number off findfivfidual planfts fin a quadraft

wfifthfin fthese sfiftes: P value <0.0001, F= 68.51, dff= 3.

Hefighft off vegeftafion was sfignfificanftly dfifferenft beftween

open areas and proftecfted areas. Ift was very shorft fin

bofth open areas NS (3.4±0.6 cm) and SK (1.5±0.4 cm)

fin comparfison wfifth proftecfted areas SAANR (12.3±1 cm)

and Kabd (20±2.2 cm). One way ANOVA ftesfing showed

a sfignfificanft dfifference fin hefighft off planfts wfifthfin fthese

sfiftes: P value <0.0001, F= 36.69, dff= 3.

Classfiffyfing fthe sfiftes usfing TWINSPAN (Ffig. 5)

produced fthree mafin sample-groups: labelled A, B

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Flora rfichness fin Kuwafift Al-Shehabfi & Murphy

9782

and C. Group C (n = 21 ftransecft samples) was sftrongly

separafted ffrom fthe remafinder off fthe dafta seft aft fthe firsft

hfierarchfical dfivfisfion (efigenvalue: 0.858), and supporfted

a very specfies-poor lora, wfifth a maxfimum off ffour

specfies fin ftwo off fthe samples, and only one specfies (fthe

findficaftor ffor fthe sample-group: Haloxylon) aft nearly all

fthe resft. The majorfifty off fthe samples were ffrom NS

(unproftecfted), buft fthree were ffrom wfifthfin fthe nearby

proftecfted SAANR area. Thfis sample group clearly

shows close correspondence fto fthe Haloxylon planft

communfifty known fto exfisft fin fthe area, and appears

fto be a characfterfisfic ffeafture off heavfily dfisfturbed

open rangeland vegeftafion. Groups A (n= 20 ftransecft

samples) and B (n= 16 ftransecft samples) separafted aft fthe

second level off fthe classfificafion hfierarchy, agafin wfifth

a hfigh efigenvalue (0.618) ffor fthe dfivfisfion, suggesfing a

clear separafion off fthe vegeftafion ftypes represenfted fin

samples presenft fin fthe ftwo groups.

Group B had a dfiversfifty finftermedfiafte beftween A

Ffigure 3. The number off specfies off shrubs and off grass and herbs fin unproftecfted and proftecfted areas.

Ffigure 4. Number off annual and perennfial planft specfies recorded fin unproftecfted and proftecfted areas.

Ffigure 5. TWINSPAN sample end-groups A–C ffor fthe daftaseft, showfing findficaftor specfies.

and C, and was findficafted by Helfianfthemum, whfich

was presenft aft moderafte fto hfigh abundance fin all buft

one off fthe ftransecft samples comprfisfing fthe sample-

group. Sfipagrosfis was presenft aft hfigh abundance fin

50% off ftransecfts makfing up fthfis group, buft Cyperus was

compleftely absenft, fift fis lfikely fthaft fthfis sample group

represenfts a sub-communfifty off fthe known Sfipagrosfis

planft communfifty presenft fin fthe regfion. All samples fin

fthfis group were ffrom fthe proftecfted SAANR area. Group

A had by ffar fthe hfighesft planft dfiversfifty, and supporfted

a large number off specfies noft ffound fin ftransecfts

comprfisfing groups B or C (Image 4). Ift was findficafted

by fthe abundanft presence off Planftago, ftogefther wfifth

Schfismus: bofth planft specfies were uncommon or

absenft aft ofther sfiftes. Efifther one or bofth off Cyperus and

Sfipagrosfis were usually presenft fin ftransecfts comprfisfing

group A, so fift fis probable fthaft fthese samples represenft a

sub-communfifty off fthe known Sfipagrosfis-Cyperus planft

communfifty presenft fin fthe area. Samples were all ffrom

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Flora rfichness fin Kuwafift Al-Shehabfi & Murphy

9783

proftecfted areas, comprfisfing all off fthe Kabd ftransecfts

and a number off fthose collecfted ffrom SAANR.

DISCUSSION

Floral rfichness fin fthe sftudy areas was less fthan

expecfted ffrom prevfious sftudfies (Boulos & Al-Dosarfi

1994; Omar eft al. 2005). Specfies rfichness fin Kuwafift

may however lucftuafte sfignfificanftly ffrom year fto year,

as fis observed fin ofther deserft lands. In deserft ecology

mefteorologfical varfiables, especfially fthe amounft

and fime off rafinffall, ftrfiggers germfinafion off annual

specfies (Wenft 1955; Bowers 1987). Mosft planfts fin

Kuwafift are annual specfies. Consequenftly, low average

rafinffall finluenced fthe loral rfichness and coverage.

Furfthermore, fthe presenft sftudy was conducfted fin

fthe early season December fto January prfior fto clfimax

growfth off vegeftafion.

Ift fis clear ffrom fthe resulfts fthaft loral rfichness can be

used as an findficaftor off healfthy habfiftafts wfifthfin Kuwafift’s

deserft ecosysftem. Our resulfts also confirm fthe findfings

off Al-Awadfi eft al. (2003) fthaft vegeftafion can be used

as an findficaftor off land degradafion. Bofth Rhanfterfium

epapposum and Haloxylon salficornficum are fimporftanft

dwarff shrubs whfich help sftabfilfize Kuwafifi deserft

ecosysftems by ftrappfing wfindblown sand, helpfing fto

promofte specfies dfiversfifty (Brown & Porembskfi 1997).

Our resulfts showed a remarkable successfion off

range land fin open areas: NS and SK. Rare and palaftable

planft specfies are ffacfing a very hfigh fthreaft off exfincfion

fin open areas due fto land degradafion. In fthfis sftudy

Rhanfterfium epapposum was absenft fin SAANR, whfich

maftched fthe findfings off El-Shefikh & Abbadfi (2004),

alfthough fthfis specfies fis recorded fin fthe SAANR area

by ofthers (Boulos & Al-Dosarfi 1994; Omar eft al. 2000).

The presence off Rhanfterfium epapposum fin Kabd was

very low and resftrficfted fto lfimfifted localfized areas. Thfis

cofincfides wfifth fthe resulfts off Brown (2003), who ffound

fifts cover fto be less fthan 2%.

Image 4. The effecft off campfing recreafional acfivfifty on vegeftafion cover fin deserft lands off Kuwafift.

© Yahya Al-Shehabfi

Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 February 2017 | 9(2): 9777–97859784

Flora richness in Kuwait Al-Shehabi & Murphy

Overgrazing depletes the potential ability of habitats to renew their vegetation. Furthermore, off-road driving destroys large areas of open range lands where seeds are unable to germinate due to compacted or disturbed soils. In NS, annual plants were totally absent due to compacted soils as a result of long-term use of land by off-road vehicles. On the other hand, SK has more annual plants than NS. Loose texture of SK soils and presence of some recreation camping fences provide a better chance for annual plants to grow, while the compacted gravel soil texture of NS makes it hard for these plants to germinate and grow.

Plant species in SK were limited and did not offer stable micro habitats. It is difficult to find non-grazed or healthy plant communities in unprotected areas. An overgrazing effect was obvious on vegetation and its species diversity. Overgrazing indicator species such as Cornulaca aucheri, Salsola imbricata and Citrullus colocynthis have been observed in abundance in the south Kabd area. Open areas were characterized by short height, less vegetation cover and fewer plant species in comparison to protected areas. About 60 % of desert land is occupied for this purpose every year in Kuwait (Environment Public Authority 2003) from November to April (Fig. 9). This causes considerable disturbance to plant communities and to other wildlife.

CONCLUSION

Vegetation is a powerful indicator of land degradation in Kuwait, and the richness of plant species is limited by land degradation. The abundance of plant families and species was 2–10 times higher in protected areas versus open areas. The richest open area (SK) contained 50% of total flora species richness, while the worst open area (NS) had less than 10%. This remarkable variance shows the important role of protected areas in preserving Kuwait’s desert flora.

Significant difference of vegetation cover and its component species between protected and unprotected areas require decision makers to develop a national strategy to preserve ecosystems. Open areas need some powerful regulations to reduce their degradation. For example the coverage area of Rhanterium epapposum has declined from 30% (1974) to 2% (2001) due to excessive grazing and land degradation (Omar & Bhat 2008). Hence, legislation regulating camping, grazing and other damaging human activities should be revised and enforced to conserve open access areas. Premature death of plants will reduce numbers and population

recovery (Brown 2001). Extensive degradation will need prolonged and intensive remediation, especially in dry environments and shallow soils (Brown 2003). Consequently, desertification is irreversible without replanting even after 25 years of total protection (Le HoueHrou 1996). Open rangelands demand a new strategy to rehabilitate ecological habitats.

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Flora richness in Kuwait Al-Shehabi & Murphy

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Author Details: Dr. Yahya Al-Shehabi, received a PhD award from University of Glasgow, United Kingdom on 2012 in Ecology and Environmental Biology. Worked as a supervisor of Jahra Pool Reserve Kuwait National Park (recently named Sabah Al-Ahmed Natural reserve). Currently is a Head of Natural Protected Area Section in Environment Public Authority since 2010. Also, he works as a part-time lecturer at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training. Generally he is interested in studying wild life species, especially animal behavior, conducting bird census and plant survey. Dr. Kevin Murphy, who retired in 2013 from his position as senior lecturer in the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, inspired the naming of Actinellopsis murphyi gen. et spec. nov. Writing on the discovery in the journal Phytotaxa, the authors, led by Dr. Jonathan Taylor of North-West University in South Africa, note that they named the small-celled diatom ‘to honour [Dr. Murphy’s] contributions to the extension of the knowledge of the Zambian fauna and flora.’

Author Contribution: YAl-S did the main scientific research paper including the field survey and plant species identification and writing the manuscript. KM was the main supervisor during the analysis and reforming the results of the research and helped me to do the TWINSPAN analysis.

Threatened Taxa

The Journal of Threatened Taxa is dedicated to building evidence for conservation globally by publishing peer-reviewed articles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All articles published in JoTT are registered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise mentioned. JoTT allows unrestricted use of articles in any medium, reproduction, and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

February 2017 | Vol. 9 | No. 2 | Pages: 9777–9884Date of Publication: 26 February 2017 (Online & Print)

DOI: 10.11609/jott.2017.9.2.9777-9884www.threatenedtaxa.org

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online); ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)

OPEN ACCESS

Threatened Taxa

Article

Flora richness as an indicator of desert habitat quality in Kuwait-- Yahya Al-Shehabi & Kevin Murphy, Pp. 9777–9785

Communications

Distribution of Cryptopotamon anacoluthon (Kemp, 1918) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Potamidae), a freshwater crab endemic to Hong Kong -- David John Stanton, Michael Robertson Leven & Tommy Chung Hong Hui, Pp. 9786–9794

Moths of the family Limacodidae Duponchel, 1845 (Lepidoptera: Zygaenoidea) from Bhutan with six new generic and 12 new species records-- Jatishwor Singh Irungbam, Meenakshi Singh Chib & Alexey V. Solovyev, Pp. 9795–9813

Odonates of Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India-- M. Suhirtha Muhil & P. Pramod, Pp. 9814–9828

Twenty-three new records of mantodea (Insecta) from some states of India-- Tushar Kanti Mukherjee, Geetha Iyer & Parbati Chatterjee, Pp. 9829–9839

Short Communications

On the feeding habit of the Guiana Dolphin Sotalia guianensis (van Bénedèn, 1864) (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla: Delphinidae) in southeastern Brazil (~220S): has there been any change in more than two decades?-- Ana Paula Madeira Di Beneditto, Clara da Cruz Vidart Badia & Salvatore Siciliano, Pp. 9840–9843

Additions to the scorpion fauna (Arachnida: Scorpiones) of Kerala, India, with an illustrated key to the genera-- K. Aswathi & P.M. Sureshan, Pp. 9844–9850

Diversity of two families Libellulidae and Coenagrionidae (Odonata) in Regional Institute of Education Campus, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India-- Priyamvada Pandey & Animesh Kumar Mohapatra, Pp. 9851–9857

A report on occurrence of aphidophagous predators of Aphis odinae (van der Goot) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in cashew ecosystem from Goa, India-- Ramasamy Maruthadurai & Narendra Pratap Singh, Pp. 9858–9861

Notes

A new critical habitat for conservation of the White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis Hume, 1878 (Aves: Ardeidae) from Bhutan-- Karma Wangdi, Tashi Dhendup & Tsethup Tshering, Pp. 9862–9863

First report of the parasitoid wasp Piestopleura Förster (Hymenoptera: Platygastroidea: Platygastridae) from India-- Kamalanathan Veenakumari, Peter Neerup Buhl, Anandhan Rameshkumar & Prashanth Mohanraj, Pp. 9864–9865

A century later the Manipur Argus Callerebia suroia Tytler, 1914 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) recorded in its type locality in Manipur, India-- Jatishwor Singh Irungbam, Harmenn Huidrom & Baleshwor Singh Soibam, Pp. 9866–9869

First record of the predatory stinkbug Eocanthecona concinna (Walker, 1867) (Pentatomidae: Asopinae) from India-- Sadashiv Hanumant Waghmare & Sunil Madhukar Gaikwad, Pp. 9870–9873

New records of Aplousobranch ascidians to Indian waters from Andaman Islands-- Jhimli Mondal, C. Raghunathan & K. Venkataraman, Pp. 9874–9880

Additions to the flora of Coimbatore hills, Tamil Nadu, India-- K. Kiruthika, M. Sulaiman & R. Gopalan, Pp. 9881–9884