Abstract
The present study aims to investigate the variation
in vegetation and species diversity in three
inland wadis (Wadi Solaf, W. Romana and W. El-
Akhdar) which drain their water from surrounding
high mountains to the main channel
of Wadi Feiran in South Sinai. It attempted to
compare the floristic diversity between these
wadis to recognize the different distribution
patterns of species, and to assess the role of the
edaphic factors which control the distribution
of the plant communities. Forty-five sample
plots were selected to represent as much as possible
the variation in the vegetation, and georeferenced
using GPS techniques. A total of 116
species (45 annuals and 71 perennials) belonging
to 95 genera and 37 families were recorded,
with Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae, and
Zygophyllaceae represented the species-rich
families. Therophytes constituted the main bulk
of the flora, followed by chamaephytes,
phanerophytes and hemicryptophytes. As part
of the Saharo-Arabian region, the Saharo-Arabian
chorotype dominated the others. Classification
of the vegetation resulted in 5 vegetation
groups: (A) Zilla spinosa, (B) Artemisia
judaica-Zilla spinosa, (C) Artemisia judaica, (D)
Anabasis articulata-Artemisia judaica-Fagonia
mollis, and (E) Fagonia mollis-Zilla spinosa.
Species richness was significantly negatively correlated
with chlorides, while the Shannon’s
diversity index showed significant negative correlation
with chlorides and positively correlated
with calcium. Vegetation-soil relationships were
assessed by Canonical Correspondence Analysis
(CCA) using 13 soil factors indicated that gravel,
coarse sand, fine sand, silt, clay, sodium and
chlorides were the key soil variables that affect
the distribution of plant communities in the
inland wadis of South Sinai.