Size Structure of Cupressus sempervirens L. and Pistacia lentiscus L. Popula- tions in Wadi Alkuf, East of Libya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54172/mjsc.v36i1.7Keywords:
Population Dynamic, Size Distribution, Cupressus sempervirens L, Pistacia len- tiscus L., Wadi Alkuf, LibyaAbstract
Wadi Alkuf is one of the richest of all the phytogeographical regions of Al-Jabal Al- Akhder. The present work aims to study the size structure of Cupressus sempervirens L. and Pista- cia lentiscus L. populations in relation to their physiographic and soil conditions in Wadi Alkuf, northeast of Libya. Eighteen terraces (25 m × 25 m) were selected at Wadi Alkuf of Al-Jabal Al- Akhder at three different levels (six downstream, midstream, and upstream). The number of indi- viduals of each species was counted while the height (H) and mean crown diameter (D) were meas- ured. The size index of each individual was calculated and then used to classify the population into 7 size classes: 1 m to 7 m. The height, mean diameter, height to diameter ratio, size index, and vol- ume per individual in each size class were determined. Generally, the height to diameter ratio was more than unity for C. sempervirens L., this means that the diameter of these species tend to expand vertically rather than horizontally, while the height to diameter ratio was less than unity for P. len- tiscus L, this means that the diameter of these species tends to expand horizontally rather than verti- cally. The total size structure of C. sempervirens L. in the study area is characterized by the prepon- derance of the young individuals comparing with the old ones, while that of P. lentiscus L. showed a reverse pattern (i.e., preponderance of mature individual compared with the young ones). Five forms of size distributions along the different elevations were recognized: more or less inverse J- shaped distribution, positively skewed distribution, bell-shaped distribution, more or less J-shaped distribution, and more or less stationary size distribution biased to large size. The study’s results show that density histograms of size distributions are good indicators of future trends in population numbers for the studied species. The field observations were consistent with the results of the inves- tigation of soil properties. The soil downstream has the highest values of pH, EC, HCO-3, SO4-2, Cl- and Na+, while that of the upstream has the lowest values except for K+.
Downloads
References
Ali, S., & Jafri, S. (1976). Flora of Libya. 1-24. Department of Botany, El-Faateh University, Tripoli.
Boulos, L. (1972). Our present knowledge on the Flora and vegetation of Libya bibliography. Webbia, 26(2), 365-400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00837792.1972.10669962
Boulos, L. (1977). A Check-list of the Libyan Flora.
Boulos, L. (1979). A Check-List Of The Libyan Flora. Iii. Compositae.(By C. Jeffrey).
Boulos, L. (1995). Flora of Egypt. Checklist.
Boulos, L. (2005). Flora of Egypt. Volume 4. Monocotyledons: Al Hadara Publishing, Cairo. 617pp.
Boulos, L. (2009). Flora of Egypt checklist, revised annotated edition. Al-Hadara Publishing, Cairo, 198-201.
Caswell, H. (1986). Life cycle models for plants. Lectures on mathematics in the life sciences, 18, 171-233.
Colwell, R. K., & Lees, D. C. (2000). The mid-domain effect: geometric constraints on the geography of species richness. Trends in ecology & evolution, 15(2), 70-76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(99)01767-X
Desertlinks, (2001). Combating desertification in Mediterranean Europe: linking science with stakeholders (2001-2005, EU funding), International and interdisciplinary research project funded by the European Commission under Framework Programme 5.
El-Barasi, Y. M. M., & Saaed, M. W. B. (2013). Threats to plant diversity in the north eastern part of Libya (El-Jabal El-Akahdar and Marmarica Plateau). Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering. A, 2(1A), 41.
Farjon, A. (2013). Cupressus sempervirens - Version 2014.2. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Galal, T. M. (2011). Size structure and dynamics of some woody perennials along elevation gradient in Wadi Gimal, Red Sea coast of Egypt. Flora-Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants, 206(7), 638-645. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2010.11.010
Gray, B. (1975). Size-composition and regeneration of Araucaria stands in New Guinea. The Journal of Ecology, 273-289. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2258854
Greuter, W., Burdet, H. M., & Long, G. (1984). Med-checklist: Secretariat Med-Checklist, Botanischer Garten & Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem.
Harper, J., & White, J. (1974). The demography of plants. Annual review of ecology and systematics, 5(1), 419-463. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.05.110174.002223
Harper, J. L. (1977). Population biology of plants. Population biology of plants.
Jafri, S. (1977). Cistaceae in SMH Jafri & El. Gadi (eds.) Flora of Libya no. 48: Tripoli.
Jafri, S. (1993). Cistaceae in SMH Jafri & El. Gadi (eds.) Flora of Libya no. 48: Tripoli.
Kirkpatrick, M. (1984). Demographic models based on size, not age, for organisms with indeterminate growth. Ecology, 65(6), 1874-1884. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1937785
Kosmas, C., Kirkby, M. J., & Geeson, N. (1999). The Medalus Project: Mediterranean desertification and land use: Manual on key indicators of desertification and mapping environmentally sensitive areas to desertification: Directorate-General Science, Research and Development.
Loutfy, B., & Boulos, L. (1979). A Check-List Of The Libyan Flora. Ii: Salicaceae To Neuradaceae.
Mohannad G, A.-S., & Duncan M, P. (2011). Taxonomic revision of the genus Pistacia L.(Anacardiaceae). American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2012.
Richards, L. A. (1954). Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils (Vol. 78): LWW. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-195408000-00012
Ryan, J., Garabet, S., Harmsen, K., & Rashid, A. (1996). A soil and plant analysis manual adapted for the West Asia and North Africa region. ICARDA, Aleppo, Syria, 140.
Shaltout, K., & Ayyad, M. (1988). Structure and standing crop of Egyptian Thymelaea hirsuta populations. Vegetatio, 74(2), 137-142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00044738
Shaltout, K., Fawzy, M., Galal, T., Awad, M., El‐Barasi, Y., & Saeed, B. (2014). Impact of waste water discharge on the plant communities and size structure of Wadi El‐Shees, Al‐Jabal Al‐Akhdar, Libya. Feddes Repertorium, 125(1‐2), 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.201400023
Shaltout, K., & Mady, M. (1993). Current situation of the raudha's woody plant populations in the Central Saudi Arabia With 3 Figures and 3 Tables. Feddes Repertorium, 104(7‐8), 503-509. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.4921040714
Shaltout, K. H., Fawzy, M., Ahmed, D. A., Awad, M. h. A., El‐Barasi, Y. M., & Al‐hasi, S. M. (2015). Impact of waste water discharge on the plant diversity and community structure of Al‐Marj Plain, Libya. Feddes Repertorium, 126(1‐2), 6-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/fedr.201400034
SPSS Inc. (1999). SPSS 10.0 for Windows: Statistics. SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL.
Tackholm, V., & Boulos, L. (1974). Students' flora of Egypt.
Watkinson, A. R., & White, J. (1986). Some life-history consequences of modular construction in plants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. B, Biological Sciences, 313(1159), 31-51. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.1986.0024
Weiner, J. (1986). How competition for light and nutrients affects size variability in Ipomoea tricolor populations. Ecology, 67(5), 1425-1427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1938699
Werner, P. A., & Caswell, H. (1977). Population growth rates and age versus stage‐distribution models for teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris Huds.). Ecology, 58(5), 1103-1111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1936930
Zohary, M. (1952). A monographical study of the genus Pistacia. Palestine Journal of Botany (Jerusalem Series), 5(4), 187-228.
Zohary, M. (1973). Geobotanical foundations of the Middle East: Fischer.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2021 AL-MUKHTAR JOURNAL OF SCIENCES
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright of the articles Published by Almukhtar Journal of Science (MJSc) is retained by the author(s), who grant MJSc a license to publish the article. Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors and cite MJSc as original publisher. Also they accept the article remains published by MJSc website (except in occasion of a retraction of the article).
