Taxonomy and Ecology of Natural Vegetation in the Industrial Area, North Gaza Strip, Palestine

Abstract

The research was carried out to determine the floristic composition, life form and the most important families of the wild plant species in the industrial area, Beit Hanoun city, Northern Gaza Strip situated in the south Governorates within Palestine. Although. The study area is a small area, the plant species richness and floristic biodiversity is a high in comparison with relevant nearby areas in the Mediterranean region. A total of 100 species vascular plant belonging to 85 genera and 34 families were recorded. Botanical survey and extensive field trips were made in the study area during the period from March to September 2012/ 2013 and the plant identification based on different taxonomic keys. The best represented families were Asteraceae (21%), Poaceae (15%), Solanaceae (6%), Brassicaceae (5%), Caryophyllaceae (5%), and Fabaceae (5%). Therophytes represented by (71%) of the plant species constitute the largest number of the total plant species comparing with other life forms, phanerophytes (12%), hemicryptophytes (9%), chamaephytes (6%) and cryptophytes (2%). The sampling area for the present study was separated into six sites, to be satisfactory to represent the vegetation of the area. Plants were randomly selected from the immediate vicinity of the first five sites, namely Hamooda, Abosaphea, Mansoer, Spong and Medicine factory which designated as experimental site (ES). Al showa station is a site was selected as the control site (CS). 23 plant species were collected from the six different locations of study area. Solanum elaeagnifolium cav., Malva parviflora L, Polygonum equisetiforme Sm., Marrubium vulgare L., Verbascum sinuatum L. found at all sites. Measurements of relative leaf water content (Rwc), total chlorophyll content (TCH), leaf extract PH, ascorbic acid (A.A) and Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) were estimated at all the previous mentioned plant species at the different locations of the study area revealed that the combination of the biochemical and physiological parameters gave a more reliable results than those of individual parameter. The results of air pollution tolerance index (APTI) calculated for each plant species studied at different six sites revealed that Polygonum equisetiforme exhibited the highest (APTI) value at all the sites followed by Nicotiana glauca followed by Solanum elaeagnifolium followed by silybum marianum, while the lowest values of (APTI) are recorded in Marrubium vulgare followed Marticaria recutita followed by Chenopodium vulvaria. Therefore, the plants with high and low (APTI) can serve as tolerant and sensitive species respectively.