Ecological and Phytochemical Studies on Some Species of Genus Amaranthus in the Nile Delta, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty of Science, mansoura university

2 Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Egypt

Abstract

The present study deals with some features of ecology and phytochemistry of three Amaranthus
species, namely: Amaranthus graecizans, A. lividus and A. viridis which are naturally growing in the
Nile Delta region of Egypt. The composition of weed vegetation in the present investigation is
classified by cluster analysis into four groups: group A is codominated by Amaranthus graecizans and
Portulaca oleracea, group B is codominated by Amaranthus lividus and Cynodon dactylon, group C is
codominated by Alternanthera sessilis and Echinochloa crus-galli and group D is codominated by
Aster squamatus, Conyza bonariensis and Paspalum disticum. The ordination of the sampled stands
applied by Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) indicated that, the recognized vegetation
groups are markedly distinguishable and having a clear pattern of segregation on the ordination plane.
The application of the Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed that, soil texture, porosity,
water-holding capacity, bicarbonate, sodium, soil reaction (pH), organic matter and electrical
conductivity are the most effective soil variables which correlate with the distribution and abundance
of weed vegetation in the study area. The seed germination under different levels of salinity, light,
temperature and humidity is studied for the three investigated species. Phytochemically, the mean
values of moisture, ash, total nitrogen, protein, total lipids, soluble sugars, glucose, sucrose,
polysaccharides and total carbohydrates were determined. The elementary analysis together with
qualitative and quantitative analyses of 16 amino acids were also carried out in the investigated plant
species.

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