Ecology of Four Community Types: Red Sea Coastal Desert, Saudi Arabia
Keywords:
Calotropis procera, coastal desert, Dipterygium glaucum, Leptadenia Pyretechnica, phytochemical, Red Sea Coastal Plain, Salsola baryosma, xerophyteAbstract
The arid Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast is dominated by four main community types: these ecological communities are identified by the dominant vegetation species as the Calotropis procera, Dipterygium glaucum, Leptadenia pyretechnica, and the Salsola baryosma. Coastal soils associated with the vegetation communities are described in terms or their physical and chemical properties. Conditions of plant growth are noted from each ecosystem. The chemical constituents or the dominant xerophytes or these communities, which grow and predominate under the arid conditions or the coastal area, are studied for possible use as renewable raw materials in drug industries. L. pyrotechnica and C. procera, in particular, are also useful fiber-producing plants.