Environmental and Stress Analysis of Wild Plant Habitat in River Nile Region of Dakahlia Governorate on Basis of Geospatial Techniques

Yasser A. El-Amier, Ahmed El-Zeiny, El-Sayed F. El-Halawany, Ashraf Elsayed, Mohamed A. El-Esawi, Ahmed Noureldeen, Hadeer Darwish, Amal Al-Barty and Shrouk A. Elagami
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Yasser A. El-Amier: Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Ahmed El-Zeiny: Environmental Studies Department, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS), Cairo 11769, Egypt
El-Sayed F. El-Halawany: Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Ashraf Elsayed: Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Mohamed A. El-Esawi: Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Tanta 31527, Egypt
Ahmed Noureldeen: Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Hadeer Darwish: Department of Biotechnology, College of Sciences, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Amal Al-Barty: Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
Shrouk A. Elagami: Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: Spatiotemporal environmental changes lead to disturbances in wild plant habitats, particularly in regions characterized by changeable land use and cover. The present study aims to characterize wild plant habitats in the River Nile region of Dakahlia Governorate using a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating remote sensing, GIS and sampling analyses. Twenty-four stands representing the wild plant habitats in the River Nile region were geographically identified, sampled and analyzed. Water and soil samples were investigated for physical and chemical characteristics. Two calibrated multispectral Landsat images dated 1999 and 2019 were processed to produce LULC, NDSI, NDMI and NDSI to characterize wild plan habitats. The floristic composition showed the presence of 64 species belonging to 53 genera and 28 families. Ecologically, the recorded plant species in the present work can be classified into four main categories, which are separated into three communities according to the TWINSPAN classification. Results showed that the annual loss of agricultural lands (3.98 km 2 ) is closely relevant to the annual expansion of urban areas (4.24 km 2 ). Although the uncontrolled urban sprawl caused loss of agricultural lands, it leads to the expansion of wild plant habitats, represented mainly by the sparse class and partially by the moderately dense class as obtained from NDVI. The increase in mean values of the moisture (NDMI) from 0.034 in 1999 to 0.64 in 2019 may have arisen from the increase in total areas of wild plant habitats during the investigated period (1999–2019). This might increase the suitability of conditions for wild habitats which induces the proliferation of natural plants.

Keywords: river Nile; wild plants; remote sensing; GIS; environmental analyses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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