Vegetation and Grazing in the St. Katherine Protectorate, South Sinai, Egypt

Abstract

Plants were surveyed in the St. Katherine Protectorate of South Sinai, Egypt. The most frequently recorded plant species include: Artemisia herba-alba, Artemisia judaica, Fagonia arabica, Fagonia mollis, Schismus barbatus, Stachys aegyptiaca, Tanacetum sinaicum, Teucrium polium
and Zilla spinosa. Dominant plant families were Compositae, Graminae, Labiatae, and Leguminosae. Communities with a high grazing pressure had a lower overall plant vigour. A strong negative correlation was found between plant vigour and grazing pressure. Twelve plant
families showed heavy grazing pressure, including Resedaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Polygalaceae, Juncaceae, Solanaceae, Geraniaceae, Ephedraceae, Globulariaceae, Urticaceae, Moraceae, Plantaginaceae, and Salicaceae.