Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Plant species diversity and ecological districts of the Sinai desert

  • Published:
Vegetatio Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

Lists of vascular plant species for each of the 12 ecological districts of Sinai were prepared. In all 78,000 observations on altogether 812 species were analyzed. The number of districts where each species occurred was also counted. Linear regressions were calculated for the log-transformed values of species/area, species/altitude and multiple regression of species on both area and altitude.

The regression of species on area for the 12 ecological districts of Sinai gave the equation: log S = 1.0309+0.3 log A

The value of z=0.3 is higher than 0.222—the measured overall value for the continents and higher than the values for the Sahara, California mainland, the British Isles, and the Netherlands. However, it is lower than the values for the Galápagos Archipelago and the California Islands.

The number of species supported in districts characterized by fissured limestone, gravel plains, chalk, marl, sandstones, sands or fissured magmatic and metamorphic rocks is close to the regression of species on area, whereas large outcrops of smooth-faced rocks are relatively richer in total number of species as well as in stenotople species.

It is suggested that the high gamma diversity of Sinai as compared with other parts of the world is primarily due to its environmental heterogeneity. Sinai being a meeting place of three phytogeographical regions and to past climatic changes. The effect of smooth-faced rock outcrops as conducive to providing refugia must also be taken into account.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Atlas of Israel. 1970. 2nd ed. Department of Surveys, Ministry of Labour, Jerusalem, various pages.

  • Bartov, J. 1974. A structural and paleogeographical study of the Central Sinai faults and domes. Ph.D. thesis. The Hebrew University, Jerusalem. (Hebrew with English summary). 143 pp.

  • Braun-Blanquet, J. 1932. Plant sociology (transl. and ed. by G.D. Fuller & H.S. Conard) eds. McGraw-Hill, New York. 439 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, J.H. 1971. Mammals on mountaintops: nonequillbrium insular biogeography. Amer. Nat. 105: 467–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butzer, K.W. & C.L. Hansen. 1968. Desert and river in Nubia. Univ. of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 562 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cody, M.L. 1975. Toward a theory of continental species diversities: bird distribution over Mediterranean habitat gradient. In: M.L. Code & J.M. Diamond, (eds.), Ecology and evolution of communities, pp. 214–257. Relknap Press of Harvard Univ., Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dan, J. & Z. Raz. 1970. The soil association map of Israel. Israel Ministry of Agriculture. 147 pp.

  • Danin, A. 1972. Mediterranean elements in rocks of the Negev and Sinai deserts. Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 31: 437–440.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danin, A. 1974. Notes of the vegetation near Suez and Fayld (Egypt). Israel J. Bot. 23: 226–236.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danin, A. 1976, Plant species diversity under desert conditions. I. Annual species diversity in the Dead Sea Valley. Occologia (Berl.). 22: 251–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danin, A., G. Orshan & M. Zohary. 1975. The vegetation of the northern Negev and the Judean Desert of Israel. Israel J. Bot. 24: 118–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, P.H. 1951. Cliff vegetation in the eastern Mediterranean. J. Ecol. 39: 63–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, J.M. 1972. Biogeographic kinetics: estimation of relaxation times for avifaunas of south west Pacific islands. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 69: 3199–3203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyal, M. 1975. Stages in the magmatic history of the Precambrian in Siani and southern Nogev. Ph.D. thesis, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem (Hebrew with English summary) 155 pp.

  • Hadidi, M.N., J. Kosinova & J. Chrtek. 1970. Weed flora of southern Sinai. Biologica 1969: 367–381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, T.H., I. Rubinoff, R.H. Barth Jr. & G. Bush. 1963. Species abundance: Natural regulation of insular variation. Science 142: 1575–1577.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horovitz, A. 1976. Late Quaternary palcoenvironments of prehistoric settlements in the Avdat/Aqev area. In: A.E. Marks (ed.). Prehistory and paleoenvironments in the Central Negev, Israel. Southern Methodist Univ. Press. Dallas 1: 57–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M.P., L.G. Mason & P.H. Raven. 1968. Ecological parameters and plant species diversity. Amer. Nat. 102: 297–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M.P. & P.H. Raven. 1970. Natural regulation of plant species diversity. Evol. Biol. 4: 127–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, M.P. & D.S. Simberloff. 1974. Environmental determinants of island species number in the British Isles. J. Biogeography 1: 149–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katznelson, J. 1959. The climate of the Negev. Teva Valaretz 1: 301–310 (in Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, T.H. & R.H. Peebles. 1960. Arizona flora. 2nd ed. Univ. California Press. Berkeley. 1086 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Küchler, A.W. 1967. Vegetation mapping. Ronald Press, New York. 472 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maarel, E. van der, 1971. Plant species diversity in relation to management. In: E. Duffey & A.S. Watt (eds.), The scientific management of animal and plant communities for conservation. pp. 45–63. Blackwell, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • MaeArthur, R.H. 1972. Geographical ecology. Harper & Row, New York, 269 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacArthur, R.H. & E.O. Wilson. 1967. The theory of island biogeography. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N.J. 203 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacGinnies, W.G., B. J. Goldman & P. Paylore. 1968. Deserts of the World. Univ. Arizona Press, Tueson. 788 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Monod, T. 1931. Remarques biologiques sur la Sahara. Rev. Gen. Sci. Pures Appl. 42(21): 609–616.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, J.K. 1972. Phytogeography of the west African mountains. In: D.H. Valentine (ed.), Taxonomy, phytogeography and evolution. pp. 221–236. Academic Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neev, D. & K.O. Emery. 1967. The Dead Sea. Bull. Geol. Surv. Israel 41: 1–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Picard, L. 1939. Outline on the tectonics of the earth. Bull. Geol. Dept. Hebrew Univ., Jerusalem 2(1–4): 1–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preston, F.W. 1962. The canonical distribution of commonness and rarity. Ecology 43: 188–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quézel, P. 1965. La végétation du Sahara. Fischer, Stuttgart, 333 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quézel, R. & C. Martinez. 1961. Le dernier interpluvial au Sahara central. Libyca 6–7: 211–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raup, H.M. 1975. Species versatility. J. Arnold Arhor., Harvard Univ. 56: 126–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raven, B. H. 1967. The floristics of the California Islands. Proc. Symp. Biol. Canadian Islands, pp. 57–67.

  • Runemark, H. 1969. Reproductive drift, a neglected principle in reproductive biology. Bot. Notiser 122: 90–129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Said, R. 1962. The geology of Egypt. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 377 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Snogerup, S. 1971. Evolutionary and plant geographical aspects of chasmophytic communities. In: Plant life of South West Asia, P.H. Davis, P.C. Harper & I.C. Hedge (eds.), pp. 157–170. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Täckholm, V. 1974. Students' flora of Egypt, ed. 2. Cairo, 888 pp.

  • Vuilleumier, F. 1970. Insular biogeography in continental regions. I. The northern Andes of South America. Amer. Nat. 104: 373–388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walsel, Y. & N. Liphschitz. 1968. Dendrochronological studies in Israel. II. Juniperus phoenicea of northern and central Sinai. La-Yaaran 18: 63–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker, R.H. 1972. Evolution and measurement of species diversity. Taxon 21: 213–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C.B. 1964. Patterns in the balance of nature. Academic Press. New York. 324 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wickens, G.E. 1975. Changes in the climate and vegetation of the Sudan since 20.000 B.P. Boissiera 24: 43–65.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zohary, M. 1935. Phytogeographische Gliederung der Flora der Halbinsel Sinai. Beih. bet. Cbl. Abt. B. 52: 549–621.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zohary, M. 1973. Geobotanical foundations of the Middle East. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart, 739 pp. (2 vols.).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zohary, M. 1976. A new analytical flora of Israel. Am Oved, Tel-Aviv, 540 pp. (in Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    A. Danin

Authors
  1. A. Danin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

This work is based on a comprehensive study of the vegetation of Sinai directed by Prof. G. Orshan, with the collaboration of Dr. A. Shmida, the present author and the late Prof. N.H. Tadmor and Dr. G. Halevy.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Danin, A. Plant species diversity and ecological districts of the Sinai desert. Vegetatio 36, 83–93 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221835

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00221835

Keywords

Search

Navigation