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Impact of off-road vehicles on soil and vegetation in a desert rangeland in Saudi Arabia
- Source :
- Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, Vol 26, Iss 6, Pp 1187-1193 (2019), Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences
- Publication Year :
- 2019
- Publisher :
- Elsevier, 2019.
-
Abstract
- Off-road vehicle driving is considered as main contributor to land degradation in arid regions. This study examined the impact of off-road vehicles (ORV) on soil and vegetation in a natural recreational desert meadow of Raudhat Khuraim, Saudi Arabia. Vegetation canopy cover and plant height away from road tracks were assessed. Also, species density and canopy cover, bare ground cover and soil attributes were assessed in four microhabitats; tracks, inter-tracks, verges, and away from vehicle tracks (undisturbed natural areas). Results show that the cover of forbs and grasses was negatively associated with distance from road verges. It was observed that the height of woody species responded negatively to distance away from tracks. Cover of native species decreased under verge, inter-track and track microhabitats giving more opportunity for weeds to flourish. Bare ground was highest (60.7%) in tracks. ORV impact on soil bulk density was clear with an increase of 38% under tracks compared to soils of undisturbed natural vegetation and a similar decrease in porosity was observed. On the other hand, soil electrical conductivity was significantly higher (5.45 mS cm−1) under disturbance compared to 1.32 mS cm−1 in undisturbed natural vegetation. Organic matter and nitrogen were not affected significantly by ORV disturbance. The results emphasize that managing off-road vehicle driving is essential for conserving native vegetation. Keywords: Off-road driving, Tyre tracks, Bulk density, Raudhat system, Plant diversity
- Subjects :
- 0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine
Canopy
Hydrology
Raudhat system
Vegetation
01 natural sciences
Arid
Bulk density
Article
03 medical and health sciences
Off-road driving
Tyre tracks
030104 developmental biology
Plant diversity
lcsh:Biology (General)
Soil water
Land degradation
Environmental science
Forb
Rangeland
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
lcsh:QH301-705.5
010606 plant biology & botany
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- Volume :
- 26
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....dc9d86476850f9e90dec1eefc0900c2e