Soil Characteristics Influence the Selection of Dominant Plant Genotypes Inhabiting Wadi Sudr, Egypt ()
Affiliation(s)
1Genetics Resources Department, Desert Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Cairo, Egypt.
2Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
3Genetics Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
ABSTRACT
Rangeland plant community and species composition are known to be related
to specific soil properties. The current study investigated the ecological
influence (soil characteristics) on the selection and distribution of
ecological-related genotypes of dominant xerophyte species in WadiSudr of Egypt.
AFLP analysis reflected the genetic profile of the samples species from two altitudinal
ranges (up and midstream) and was compared statistically with the differences
of their inhabiting soil characteristics on two depth levels (20 and 40 cm)
using Mantel test. Correlation values (r) ranged from 0.585 - 0.778 when
treating the physical and chemical properties of soil samples regardless its
altitudinal area. The correlation confirms that the soil chemical and physical
properties influence the selection of a certain genotypes of the dominant
xerophytes plants collected from Wadi Sudr of Egypt to certain altitude, while
depths at 20 and 40 cm play a key role in the early growth and then the
colonization of the selected genotypes, respectively. More studies are needed
to exactly test the role and the importance of each of the correlated property
to the plant growth and colonization.
Share and Cite:
El Sherbeny, E. , Morsy, A. and Magdy, M. (2016) Soil Characteristics Influence the Selection of Dominant Plant Genotypes Inhabiting Wadi Sudr, Egypt.
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
7, 1304-1315. doi:
10.4236/ajps.2016.78125.