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4.   Abstract

               The vegetation survey was conducted from the 2nd of January until the 7th of March 1999 in Wadi Rum. The fieldwork part of the survey was divided into two parts. The first part of the fieldwork included making transects in the mountainous parts of the protected area. 22 transects were made in the different mountains of the protected area so as to cover as much diversity in these mountains as possible. Most of the plant species recorded in the survey were recorded during this period of the survey. A total number of 158 species of plants belonging to 134 Genera and 47 Families were recorded. The total number of species was divided into different categories with the number of species within each category being:

        ·          Poisonous: 15 species

        ·          Nationally rare: 12 species.

        ·          Nationally endemic: 6 species.

        ·          Edible: 10 species

        ·          Medicinal: 31 species.

        ·          Ornamental: 5 species.

        ·          Source of Wood: 7 species.

        ·          Palatable: 50 species.

        ·          Restricted to the Area: 3 species.

        ·          New to the Flora of Jordan: 1 species.

 

The new species that was recorded for the first time to the flora of Jordan is

Satureja thymbrifolia Hedge & Feinbr. of the Labiatae family.

  The other part of the fieldwork concentrated on working in the main wadis in the protected area in order to define the main vegetation communities occurring in these wadis. The main vegetation communities recorded were: Anabasis articulata vegetation community, Hammada salicornica vegetation community, Haloxylon persicum vegetation community, Urginea maritima vegetation community and mixed vegetation community.

  The survey also focused on some of the ecological relationships between the different biotypes in the Wadi Rum Protected Area. These ecological relationships were recorded through observations by the team members. Then, these observations were analyzed with the help of some other researchers who have the experience in this field.

  The study also highlighted the threats and impacts that are facing Wadi Rum Protected Area and recommended some solutions for them. The recommendations that were proposed tackled several issues. They were divided into three parts. The first part concentrates on the protected area management. The most important recommendations that were presented in this part include: Marking the protected area boundaries, employment of local people, building ranger stations, control off-road driving and the control of grazing and hunting inside the protected area. The second part of the recommendations concentrated on the monitoring and research. The main recommendations in this part include: update the plant checklist, establish a herbarium for the protected area, monitor the sand dunes and their movement within the protected area, monitor the changes on the different vegetation communities, protection and monitoring of the important plant species.

  The third and last part of the recommendations deals with the zoning plan. At the end of each baseline survey, some of the recommendations will be proposed to modify the zoning plan in reference to new observations or results recorded by the baseline survey team. Some changes were proposed on the three zones in the eastern side of the protected area and in Wadi Rum.

 

Abbreviations Team Composition Acknowledgements Abstract
Arabic Summary Background Site Description Materials & Methods
Survey Results Recomendations References Appendices