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Ecological assessment and fitness variation of Elymus farctus (Viv.) Runemark populations in the Mediterranean coast of Egypt

Coastal sandy habitats of the Mediterranean species E. farctus are vulnerable and ecologically important. The plant distribution is being controlled by several factors at different scales. On a large scale, climate and soil texture play important role in controlling the soil water availability to plants and in separating xerophytic from halic and mesic communities. On a small scale, coastal physiography and soil characteristics are related to floristic composition. Sand mobility and salt spray deposition are important factors in the distribution of the pioneer species on sand dunes. A data set of 26 stands of E. farctus community along the Mediterranean coast of Egypt was analyzed using TWINSPAN classification and DCA, CCA ordination. Four vegetation groups (A-D) are produced with Ammophila arenaria (A), Elymus farctus, Devera tortuosa (B), Alhagi graecorum, Cyperus capitatus (C) and Inula crithmoides, Sencio desfontenii (D), as indicator species of these groups, respectively. Results of ordination indicate that performance of E. farctus is correlated along gradients of calcium carbonates, sodium and potassium content in the soil. Plant traits (leaf area/shoot length; and reproductive number/shoot length) can be used to assess E. farctus population success. Both the population and community characters, and the soil properties, suggest that the preservation of suitable habitats seems to be important requisites for conservation of E. farctus in the Mediterranean coast of Egypt.