Ecology of the Littoral Salt Marsh Vegetation at Al-Magawah on the Gulf of Aqaba, Saudi Arabia PDF

Keywords

Saudi Arabia, Vegetation, Ecology

Abstract

The littoral salt marsh vegetation at Al-Magawah, near Ras Sheikh Humeid on the Gulf of Aqaba, Saudi Arabia, is characterized by its zonal arrangement. The Arthrocnemum glaucum zone is followed successively landward by the Suaeda pruinosa, Nitraria retusa and Zygophyllum coccineum zones. Inundation, the dynamic process of accretion, differences in ground level, distance from the shore, vertical elevation above the saline water table, salinity gradient, soil texture and aridity all contribute to the pattern of distribution, structure and composition of the vegetation.