Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T20:15:47.151Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of cement-kiln dust pollution on the vegetation and seed-bank species diversity in the eastern desert of Egypt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2009

Ahmad K. Hegazy
Ahmad K. Hegazy*
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Cairo, Giza 12613, Egypt
*
* Dr Ahmad K. Hegazy Fax: +20 2 572 7556; e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

There is very little information on effects of particulate pollution from cement factories in the Middle East and northeastern Africa. Variations of natural vegetation, germinable soil seed bank and species diversity were therefore investigated amongst four study sites situated at different distances from the Suez Cement Company factory, south of Suez, Egypt. The composition of plant life-forms was similar in both vegetation and seed-bank communities, with only site-dependent differences in their proportional values. For the standing vegetation, chamaephytes attained the highest relative density and cover, while hemicryptophytes and geophytes exhibited the lowest values. Germinable soil seed bank of all life-forms tended to increase with distance from the cement-dust pollution source. Vegetation, seed rain and seed banks of hemicryptophytes and geophytes were the most affected by cement-kiln dust accumulation in the area. The ratios of seed-bank/seed-rain in all life-forms were less than unity, with a narrow range of variation amongst sites and species. The germinable seed bank was more affected by cement-kiln dust accumulation than the seed rain in all species and life-forms. The species diversity of perennial plants was greater than that of annuals, with values increasing as distance increased from the cement-dust pollution source. Diversity in the standing vegetation Was higher than that of the germinable seed bank. Differences in the standing vegetation and seed-bank reserves were observed in the different study sites. According to their response to cement-dust accumulation, the plant species (listed in text) in the study area were separated into four major groups: (1) tolerant species; (2) non-tolerant species; (3) species having intermediate tolerance; and (4) indifferent species. Management considerations for the conservation of vegetation in cement quarrying sites and around cement factories were put forward to optimize recovery and restoration of vegetation in sites polluted by cement dust.

Keywords

pollutioncement dustsoildesert vegetationseed bank
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , September 1996 , pp. 249 - 258
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, S.E., Grimshaw, H.M., Parkinson, J.A. & Quarmby, C.H. (1974) Chemical Analysis of Ecological Materials. Oxford: Blackwell: 565 pp.Google Scholar
Aziz, S. & Khan, M.A. (1995) Role of disturbance on the seed bank and demography of Leucus urticifolia (Labiatae) populations in a maritime subtropical desert of Pakistan. International Journal of Plant Science 156: 834–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berendse, F., Oomes, M.J.M., Altena, H.J. & Elberse, W.Th. (1992) Experiments on the restoration of species-rich meadows in the Netherlands. Biological Conservation 62: 59–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berger, W.H. & Parker, F.L. (1970) Diversity of planktonic Foraminifera in deep sea sediments. Science 168: 1345–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boulos, L. (1995) Flora of Egypt Checklist. Cairo, Egypt: Al Hadara Publishing: 283 pp.Google Scholar
Brandt, D.J. & Rhoades, R.W. (1972) Effect of limestone dust accumulation on the composition of a forest community. Environmental Pollution 3: 217–25.Google Scholar
Childs, S. & Goodall, D.W. (1973) Seed reserves of desert soils. US/IBP Desert Biome Research Memorandum: 73–5.Google Scholar
Coffin, D.P. & Lauenroth, W.K. (1989) Spatial and temporal variation in the seed bank of a semiarid grassland. American Journal of Botany 76: 53–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Darley, E.F. (1966) Studies on the effects of cement-kiln dust on vegetation. Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association 16: 145–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
El-Daly, A.F. (1984) The status of cement industry, environmental pollution and measures. In: Proceedings of the National Conference on Pollution from Industrial Installations. Working Force and Training (Alexandria, Egypt, 3–6 December 1994), pp. 26–38.Google Scholar
Evenari, M., Shanan, L. & Tadmor, M. (1971) The Negev: The Challenge of a Desert. Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press: 345 pp.Google Scholar
Freas, K.E. & Kemp, P.R. (1983) Some relationships between environmental reliability and seed dormancy in desert annual plants. Journal of Ecology 71: 211–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, D.J. & Hutchings, M.J. (1988 a) Estimation of the seed bank of a chalk grassland ley established on a former arable land. Journal of Applied Ecology 25: 241–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graham, D.J. & Hutchings, M.J. (1988 b) A field investigation of germination from the seed bank of a chalk grassland ley on former arable land. Journal of Applied Ecology 25: 253–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegazy, A.K. (1990) Population ecology and implications for conservation of Cleome droserifolia: a threatened xerophyte. Journal of Arid Environments 19: 269–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegazy, A.K. (1992) Age-specific survival, mortality and reproduction, and prospects for conservation of Limonium delicatulum. Journal of Applied Ecology 29: 549–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegazy, A.K. (1994) Trade-off between sexual and vegetative reproduction of the weedy Heliotropium curassavicum. Journal of Arid Environments 27: 209–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegazy, A.K. (1995) Phytomonitoring and management of tar piles on the Qatari coastal marshes, Arabian Gulf. Environmental Pollution 90:187–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hegazy, A.K. & Fadl-AUah, E.M. (1995) Inhibition of seed germination and seedling growth by Cleome droserifolia and allclopathic effect on rhizo-sphere fungi in Egypt. Journal of Arid Environments 29: 3–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutchinson, T.C. (1984) Adaptations of plants to atmospheric pollutants. In: Origins and Development of Adaptation, ed. Evered, D. & Collins, G.M., pp. 52–72. London: Pitman.Google Scholar
Kassas, M. (1966) Plant life in Deserts. In: Arid Lands, ed. Hills, E.S., pp. 145–80. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Kassas, M. & Zahran, M.A. (1962) Studies on the ecology of the Red Sea coastal land. 1 – The district of Gebel Ataqa and El-Galala El-Bahariya. Bulletin de la Socieété de Géographie d'Egypte 35: 129–75.Google Scholar
Kemp, P.R. (1989) Seed banks and vegetation processes in deserts. In: Ecology of Soil Seed Banks, ed. Leek, M.A., Parker, V.T. & Simpson, R.L., pp. 257–81. New York: Academic Press, Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kent, M. & Coker, P. (1992) Vegetation Description and Analysis: A Practical Approach. London: Belhaven Press: 363 pp.Google Scholar
Khan, M.A. (1993) Relationship of seed bank to plant distribution in saline arid communities. Pakistan Journal of Botany 25: 73–82.Google Scholar
Leek, M.A., Parker, V.T. & Simpson, R.L. (1989) Ecology of Soil Seed Banks. New York: Academic Press: 462 pp.Google Scholar
Mackenzie, J.J. & El-Ashry, M.T., eds. (1989) Air Pollution's Toll on Forests and Crops. London: Yale University Press: 376 pp.Google Scholar
Major, J. & Pyott, W.T. (1966) Buried viable seeds in California bunchgrass sites and their bearing on the definition of a flora. Vegetatio 13: 253–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nasralla, M.M. & Al-Alamy, F. (1980) Environmental impact of cement industries. Unpublished paper, Third International Conference on Mechanical Power Engineering, Menoufia University, Egypt, 1–4 September 1980: 12 pp.Google Scholar
Nasralla, M.M., Ali, E.A. & Shakour, A.A. (1985 b). Release of air pollution from kiln stacks and distribution in surrounding areas. II – Helwan industrial community. Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine 9: 215–29.Google Scholar
Nasralla, M.M., Shakour, A.A. & Ali, E.A. (1985 a) Paniculate in Cairo at mosphere. I – Dustfall and their chemical constituents. In: Proceedings of the First International Conference of Applied Sciences (Zagazig University, Egypt, 30 March to 1 April 1985) IV: 1081–100.Google Scholar
Nelson, J.F. & Chew, R.M. (1977) Factors affecting seed reserves in the soil of a Mojave desert ecosystem, Rock valley, Nye county, Nevada. American Midland Naturalist 97: 300–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ohtsuka, T. & Ohsawa, M. (1994) Accumulation of buried seeds and establishment of ruderal therophytic communities in disturbed habitat, central Japan. Vegetatio 110: 83–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkins, D.F. (1973) Some effects of air pollution on plants, animals and soils. Welsh Soil Discussion Group Report 14: 92–108.Google Scholar
Price, M.V. & Reichman, O.J. (1987) Distribution of seeds in Sonoran desert soils: implications for heteromyid rodent foraging. Ecology 68: 1797–811.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reichman, O.J. (1975) Relation of desert rodent diets to available resources. Journal of Mammalogy 56: 731–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reichman, O.J. (1984) Spatial and temporal variation of seed distribution in Sonoran desert soils. Journal of Biogeography 11: 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, H.A. (1981) Seed bank in soils. Advances in Applied Biology 6: 1–55.Google Scholar
Schenkeveld, A.J. & Verkaar, H.J. (1984) The ecology of short-lived forbs in chalk grasslands: distribution of germinative seeds and its significance for seedling emergence. Journal of Biogeography 11: 251–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snedecor, G.W. & Cochran, W.G. (1967) Statistical Methods, 6th edn.Iowa, USA: Iowa State University: 534 pp.Google Scholar
Tackholm, V. (1974) Student's Flora of Egypt, 2nd edn.Egypt: Cairo University Press: 888 pp.Google Scholar
Tcmpleton, A.R. & Levin, D.A. (1979) Evolutionary consequences of seed pools. American Naturalist 114: 232–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K. (1978) The occurrence of buried viable seeds in relation to environmental gradients. Journal of Biogeography 5: 425–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K. & Grime, J.P. (1979) Seasonal variation in the seed banks of herbaceous species in ten contrasting habitats. Journal of Ecology 67: 893–921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tybirk, K., Schmidt, L.H. & Hauser, T. (1992) Notes on soil seed banks of African acacias. African Journal of Ecology 32: 327–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yunus, M., Dwivedi, A.K., Kulshreshtha, K. & Ahmad, K.J. (1985) Dust loadings on some common plants near Lucknow city. Environmental Pollution (Series B) 9:71–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar