Wild Plant Habitat Characterization in the Last Two Decades in the Nile Delta Coastal Region of Egypt

Abstract

Environmental and land-use changes put severe pressure on wild plant habitats. The present study aims to assess the biodiversity of wild plant habitats and the associated spatiotemporal environmental changes in the coastal region of Dakahlia Governorate following an integrated approach of remote sensing, GIS, and samples analysis. Thirty-seven stands were spatially identified and studied to represent the different habitats of wild plants in the Deltaic Mediterranean coastline region. Physical and chemical characteristics of soil samples were examined, while TWINSPAN classification was used to identify plant communities. Two free Landsat images (TM and OLI) acquired in 1999 and 2019 were processed to assess changes via the production of land use and cover maps (LULC). Moreover, NDSI, NDMI, and NDSI indices were used to identify wild plant habitats. The floristic composition indicated the existence of 57 species, belonging to 51 genera of 20 families. The largest families were Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Chenopodiaceae. The classification of vegetation led to the identification of four groups. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed that electrical conductivity, cations, organic carbon, porosity, chlorides, and bicarbonates are the most effective soil variables influencing vegetation. The results of the spectral analysis indicated an annual coverage of bare lands (3.56 km2), which is strongly related to the annual increase in vegetation (1.91 km2), water bodies (1.22 km2), and urban areas (0.43 km2). The expansion of urban and agricultural regions subsequently increased water bodies and caused occupancy of bare land, resulting in the development of wild plant habitats, which are mostly represented by the sparse vegetation class as evaluated by NDVI. The increase in mean moisture values (NDMI) from 0.03 in 1999 to 0.15 in 2019 might be explained by the increase in total areas of wild plant habitats throughout the study period (1999–2019). This may improve the adequacy of environments for wild habitats, causing natural plant proliferation.