scholarly journals Impacts of Nicotiana glauca Graham Invasion on the Vegetation Composition and Soil: A Case Study of Taif, Western Saudi Arabia

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2587
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz M. Assaeed ◽  
Abdullah S. Alharthi ◽  
Ahmed M. Abd-ElGawad
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Morphological Parameters ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Nicotiana Glauca ◽  
Species List ◽  
Understory Species ◽  
Wide Range

Invasive species are considered a serious problem in different ecosystems worldwide. They can compete and interfere with native plants, leading to a shift in community assembly and ecosystem function. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of Nicotiana glauca Graham invasion on native vegetation composition and soil of the most invaded locations in the Taif region, Western Saudi Arabia, including Alwaht (WHT), Ar-Ruddaf (RDF), and Ash-shafa (SHFA). Plant species list, life span, life form, and chorotypes were assessed. Six locations highly infested with N. glauca shrubs were selected, and the morphological parameters of the shrubs were measured. Within each location, richness, evenness, relative density of species, and soil were measured either under the canopy of N. glauca shrubs or outside the canopy. Floristic analysis revealed the existence of 144 plant species, mainly perennial. The shrubs at the SHFA1 location showed the highest values of all measured morphological parameters. The WHT 1 location showed high richness and evenness, while the WHAT 2 location showed less richness and evenness. The invaded locations showed substantial variation in the community composition. Additionally, the effect of N. glauca on the understory species varied from competition to facilitation, where most of the understory species were inhibited. As an average of all locations, 65.86% of the plant species were recorded only outside the canopy of N. glauca. The vegetation analysis revealed that the SHFA location is more vulnerable to invasion that could be ascribed to its wide range of habitats and high disturbance. The soil–vegetation relationships showed significant variations among the studied locations regarding soil composition, and thereby showed a wide ecological range of the invasive shrubs N. glauca. Therefore, the invasion of N. glauca in the Taif region altered the species interactions, nutrients, and soil properties.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Official Healthcare Informatics Applications in Saudi Arabia and their Role in Addressing COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-263
Author(s):  
Nouf Alassaf ◽  
Sulaiman Bah ◽  
Fatima Almulhim ◽  
Norah AlDossary ◽  
Munirah Alqahtani
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Healthcare Informatics ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Health Related

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine official healthcare informatics applications in Saudi Arabia in the context of their role in addressing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods: This is a case study of official healthcare informatics programs and applications (apps) developed in Saudi Arabia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative content analysis (QCA) method was used. Data collection consisted of two components: a desktop review of documents and actual testing of the programs. According to the QCA method, we developed a matrix for abstracting information on different apps and programs in order to categorize the data. The compilation of information and discussion were based on information summarized in the matrix.Results: Six apps in total were developed before the COVID-19 pandemic. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, three of the apps, SEHA, Mawid, and Sehaty were modified to address different aspects of the pandemic. Both SEHA and Mawid included information about COVID-19 awareness. During the COVID-19 pandemic, three official apps were developed: Tawakkalna, Tetamman, and Tabaud. The Tawakkalna app is mandatory for all citizens and residents to activate when visiting stores and institutions. It has a wide range of COVID-19 and other health-related functions. The Tetamman app provides COVID-19 test results and allows one to check his or her daily symptoms. It also has an educational content library and provides alerts. The Tabaud app notifies individuals if they have been exposed to COVID-19. The features, advantages, and disadvantages of all of the apps were examined.Conclusions: Overall, there were more strengths than shortcomings in the role played by healthcare informatics in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

Classifying endangered vegetation communities: a case study of Cumberland Plain Woodlands

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 120 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. French ◽  
B. Callaghan ◽  
S. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Potential Method ◽  
Multivariate Techniques ◽  
Species List ◽  
Vegetation Communities ◽  
Full Species ◽  
Standard Level ◽  
Canopy Species

Remnants of an endangered community, Cumberland Plain Woodlands on shale, were studied in order to 1) investigate the conflict between the needs of legislation to define parameters of protected communities in a precise manner and the spatial variation in communities, and 2) to define floristic groupings in the Cumberland Plain Woodlands based on all plant species. Sites previously classified as Grey Box Woodland, Grey Box Ironbark Woodland and Spotted Gum Woodland map units were surveyed and compared to the same classification applied by one of the authors. Differences were evident, but both classifications showed statistically significant differences between map units, suggesting that although each classification is valid, the differences between these map units cannot be consistently applied. Canopy species were not useful descriptors of the community as they grouped differently to both the full species list and the understorey species. A significantly different community occurring at the transition between shale and sandstone in Holsworthy Military Area was identified, suggesting the importance of this area to the conservation of variability in communities in this area. The use of multivariate techniques to describe levels of variation in communities is discussed and a potential method for using a standard level of similarity to classify vegetation communities is introduced as a mechanism for defining communities using some consistent technique.

scholarly journals Alien plants in Western region, Saudi Arabia: أنواع النباتات الدخيلة في المنطقة الغربية بالمملكة العربية السعودية

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
SAUD THAMER SAEED AL-HARTHI , ABDULLAH MANAHI AL-QAHTANI , B
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Exotic Plants ◽  
Alien Invasive Species ◽  
Western Region ◽  
Nicotiana Glauca ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
World Species

    Urbanization in Saudi Arabia has led to the introduction of many exotic plant species as well as weeds, especially in the last few years that have never been seen before. The present study aims to identify the alien invasive species in the western region of Saudi Arabia, assessing the impacts of the invasive species on native plants as well as endemic plants and also the adverse effects of plants on the natural vegetation cover. Several field trips were made for plant collections and different categories of exotic plants were identified which include annual herbs and grasses, perennial herbs, sub shrubs, shrubs and trees. In the present study, 16 exotic plants were identified of which 14 belong to old world species and 2 belong to new world species (the plants from South America is the most representative of these species). These exotic species have caused a change in the composition of natural plant communities and have affected the diversity of native plants in natural habitats and protected areas. Examples of these plant species include: Argemone ochroleuca, Nicotiana glauca, Opuntia dillenii, Prosopis juliflora etc. Among these species P. juliflora, was found at low elevations such as valleys and farms while N. glauca and O. dillenii were observed at high elevations such as mountains.    

Phytochemical Study and Antimicrobial Activity of Two Medicinal Plants from Al-Baha Region

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1782-1788
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Ali Alomari ◽  
Abdalfatah Abdalla Fadlelmula ◽  
Hassen Harzali
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Activity ◽  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Ethyl Acetate ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Screening Tests ◽  
Phytochemical Study ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Capparis Spinosa

The plant is a huge therapeutic source with enormous applications in curative industry. For new sources of antimicrobial agents, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n–butanol extracts of two medicinal plants (Dodonaea viscose and Capparis spinosa) were prepared by liquid – liquid extraction. The plants were collected from Shuda mountain / Al-Baha region/ Saudi Arabia and then evaluated systematically. Phytochemical screening tests detect the existence of flavonoids, alkaloids, tannin, terponoids, saponnins and carbohydrates in most of the performed extracts. Antimicrobial activity was assessed against five bacterial and one fungal race. The extracts of the two plants leaves showed wide vision antibacterial activity and significant antifungal activity. The antibacterial activity (zone of inhibition) of Dodonaea viscose species varied from 30 to 18 mm, whereas of Capparis spinosa the range from 20 to 16 mm for ethyl acetate extracts, for n- butanol extracts the inhibition zone differ from 15 – 10 and 16 - 10 mm respectively. These results indicated that antimicrobial activities of plant species differ to a wide range not only between species themselves but also within the tests for antimicrobial evaluation. The current result supports the medicinal use of the leaves of these studied plants which works as an antimicrobial agent. These results compare to other studies carried out for the same plants in different countries in different environments exhibited diverse outcome in chemical constituents in the plant extracts and in their effects on tested types of micro organismswhich may have been due to a number of factors, including geographical location, season and environmental factors, and the method of extraction. This study for the two plant species was first time performed in this area of Saudi Arabia.

scholarly journals Are Polyploid Species Less Vulnerable to Climate Change? A Case Study in North American Crataegus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somayeh Naghiloo ◽  
Jana Vamosi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Range Expansion ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Stress Gradient ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Plant Responses ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Considerable Range

Abstract Understanding the mechanisms underlying plant responses to climate change is an important step towards developing effective mitigation strategies. Polyploidy is an important evolutionary trait that can influence the capacity of plants to adapt to climate change. The environmental flexibility of polyploids suggests their resiliency to climate change, however, such hypotheses have not yet received empirical evidence. To understand how ploidy level may influence response to climate change, we modeled the current and future distribution of 54 Crataegus species under moderate to severe environments and compared the range change between diploids and polyploids.The majority of studied species are predicted to experience considerable range expansion. We found a negative interaction between ploidy and ecoregions in determining the response to climate change. In extreme environments polyploids are projected to experience a higher range expansion than diploids with climate change, while the opposite is true for moderate environments.The range expansion of Crataegus species can be attributed to their tolerance for a wide range of environmental conditions. Despite higher tolerance of polyploids to extreme environments, they do not necessarily outperform diploids in moderate environments, which can be attributed to the varying nature of species interactions along a stress gradient.

scholarly journals A Mechanistic Framework for Understanding the Effects of Climate Change on the Link Between Flowering and Fruiting Phenology

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manette E. Sandor ◽  
Clare E. Aslan ◽  
Liba Pejchar ◽  
Judith L. Bronstein
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life History ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Functional Link ◽  
Fruiting Phenology ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Large Numbers

Phenological shifts are a widely studied consequence of climate change. Little is known, however, about certain critical phenological events, nor about mechanistic links between shifts in different life-history stages of the same organism. Among angiosperms, flowering times have been observed to advance with climate change, but, whether fruiting times shift as a direct consequence of shifting flowering times, or respond differently or not at all to climate change, is poorly understood. Yet, shifts in fruiting could alter species interactions, including by disrupting seed dispersal mutualisms. In the absence of long-term data on fruiting phenology, but given extensive data on flowering, we argue that an understanding of whether flowering and fruiting are tightly linked or respond independently to environmental change can significantly advance our understanding of how fruiting phenologies will respond to warming climates. Through a case study of biotically and abiotically dispersed plants, we present evidence for a potential functional link between the timing of flowering and fruiting. We then propose general mechanisms for how flowering and fruiting life history stages could be functionally linked or independently driven by external factors, and we use our case study species and phenological responses to distinguish among proposed mechanisms in a real-world framework. Finally, we identify research directions that could elucidate which of these mechanisms drive the timing between subsequent life stages. Understanding how fruiting phenology is altered by climate change is essential for all plant species but is particularly critical to sustaining the large numbers of plant species that rely on animal-mediated dispersal, as well as the animals that rely on fruit for sustenance.

Site specific agricultural soil management with the use of new technologies

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Digital Interface ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Soil Variation ◽  
Soil Information ◽  
Remote Sensing Techniques ◽  
Agricultural Areas

<p>The Soil Science Institute of Thessaloniki produces new digitized Soil Maps that provide a useful electronic database for the spatial representation of the soil variation within a region, based on in situ soil sampling, laboratory analyses, GIS techniques and plant nutrition mathematical models, coupled with the local land cadastre. The novelty of these studies is that local agronomists have immediate access to a wide range of soil information by clicking on a field parcel shown in this digital interface and, therefore, can suggest an appropriate treatment (e.g. liming, manure incorporation, desalination, application of proper type and quantity of fertilizer) depending on the field conditions and cultivated crops. A specific case study is presented in the current work with regards to the construction of the digitized Soil Map of the regional unit of Kastoria. The potential of this map can easily be realized by the fact that the mapping of the physicochemical properties of the soils in this region provided delineation zones for differential fertilization management. An experiment was also conducted using remote sensing techniques for the enhancement of the fertilization advisory software database, which is a component of the digitized map, and the optimization of nitrogen management in agricultural areas.</p>

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