The effect of Human activities on Growth and survival of Acaciatortilis Habila Area, White Nile State, Sudan

Authors

  • Algunaid Hassan Fatima Natural Resources, Environmental Science Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Forestry and Range Sciences Department, University of Bakht Er-Ruda, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, White Nile state (AD Duwem) Sudan
  • Ali Mai Mamoun Forestry Reseach Centre, Soba, Khartoum, Sudan

Keywords:

Acacia tortilis, seed bank, regeneration, survival, arid, human activities

Abstract

Acacia tartilis subsp.raddiana (sayal) plays an important role in the life of desert animals, is a major source of livestock feed, and firewood for the pastoral rural societies in Habila area, White Nile state Sudan.  low  regeneration     has  been  reported  in  recent  years  leading  to  the decline  in population  size  and  number  of  this  species.  This study aims to determine if A.  tortilis subsp.  raddiana  reduction  population  correlates  or  associates with  Soil seed banks or the  decrease of  tree density in rangeland .Observations were conducted  on the natural regeneration species and mature population in  three selected sites (inside forest, forest boundary and outside forest) the study was done  through counting  the trees and natural regeneration and samples were taken for soil seed bank analysis . The result shows  natural regeneration and soil seed bank of sayal affected by different factors such as drought and human interference including over-grazing,  over-cutting,  over-collecting,  and  habitat  destruction  have  threatened  this  species  by  increasing  the mortality  of  mature  trees  and  reducing  natural regeneration. Social demonstration must be involved in the preservation and managing this most valuable tree in arid dry area.

References

Belsky, A.J., 1994. Influences of trees on savanna productiv ity: Tests of shade, nutrients, and tree-grass competition Ecology 75: 922-932.

Belsky, A.J., Amundson, R.G., Duxbury, J.M., Riha, S.J., Ali, A.R., Mwonga, S.M., 1989. The effects of trees on their physical, chemical, and biological environments in a semi arid savanna in Kenya. J. Appl. Ecol. 26, 1005-1024.

Caldwell, M.M., Richards, J.H., Beyschlag, W., 1991. Hy- draulic lift: ecological implications of water efflux from roots. In: Atkinson, D. (ed.) Plant root growth: an eco- logical perspective, pp. 423-436. Blackwell, Oxford, UK.

Charley, J.L., West, N.E., 1975. Plant-induced soil chemical patterns in some shrub-dominated semi-desert ecosystems of Utah. J. Ecol. 63, 945-963.

Dean, W.R.J., Milton, S.J., Jeltsch, F., 1999. Large trees fertile islands, and birds in arid s avanna. J. Arid Environ. 4, 61-78.

Franco, A.C., Nobel, P.S., 1989. Effect of nurse plants on the microhabitat and growth of cacti. J. Ecol. 77, 870-886.

Franco-Pizana, J., Fulbright, T.E., Gardiner, D.T., Tipton, A.R. 1996. Shrub emergence and seedling growth in microenvironments created by Prosopis glandulosa. J. Veg. Sci. 7, 257-264.

Hamrick , J.L., Godt, M.J., 1989. Allozyme diversity in plant species. In Brown A.H.D., M.T. Clegg, A.L. Kahler, and B.S. Weir (eds.) Plan Population Genetics, Breeding, and Genetic Resources. Sinauer Associates Inc.: Sunderland, Ma. pp. 43-63.

McAuliffe, J.R., 1984. Prey refugia and the distributions of two Sonoran desert cacti. Oecologia 65, 82-85.

McNaughton, J.S., 1983. Serengeti grassland ecology: The role of composite environmental factors and contingency in community organization. Ecol. Monogr. 53, 291-320.

Moustafa A.A., Zaghloul, M.S., Hatab, E.E., 2000. Acacia conservation and Saint Catherine Protectorate Development Project, EEAA.

Mueller-Dombois, D., Ellenberg, H., 1974.Sims and method of vegetation ecology.J.Wiley and Sons., 547pp.

Nobel, P.S., 1989. Temperature, water availability, and nutri- ent levels at various soil depths – consequences for shal- low-rooted desert succulents, including nurse plant ef-fects. Am. J. Bot. 76, 1486-1492.

Glover E.K., 2005. Partyicipatory forest management Gedarif, Sudan.

Smith, S.D., Patten, D.T., Monson, R.K., 1987. Effects of artificially imposed shade on a Sonoran desert ecosystem: microclimate and vegetation. J. Arid Environ. 13, 65-82.

Suzan, H., Nabham, G.P., Patten, D.T., 1996. The impor tance of Olneya tesota as a nurse plant in the Sonoran Desert. J. Veg. Sci. 7, 635-644.

Valiente-Banuet, A., Ezcurra, E., 1991. Shade as a cause of association between the cactus Neobuxbaumia tetetzo and the nurse plant Mimosa luisana in the Tehuacan valley, Mexico. J. Ecol. 79, 961-971.

Van Treuren, R., Bijlsma, R., Ouborg, N.J., Van Delden, W., 1993a. The effects of population size and plant density on outcrossing rates in locally endangered Salvia pratensis. Evol. 47, 1090–1104.

Widén, B., 1993. Demographic and genetic effects on reproduction as related to population size in a rare, perennial herb, Senecio integrifolius Biol. J. of the Linnean Soc. 50, 179-19.

Zaghloul, M.S., Hamrick, J.L., Moustafa, A.A., 2007. Conservation of Acacia tortilis subsp. raddiana populations in Southern Sinai, Egypt. Genetic diversity and structure. CATRINA II (1), 51-6.

Published

2013-02-28

How to Cite

Hassan Fatima , A. ., & Mai Mamoun, A. . (2013). The effect of Human activities on Growth and survival of Acaciatortilis Habila Area, White Nile State, Sudan. Scientific Journal of Medical Science, 2(2), 73-81. Retrieved from http://www.sjournals.com/index.php/sjms/article/view/762

Issue

Section

Original Article