Journal
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
Volume 3, Issue -, Pages 433-447Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2015.02.001
Keywords
Deserts; Ecological services; Medicinal plant; Egypt
Categories
Funding
- Egypt-Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants in Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosystems Project - UNDP [EGY/00/G31/A/1G/99]
- GEF
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About one third of the earth's land surface is covered by deserts that have low and variable rainfall, nutrient-poor soils, and little vegetation cover. Here, we focus on the goods and services offered by desert ecosystems using the northwestern coastal desert of Egypt extending from Burg El-Arab to El-Salloum as an example. We conducted field surveys and collected other data to identify the goods services and provided by native plant species. A total of 322 native plant species were compiled. The direct services provided by these native plants included sources of food, medicine, and energy; indirect vegetation services included promotion of biodiversity, water storage, and soil fertility. The plant diversity in this ecosystem provided economic service benefits, such as sources of fodder, fuel-wood, and traditional medicinal plants. Changes in land use and recent ill-managed human activities may influence the availability of these services and strongly impact biodiversity and habitat availability. Although deserts are fragile and support low levels of productivity, they provide a variety of goods and services whose continuing availability is contingent upon the adoption of rational land management practices. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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