A contribution to the ecology and floristic markers of plant associations in different habitats of Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

Sinai Peninsula in Egypt is of special ecological interest because of its variable environment, landscape, distinctive flora. In the present study, 75 species were recorded, belonging to 65 genera and 29 families, and 90.7 % of these species are perennials. The most frequent life form was the chamaephytes (49.4 %) and the Saharo-Sindian taxa were the best represented ones (73.3 %). The classification of the 31 stands gave four communities: Nitraria retusa, Atriplex halimus, Cornulaca monacantha, and Retama raetam. According to the two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) classification, the ordination of stands showed that the groups A and B are markedly distinguishable, while the groups C and D are superimposed. Chlorides, sulfates, Na, Ca, Mg, K, calcium carbonate, and electrical conductivity are the community distribution controlling parameters. Results of this study demonstrated that the distribution of the plant communities and their composition over a small geographic area in desert ecosystems is related to heterogeneous topography and landform pattern. The heterogeneity of local topography, edaphic factors, and microclimatic conditions leads to variation of the distributional behavior of the plant associations of the study area.