Acta Botanica Croatica, Vol. 71 No. 2, 2012.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.2478/v10184-011-0057-2
Spatial and temporal plant phenological niche differentiation in the Wadi Degla desert ecosystem (Egypt)
Ahmad K. Hegazy
; Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, P.O. Box 2455, Saudi Arabia
Abdelrahman A. Alatar
; Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, P.O. Box 2455, Saudi Arabia
Jon Lovett-Doust
; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Hosam A. El-Adawy
; Natural Resources Surveying Department, Environmental Studies and Research Institute, Minofiya University, Sadat City, Egypt
Abstract
Twenty dominant plant species representing different life forms were investigated phenologically over a period of 36 months (January 2004 to December 2006). Plant populations were sampled at down-, mid-, and upstream sites in a desert wadi ecosystem. The results were analyzed using TWINSPAN, DCA and CCA techniques. Five phenological niches were apparent: (1) species flowering all year round, with peaks in spring and autumn such as Ochradenus baccatus; (2) species flowering during winter including Lycium shawii and Tamarix nilotica; (3) species flowering during spring, e.g., Zilla spinosa, Zygophyllum coccineum and Capparis spinosa; (4) species flowering during summer including Iphiona mucronata and Deverra triradiata; and (5) species flowering during autumn that include Atriplex halimus and two Anabasis species. The climatic variables, including temperature, rainfall and relative humidity, affect the phenological niches and between-species differences. Within-species variations occurred between years and there were no between-site variations for most study species. The different plant species exhibited phenological diversity along the course of the wadi ecosystem. The phenological niches are species-specific and environmentally dependent rather than local selective pressures.
Keywords
Desert; environment; flowering; Egypt; life forms; phenology; niche
Hrčak ID:
87485
URI
Publication date:
1.10.2012.
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