An Ecological Study on Two Geophytes: Asparagus stipularis Forssk. and Asphodelus aestivus Brot. in the Mediterranean Coast of Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Botany Department, Faculty of Science at New Damietta, Damietta Branch, Mansoura Uuniversity.

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the distribution pattern of two geophytes namely: Asparagus stipularis and Asphodelus aestivus along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. The floristic analysis indicated that the associates with both species are mainly therophytes, chamaephytes and geophytes. Both species are found to grow in slightly alkaline soil and low to medium soil salinity. A. stipularis prefers relatively high soil organic carbon, while A. aestivus prefers soil with high calcium carbonate content. Species richness showed hum-pbacked curve along the pH and calcium carbonate gradients for both species. Species richness of A. stipularis community showed a positive relation to soil salinity and negative relation to organic carbon, whereas no noticeable trends were found in case of A. aestivus community. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that calcium carbonate and Ca+2 are the most determinant edaphic factors for distribution A. aestivus, while organic carbon, Na+ and Mg+2 are the effective factors for the distribution of A. stipularis.

Keywords

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics