Flora and vegetational aspects of miniature dunes in a sand-depleted Haloxylon salicornicum community in the Kuwait desert

Brown, Gary M.; Porembski, Stefan

doi:10.1016/s0367-2530(17)30829-0

Cited by 30 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…17,600 km 2 ), oil-rich country located in the north-eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, has suffered severe land degradation in recent decades, as noted by several authors (e.g. Khalaf, 1989;Omar, 1991;Zaman, 1997;Brown & Porembski, 1997. The main causes of this problem can be attributed principally to overgrazing, but also to recreational activities such as off-road driving and camping, as well as industrial practices, particularly quarrying (Khalaf, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Vegetation sampling was carried out as described by Brown & Porembski (1997; and Brown & Schoknecht (2001), and the results presented are partly based on these studies. Furthermore, 25 randomly placed 1-m 2 sampling plots were used to compare species diversity in different community types in a season of abnormally heavy rainfall (ca.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such therophytes account for the greatest proportion of species (up to 90%) with respect to the life-form classification system of Raunkiaer (1934). Some of the more frequent associates include Plantago boissieri, Rostraria pumila, Schismus barbatus, Malcolmia grandiflora, Picris babylonica, Loeflingia hispanica, Filago pyramidata, Gypsophila capillaris, Launaea mucronata, Launaea capitata, and Reichardia tingitana (Brown & Porembski, 1998). …”

Section: General Features Of the Haloxylon Salicornicum Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These mounds of sand are referred to by a variety of names in the literature, for example, 'micro-nebkas' (Bendali et al, 1990;Brown & Porembski, 1997;, 'nebkas' (Danin, 1996), 'phytogenic hillocks' (e.g. Batanouny & Batanouny, 1968, 1969 and 'rehboub' (Le HoueH rou, 1986, 1987.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors maintaining plant diversity in degraded areas of northern Kuwait

Brown

2003

Journal of Arid Environments

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: General Features Of the Haloxylon Salicornicum Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors maintaining plant diversity in degraded areas of northern Kuwait

Brown

2003

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…Together with the effects of trampling caused by large herds of livestock (in particular sheep, see Webb & Stielstra, 1979) and indiscriminate quarrying for building material, this has led to a severe degradation of the desert vegetation (Khalaf, 1989;Brown & Porembski, 1997, 1998, in particular a dramatic loss of perennial dwarf shrub cover and a loss in soil resources due to wind-driven erosion. Vehicle tracks on the desert surface, often devoid of vegetation, are a common sight throughout many parts of the country.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Off-road vehicles and vegetation patterning in a degraded desert ecosystem in Kuwait

Brown

Schoknecht

2001

Journal of Arid Environments

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Rehabilitation planning in an oilfield in the Monte Austral: Mapping sand‐sized sediment availability and assessing its effect on microtopography rehabilitation

Ciancio

Guida‐Johnson

Zuleta

2022

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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In drylands, the microtopography is formed by mound-shaped dunes of eolian deposition that occur around shrubs or other vegetation in clumps. These mounds are characteristic of the Monte Austral, which covers 20% of Argentina (approximately 50 million ha), has a strong water deficit and is subjected to land degradation by the oil industry. Considering the biogeomorphological approach, oilfield rehabilitation should begin with regeneration of the mounds as they provide safe sites for vegetation. Since rehabilitation success may be influenced by sand-sized sediment availability, we addressed two objectives: mapping the sediment availability in an oilfield and evaluating its effect on microtopography rehabilitation. We used a Sentinel-2 MSI scene and assessed three approaches to map the sediments: two expressions of the Normalized Difference Sand Index and the feature Brightness of the Tasselled Cap Transformation. We validated the three maps using a geomorphological map. Two maps showed the highest agreement with the geomorphological map and errors were associated with the detection of bright lithified or cohesive material not available for sediment transportation. Then, we evaluated the effect of sediments on microtopography rehabilitation. We compared the morphometric traits of mounds (height, maximum and minimum length) located in areas of low and high sediment availability, in both natural and scarified areas. We considered the time since scarification was applied (8-13, 4-8, or <4 years ago). The mounds in the natural areas were larger than the mounds in the scarified areas, so complete microtopography rehabilitation is not achieved 13 years after scarification. The mounds in high-sediment-availability areas were different from the initial condition 4 years after scarification, whereas differences took 8 years to become evident with low sediment availability. Sediment availability must be considered when designing rehabilitation techniques to ensure the success and sustainability of the project. Our results have implications for the development of a biogeomorphological model to guide rehabilitation planning.

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Flora and vegetational aspects of miniature dunes in a sand-depleted Haloxylon salicornicum community in the Kuwait desert

Cited by 30 publications

References 17 publications

Factors maintaining plant diversity in degraded areas of northern Kuwait

Factors maintaining plant diversity in degraded areas of northern Kuwait

Off-road vehicles and vegetation patterning in a degraded desert ecosystem in Kuwait

Rehabilitation planning in an oilfield in the Monte Austral: Mapping sand‐sized sediment availability and assessing its effect on microtopography rehabilitation

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