Goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems: Examples from the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt
About one third of the earth’s land surface is covered by deserts that have low and variable rainfall, nutrient-poor soils, and little vegetation cover. Here, we focus on the goods and services offered by desert ecosystems using the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt extending from Burg El-Arab to...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000153 |
| _version_ | 1811316698047840256 |
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| author | Laila M. Bidak Sania A. Kamal Marwa Waseem A. Halmy Selim Z. Heneidy |
| author_facet | Laila M. Bidak Sania A. Kamal Marwa Waseem A. Halmy Selim Z. Heneidy |
| author_sort | Laila M. Bidak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | About one third of the earth’s land surface is covered by deserts that have low and variable rainfall, nutrient-poor soils, and little vegetation cover. Here, we focus on the goods and services offered by desert ecosystems using the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt extending from Burg El-Arab to El-Salloum as an example. We conducted field surveys and collected other data to identify the goods services and provided by native plant species. A total of 322 native plant species were compiled. The direct services provided by these native plants included sources of food, medicine, and energy; indirect vegetation services included promotion of biodiversity, water storage, and soil fertility. The plant diversity in this ecosystem provided economic service benefits, such as sources of fodder, fuel-wood, and traditional medicinal plants. Changes in land use and recent ill-managed human activities may influence the availability of these services and strongly impact biodiversity and habitat availability. Although deserts are fragile and support low levels of productivity, they provide a variety of goods and services whose continuing availability is contingent upon the adoption of rational land management practices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:52:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a63ff0f8c037429ba29e9fb891f5f705 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:52:48Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-a63ff0f8c037429ba29e9fb891f5f7052022-12-22T02:47:59ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942015-01-013C43344710.1016/j.gecco.2015.02.001Goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems: Examples from the northwestern coastal desert of EgyptLaila M. Bidak0Sania A. Kamal1Marwa Waseem A. Halmy2Selim Z. Heneidy3Department of Botany & Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 21511, Alexandria, EgyptDepartment of Botany & Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 21511, Alexandria, EgyptDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 21511, Alexandria, EgyptDepartment of Botany & Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, P.O. Box 21511, Alexandria, EgyptAbout one third of the earth’s land surface is covered by deserts that have low and variable rainfall, nutrient-poor soils, and little vegetation cover. Here, we focus on the goods and services offered by desert ecosystems using the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt extending from Burg El-Arab to El-Salloum as an example. We conducted field surveys and collected other data to identify the goods services and provided by native plant species. A total of 322 native plant species were compiled. The direct services provided by these native plants included sources of food, medicine, and energy; indirect vegetation services included promotion of biodiversity, water storage, and soil fertility. The plant diversity in this ecosystem provided economic service benefits, such as sources of fodder, fuel-wood, and traditional medicinal plants. Changes in land use and recent ill-managed human activities may influence the availability of these services and strongly impact biodiversity and habitat availability. Although deserts are fragile and support low levels of productivity, they provide a variety of goods and services whose continuing availability is contingent upon the adoption of rational land management practices.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000153DesertsEcological servicesMedicinal plantEgypt |
| spellingShingle | Laila M. Bidak Sania A. Kamal Marwa Waseem A. Halmy Selim Z. Heneidy Goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems: Examples from the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt Global Ecology and Conservation Deserts Ecological services Medicinal plant Egypt |
| title | Goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems: Examples from the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt |
| title_full | Goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems: Examples from the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt |
| title_fullStr | Goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems: Examples from the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems: Examples from the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt |
| title_short | Goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems: Examples from the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt |
| title_sort | goods and services provided by native plants in desert ecosystems examples from the northwestern coastal desert of egypt |
| topic | Deserts Ecological services Medicinal plant Egypt |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989415000153 |
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