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Ecology of Invasive Species in Saudi Arabia, Calotropis procera (Ait) W.T. Ait.: Floristic Composition and Associated Plant Communities

Received: 20 October 2016     Accepted: 29 November 2016     Published: 27 December 2016
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Abstract

The present study aims at evaluating the state of Calotropis procera to adapt different environmental conditions; surveying the associated wild plants and recognizing the plant communities which are associated with it. Seventy five stands were selected along Taif region and its adjacent area to represent the environmental variations that are associated with the distribution of Calotropis procera. The abundance of species, life forms, chorotype and economic uses were determined. Two trends of multivariate analysis were applied: classification (TWINSPAN) and ordination (DECORANA). The total number of recorded species associated with Calotropis procera in the study area is 55 species belonging to 48 genera and 27 families. 74.5% of the recoded species are perennials and 25.5% are annuals. The families Fabaceae, Poaceae, Solanaceae have the highest contributions followed by Asteraceae and Zugophyllaceae. Chamaephytes life form had the highest contribution followed by therophytes, phanerophytes and gephytes, while hemicryptophytes were the lowest. The economic uses of the recorded species could be arranged descendingly as follows: grazing → medicinal→ fuel → other uses→human food. The mono-regionals species were the highest followed by pluri-regional species, while the bi-regional and cosmopolitans were the lowest. Ten of the mono-regional species are Sudano-Zambezian species and 6 species are belonging to Saharo-Arabian and Mediterranean regions. The application of TWINSPAN on the cover estimates of 55 species recorded in 75 stands led to the recognition of 7 vegetation groups (A: Themeda triandra, B: Cynodon dactylon, C: Commicarpus ambiguus, D: Amaranthus viridis, E: Acacia tortilis, F: Argemone ochraleuca and G: Verbesina encelioides groups).

Published in International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology (Volume 1, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20
Page(s) 127-140
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Calotropis procera, Saudi Arabia, Invasive, Multivariate Analysis, Medicinal Plants

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    Yassin Mohamed Al-Sodany, Nawar Sunaydih Al-Juaid, Anwar Abdel-Karim Kahil. (2016). Ecology of Invasive Species in Saudi Arabia, Calotropis procera (Ait) W.T. Ait.: Floristic Composition and Associated Plant Communities. International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology, 1(3), 127-140. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20

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    Yassin Mohamed Al-Sodany; Nawar Sunaydih Al-Juaid; Anwar Abdel-Karim Kahil. Ecology of Invasive Species in Saudi Arabia, Calotropis procera (Ait) W.T. Ait.: Floristic Composition and Associated Plant Communities. Int. J. Ecotoxicol. Ecobiol. 2016, 1(3), 127-140. doi: 10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20

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    AMA Style

    Yassin Mohamed Al-Sodany, Nawar Sunaydih Al-Juaid, Anwar Abdel-Karim Kahil. Ecology of Invasive Species in Saudi Arabia, Calotropis procera (Ait) W.T. Ait.: Floristic Composition and Associated Plant Communities. Int J Ecotoxicol Ecobiol. 2016;1(3):127-140. doi: 10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20,
      author = {Yassin Mohamed Al-Sodany and Nawar Sunaydih Al-Juaid and Anwar Abdel-Karim Kahil},
      title = {Ecology of Invasive Species in Saudi Arabia, Calotropis procera (Ait) W.T. Ait.: Floristic Composition and Associated Plant Communities},
      journal = {International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology},
      volume = {1},
      number = {3},
      pages = {127-140},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijee.20160103.20},
      abstract = {The present study aims at evaluating the state of Calotropis procera to adapt different environmental conditions; surveying the associated wild plants and recognizing the plant communities which are associated with it. Seventy five stands were selected along Taif region and its adjacent area to represent the environmental variations that are associated with the distribution of Calotropis procera. The abundance of species, life forms, chorotype and economic uses were determined. Two trends of multivariate analysis were applied: classification (TWINSPAN) and ordination (DECORANA). The total number of recorded species associated with Calotropis procera in the study area is 55 species belonging to 48 genera and 27 families. 74.5% of the recoded species are perennials and 25.5% are annuals. The families Fabaceae, Poaceae, Solanaceae have the highest contributions followed by Asteraceae and Zugophyllaceae. Chamaephytes life form had the highest contribution followed by therophytes, phanerophytes and gephytes, while hemicryptophytes were the lowest. The economic uses of the recorded species could be arranged descendingly as follows: grazing → medicinal→ fuel → other uses→human food. The mono-regionals species were the highest followed by pluri-regional species, while the bi-regional and cosmopolitans were the lowest. Ten of the mono-regional species are Sudano-Zambezian species and 6 species are belonging to Saharo-Arabian and Mediterranean regions. The application of TWINSPAN on the cover estimates of 55 species recorded in 75 stands led to the recognition of 7 vegetation groups (A: Themeda triandra, B: Cynodon dactylon, C: Commicarpus ambiguus, D: Amaranthus viridis, E: Acacia tortilis, F: Argemone ochraleuca and G: Verbesina encelioides groups).},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Ecology of Invasive Species in Saudi Arabia, Calotropis procera (Ait) W.T. Ait.: Floristic Composition and Associated Plant Communities
    AU  - Yassin Mohamed Al-Sodany
    AU  - Nawar Sunaydih Al-Juaid
    AU  - Anwar Abdel-Karim Kahil
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20
    T2  - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology
    JF  - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology
    JO  - International Journal of Ecotoxicology and Ecobiology
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    EP  - 140
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1735
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijee.20160103.20
    AB  - The present study aims at evaluating the state of Calotropis procera to adapt different environmental conditions; surveying the associated wild plants and recognizing the plant communities which are associated with it. Seventy five stands were selected along Taif region and its adjacent area to represent the environmental variations that are associated with the distribution of Calotropis procera. The abundance of species, life forms, chorotype and economic uses were determined. Two trends of multivariate analysis were applied: classification (TWINSPAN) and ordination (DECORANA). The total number of recorded species associated with Calotropis procera in the study area is 55 species belonging to 48 genera and 27 families. 74.5% of the recoded species are perennials and 25.5% are annuals. The families Fabaceae, Poaceae, Solanaceae have the highest contributions followed by Asteraceae and Zugophyllaceae. Chamaephytes life form had the highest contribution followed by therophytes, phanerophytes and gephytes, while hemicryptophytes were the lowest. The economic uses of the recorded species could be arranged descendingly as follows: grazing → medicinal→ fuel → other uses→human food. The mono-regionals species were the highest followed by pluri-regional species, while the bi-regional and cosmopolitans were the lowest. Ten of the mono-regional species are Sudano-Zambezian species and 6 species are belonging to Saharo-Arabian and Mediterranean regions. The application of TWINSPAN on the cover estimates of 55 species recorded in 75 stands led to the recognition of 7 vegetation groups (A: Themeda triandra, B: Cynodon dactylon, C: Commicarpus ambiguus, D: Amaranthus viridis, E: Acacia tortilis, F: Argemone ochraleuca and G: Verbesina encelioides groups).
    VL  - 1
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, KSA

  • Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, KSA

  • Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, KSA

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