PJB-2023-245
Demonstrating the breadth of the alien taxa using herbarium
Najla A. Al-Shaye and Walaa A. Hassan
Abstract
The present study examined the PNUH herbarium specimens from the period (2002-2022) to analyze three elements of them: nativeness, habit, and phytogeographical distribution. A total of 6000 specimens with 251 species were examined, they included 44 families and 168 genera. Of which 205 native species and 46 alien ones belong to 18 families and 39 genera. The most represented families were Asteraceae and Poaceae followed by Brassicaceae. The most represented native genus was Convolvulus L. but the most represented alien genus was Amaranthus L. on the other hand the Saharo-Arabian was the most represented monoregional (40 species, 16%) for native taxa, but cosmopolitan followed by Mediterranean and Irano-Turanean were the most represented alien taxa, also it was recorded that most taxa of the phytogeographical region were herbaceous. Also, the number of alien species exceeds especially in the last decade. Our data provide an estimate of the widespread most successful alien species over a very large area of the KSA. This work considered as the first thorough compilation and analysis of all records on alien plant taxa in KSA herbaria, has identified knowledge gaps about the geographic distribution and life form. We believe that our findings will raise environmental awareness about invasive species in Saudi Arabia and, more importantly, that they will spur and direct additional research on this topic in Saudi Arabia, particularly field-oriented studies. No management strategy can be created without a solid understanding of the issue
To Cite this article:
Al-Shaye, N.A. and W.A. Hassan. 2024. Demonstrating the breadth of the alien taxa using herbarium. Pak. J. Bot., 56(1): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2024-1(43)
Download
