Vegetation Structure and Species Association in High-Altitude Mountain Island in Egypt

A total of 42 stands representing different habitats of the Katherine protectorate (SKP) have been chosen to represent the most common plant communities of the Saint Katherine Protectorate. In total, 52 species were found in the vegetation survey. The species that had been recorded in the study area in vegetation were itemized on a list, and the total species recorded belonged to 24 families. At the family level, Compositae has the highest contribution to the total species ( 10 species = 19.23 %), followed by Labiateae ( 9 species = 17.31 %), followed by Cruciferae (4 species = 7.69 %), Zygophyllaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Caryophyllaceae (each comprises 3 species = 5.77%), At the species level and from vegetation survey, Teucrium polium has the highest presence percentage ( 34 stand = 81 %), followed by Nepeta septemcrenata and Phlomis aurea (32 stand = 76.2 %), Chiliadenus montanus and Seriphidium herba-album (29 stand = 69 %), Echinops spinosus and sinaicum (27 stand = 64.3 %), Stachys aegyptiaca (25 stand = 59.5 %), Ballota undulata (24 stand = 57.1 %), Achillea fragrantissima (22 stand = 52.4 %). The results of these are (1) disappearance of palatable plant species, rare species and endemic species; (2) wadis and ridge habitats being dominated by pure communities of plants such as Artemisia judaica, Anabasis articulata , and Fagonia mollis ; (3) changes in the soil surface and moisture retention ability; and, (4) a reduction of the total plant cover that protects the soil surface, slow down erosion and stabilizes the relief. It is noticed, in certain plant communities, that the most common is the


INTRODUCTION
The Sinai Peninsula has geographical importance in that it is where the continents of Africa and Asia meet. The St. Katherine Protectorate covers the mountainous region of Southern Sinai. The Saint Katherine Protectorate (SKP) is one of Egypt's largest protected areas and includes the country's highest mountains. This arid, mountainous ecosystem supports surprising biodiversity and a high proportion of endemic and rare plants. The flora of the mountains differs from the other areas, due to its unique geology, morphology and climate. Sinai is currently recognized as one of the central regions for flora diversity in the Middle East by the IUCN the World Conservation Union and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (IUCN, 1994). In 1993 the Egyptian government designated the Saint Katherine area as a future National Park. Ayyad, et al., (2000) suggested that Sinai contains approximately 1285 species, with South Sinai supporting 800, including 34 endemics; 62% were estimated as being rare or very rare.
The estimated number of endemic species in Sinai is 28 which constitutes about 3.2% of its total flora (Danin, 1986). The area around mount Katherine is very unique, therefore, the area was declared to be one of the largest protected areas in Egypt. The vegetation of Saint Katherine has been studied by several authors (Moustafa and Zaghloul, 1996;Ward, et al., 2002;Tan, 2005;Zahran and Willis, 2009). The present study aims at identifying some of the plant communities growing in the eastern sector of the Saint Katherine protectorate and species distribution along the study area.
The landscape ranges from rugged mountains, which include Katherine (2642 m asl), Egypt's highest peak, whose slopes are incised by wadi rivers. Wadi rivers generally slope to the east, towards the Gulf of Aqaba, or to the west towards the Gulf of Suez (Alqamy, 2002). The aim of this part of the work is to study plant species distribution in the different wadi systems in St. Katherine's Protectorate, to assess how plant species are distributed

Study Area:
The research area is in Saint Katherine High altitude Mountain area (28.518911°N 33.959451°E) (Maps 1). The study period was from March 2011 to March 2012. Mount saint Katherine is one of the richest and highly diverse in its flora due to its sharp variation in altitude, soil characteristic and geomorphological formations. This mountain consists of a group of huge, volcanic mountains overlapped with each other and forming the two main high peaks (Abu Rumail and Katherine).

Map 1. Map showing the main locations of the present study in the Saint Catherine area
Vegetation of Forty-two stands (Map.1), with five quadrats (5×5 m) using The Quadrate Transect Method (Fig.1). The GPS position of each stand was recorded including latitude, longitude, habitat and altitude were recorded (Table 1.), and are represented in Map 1. The floristic composition of each stand was recorded. All plant species existing in each site were listed after complete identification according to Täckholm, (1974) ;Boulos, (1999Boulos, ( -2005. Plant names were updated after Voucher herbarium specimens were prepared and kept in the herbarium of the Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University (Boy's Branch). A checklist of all plant species is given in Table 2. Density (D), percentage of frequency (F), abundance (A), relative density (RD), relative frequency (RF), relative abundance (RA), and importance value (IVI) were calculated for each species in each site; According to the following equations (Braun -Blanquet, 1964).

Density (D):
Total number of individuals of a species / Total number of quadrats studied (m 2 ) 2. Relative density (R.D): density of species / Σ of densities of all species) x 100 3. Frequency (F): Total number of quadrats in which a species occurs / total number of quadrats studied) x 100 4. Relative frequency (RF): Frequency of a species \ Σ of % frequencies % of all species 5. Abundance (A): Total number of individuals of a species \ Total number of quadrats where the species is present 6. Relative Abundance (RA): Abundance of a species \ Σ of abundances of all species 7. Importance Value Index (I.V.I): RD + RF + RA for each species Fig 1. A schematic illustration for the vegetation survey method.

RESULTS
A total of 42 stands representing different habitats of Saint Katherine protectorate (SKP) have been chosen to represent the most common plant communities of Saint Katherine protectorate. In total, 52 species were found in the vegetation survey. The species that had been recorded in the study area in vegetation were itemized on a list, and the total species recorded belonged to 24 families. At the family level, Compositae has the highest contribution to the total species (10 species = 19.23 %), followed by Labiateae (9 species = 17.31 %), followed by Cruciferae (4 species = 7.69 %), Zygophyllaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Caryophyllaceae (each comprises 3 species = 5.77%), (Fig. 2).
At the species level and from vegetation survey, Teucrium polium has the highest presence percentage (34 stand = 81 %), followed by Nepeta septemcrenata and Phlomis aurea (  The present study is carried out in twelve main localities of South Sinai, Map 1. represents the study locations from 1 to 12 (from stand 1 to 42) as follows: Shak Elgragnia, Shak Mosa, Gabal Mosa, Farsh Ellia, Farsh Ellosa, Farsh Shoeibi, Wadi Elfaraa, Wadi Alarbein, Wadi Itlah, Wadi Eltalaa, Abo Waleie, Elzawitin. The selected 42 stands were located in twelve sites, each site may contain one or more stands. In the following section, the description of the twelve sites and the 42 stands are listed: Site 1: Shaq El Gragnia.
Shaq Elgragnia is located at 28.532071°N 33.969542°E, 28.518592°N 33.970243°E. with an altitude range: of 1800:2130 (m asl). The soil texture of Shaq Elgragnia contains 45% bolder, 35% rocks, 15% gravel and 5% sand. It has low human activity and low grazing pressure. The gorge consists of a bolder and rocks substrate with granite and basalt geology. The gorge has a rigid topography with a North to Northwest slope exposure. The distance from Saint Katherine city is about 4.5 km. This location included five stands (Stands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Shaq Musa is located at 28.533603°N 33.965518°E, 28.518911°N 33.959451°E. with an Altitude range of 1780-2020 (m asl). The soil texture of Shaq Musa contains 45% bolder, 40% rocks, 10% gravel and 5% sand. It has Medium human activity and Medium grazing pressure. This wadi is in a steep gorge that rises from the end of Wadi Arbaein steeply upwards towards to summit of Mount St. Katherine. Gorge consists of bolder and rocks substrate with granite geology with sporadic sandstone features. The Gorge has a rigid topography with a Northwest slope exposure. The steepness of the gorge ranges from 30˚-50˚ while the steepness of the slope ranges from 70˚-90˚. The gorge has approximately a width range from 15-50 meters; gorge length is approximately 2.8 km. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 4.2km. This location included One stand (Stand 6). Gabal Musa is located at 28.553754°N 33.977687°E, 28.538883°N 33.974826°E. with an Altitude range of 1620-2285 (m asl). The soil texture of Gabal Musa contains 10% bolder, 50% rocks, 30% gravel and 10% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. This wadi is in a steep gorge that rises from the end of Sifsafa Mountain. Gorge consists of rocks and gravel substrate with granite geology with sporadic sandstone features. Gorge has a concave topography with a North to Northwest slope exposure. The steepness of the gorge ranges from 30˚-50˚ while the steepness of the slope ranges from 70˚-90˚. The gorge has approximately a width range from 10-30 meters; gorge length is approximately 3.5 km. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 3.5 km. The mountain is climbed every night by hundreds of tourists in order to witness the raising of the sun over the mountains of southern Sinai (Stands 7,8,9,10,11). Stand (7) Farsh Ellia is located at 28.545105°N 33.974471°E, 28.544498°N 33.974803°E. with an Altitude range of 2000-2035 (m asl). The soil texture of Farsh Ellia contains 10% bolder, 20% rocks, 40% gravel and 30% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. This farsh is an Open area located between Farsh Ellosa and Gabal Musa. This farsh consists of gravel substrate with granite geology with sporadic sandstone features. Farsh has a concave topography with East slope exposure. The steepness of the farsh ranges from 5˚-10˚ while the steepness of the slope ranges from 40˚-60˚. The farsh has an approximate width range from 20-100 meters; Farsh length is approximately 190 m. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 3 km (Stand 12). Farsh Elloza is located at 28.549602°N 33.968520°E, 28.547010°N 33.973186°E. with an Altitude range of 1985-2050 (m asl). The soil texture of Farsh Elloza contains 40% bolder, 35% rocks, 15% gravel and 10% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. Microhabitats in this location vary from farsh to wadi bed. located between Farsh Sheibi and Farsh Ellia. This wadi consists of rocks and gravel substrate with granite geology with sporadic sandstone features. wadi has a concave topography with East and Northwest slope exposure. The steepness of the wadi ranges from 20˚-40˚ while the steepness of the slope ranges from 40˚-60˚. The wadi has an approximate width range from 10-85 meters; Wadi length is approximately 790 m. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 2.7 km (Stands 13,14,15). Farsh Shoeibi is located at 28.552658°N 33.967283°E, 28.549445°N 33.967230°E. with an Altitude range of 1985-2050 (m asl). The soil texture of Farsh Shoeibi contains 20% bolder, 35% rocks, 35% gravel and 10% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. Microhabitats in this location vary from farsh to wadi bed. This wadi consists of rocks and gravel substrate with pink granitic geology with sporadic sandstone features. wadi has a concave topography with Northeast and Northwest slope exposure. The steepness of the wadi ranges from 5˚-15˚ while the steepness of the slope ranges from 25˚-45˚. The wadi has approximately a width range from 10-100 meters; Wadi length is approximately 440 m. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 2.0 km (Stands 16,17,18,19). Wadi Elfaraa is located at 28.536204°N 33.968113°E, 28.553065°N 33.957832°E. with an Altitude range of 1815-1880 (m asl). The soil texture of Wadi Elfaraa contains 10% bolder, 45% rocks, 35% gravel and 10% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. This wadi consists of rocks and gravel substrate with pink granitic geology. The footpath in the area comes down from Safsafa Mountain and leads down to Wadi Arbaein.
Wadi starts from the end of Wadi Alarbein and terminates by Wadi Shoreage. Wadi has a concave topography with West to Northeast slope exposure. The steepness of the wadi ranges from 5˚-15˚ while the steepness of slope ranges from 45˚-60˚. The wadi has an approximate width range from 50-150 meters; Wadi length is approximately 2.4 km. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 2.4 km (Stands 20,21,22,23,24). Stand ( Wadi Alarbein is located at 28.553238°N 33.948651°E, 28.534353°N 33.965879°E. with an Altitude range of 1620-1772 (m asl). The soil texture of Wadi Alarbein contains 30% bolder, 45% rocks, 20% gravel and 5% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. Wadi bed is moderately vegetated with a rocky substrate. Plant richness is relatively high with high vegetation coverage. Rock sizes range from 5 cm to 60 cm. large boulders were found near the edges of wadi. Granitic geology. Trail heavily used by tourists and camels (route to Mt. Sinai and Mt. St. Katherine). Wadi has a concave topography with North to Northeast slope exposure. The steepness of the wadi ranges from 5˚-15˚ while the steepness of slope ranges from 45˚-60˚. The wadi has approximately a width range from 90-160 meters; Wadi length is approximately 2.7 km. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 1.3 km (Stands 25,26,27,28,29). Wadi Itlah is located at 28.565158°N 33.936247°E, 28.587947°N 33.920303°E with an Altitude range of 1410-1680 (m asl). The soil texture of Wadi Itlah contains 25% bolder, 45% rocks, 25% gravel and 5% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. Wadi bed consists of a course sand substrate with granite geology and basalt dykes. The topography of the wadi is concave and the slope exposure varies from flat to northwest to northeast. The wadi orientation varies from the southeast to the north. The width of the wadi ranges from 25 meters to 75 meters while wadi length is approximately 3.5 km. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 1.7km. The steepness of the wadi bed ranges from 1-25% while the steepness of slope ranges from 45˚-50˚. There is high diversity and cover of species in this wadi. There are moderate to high disturbance impacts from grazing to human disturbance from Bedouin gardens and wells (Stands 30,31,32,33). Wadi Eltalaa is located at 28.568015°N 33.933169°E, 28.548125°N 33.934407°E with an Altitude range of 1530-1810 (m asl). The soil texture of Wadi Eltalaa contains 35% bolder, 35% rocks, 25% gravel and 5% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. This Wadi bed consists of a course sand substrate with granite geology and basalt dykes. The topography of the wadi is concave and the slope exposure varies from east to northeast to west. The width of the wadi ranges from 50 meters to 100 meters while wadi length is approximately 1.4 km. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 1.4km. The steepness of the wadi bed ranges from 1-25% while the steepness of slope ranges from 45˚-50˚. There is high diversity and cover of species in this wadi. There are moderate to high disturbance impacts from grazing to human disturbance from Bedouin gardens and wells (Stands 34,35,36,37). Stand (34): Euphorbia sanctae-catharinae Fayed..community.
In this stand, seventeen species have been recorded during the survey and the most characteristic species representing this community is: the dominant species is Abo Waleie is located at 28.536110°N 33.907304°E, 28.533957°N 33.911195°E with an Altitude range of 1880-1900 (m asl). The soil texture of Abo Waleie contains 5% bolder, 25% rocks, 45% gravel and 25% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. Abo Waleie is a Narrow steep wadi where flash floods are especially violent. The wadi consists of rocks and gravel with granitic geology with some sandstone features. The topography of the wadi is concave and the slope exposure is southwest. The width of the wadi ranges from 10 meters to 30 meters while wadi length is approximately 1 km. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 5.3 km. The steepness of the wadi ranges from 5˚-15˚ while the steepness of slope ranges from 45˚-75˚. There is high diversity and cover of species in this wadi. Feral donkeys are the biggest threat in this area. Bedouin gardens widespread in this area (Stands 38,39,40). Elzawitin is located at 28.539435°N 33.922390°E, 28.536107°N 33.915695°E. with an Altitude range of 1920-1945 (m asl). The soil texture of Elzawitin contains 15% bolder, 25% rocks, 45% gravel and 15% sand. It has High human activity and High grazing pressure. This Wadi bed consists of a course sand substrate with granite geology. Wadi has a concave topography with a southwestern slope exposure. The steepness of the wadi ranges from 5˚-25˚. The wadi bed is approximately 25 meters wide while wadi length is approximately 930 m. The distance from Saint kathreine city is about 3.3 km. There is high diversity and cover of species in this wadi. Feral donkeys are the biggest threat in this area. Wadi bed is adjacent to Bedouin garden with a footpath along the top of wadi channel (Stans 41, 42).

DISCUSSION
The southern part of Sinai is relatively floristically rich compared to the rest of Sinai. In agreement with Danin (1978, Moustafa and Klopatek, (1995) the nature of the soil surface is one of the most important factors influencing the floristic richness of the landforms along with the climatic variations due to orographic influences. The present study aimed to identify major plant communities dominating the 42 studied stands from Saint Katherine protectorate. Results showed the presence of Twelve plant communities along the Twelve sites of the study area. The major plant communities were Teucrium polium has the highest presence percentage (34 stand = 81 %), followed by Nepeta septemcrenata and Phlomis aurea (32 stand = 76.2 %), Chiliadenus montanus and Seriphidium herba-album (29 stand = 69 %), Echinops spinosus and Tanacetum sinaicum (27 stand = 64.3 %), Stachys aegyptiaca (25 stand = 59.5 %), Ballota undulata (24 stand = 57.1 %), Achillea fragrantissima (22 stand = 52.4 %).
In agreement with (Moustafa and Klopatek, 1995) the flora of the Saint Catherine area is composed of a 'skeleton' of very common species (Seriphidium herba-alba, Gymnocarpos decandrum, Artemisia judaica, Tanacetum sinaicum, Achillea fragrantissima and Fagonia mollis) that cover most of the area and dominate many of the sub-shrub communities. Also, many rare species have a limited distribution in the Saint Catherine area. There are true rare species that are local endemics (Primula boveana, and Rosa arabica) and the species where scarcity is brought on by overgrazing and overcutting. The Saint Catherine Mountains are a centre of endemism (Zohary, 1973;Shmida, 1984;Moustafa, 1990). Danin (1986) estimated 28 endemic species, 3·2% of its total flora. More than 50% of these species are found in the study area growing in the floristically rich landform types (gorges, springs, and high terraces) that have a wetter microclimate than other habitats of the Sinai. Previous work by Danin (1972Danin ( &1978, 1986; Moustafa (1986&1990); Boulos and Gibali (1995) indicate that the Saint Catherine flora area is represented mainly by Irano-Turanian elements. Most of the endemic species in Sinai are confined to the mountain region (El-Hadidi, 1967). Eleven threatened and endemic species and four near endemics Based on the list of Boulos (2009) of rare species in southern Sinai and our data, more than 61 rare species are threatened due to overcutting and livestock grazing. The results of these disturbances are (1) disappearance of palatable plant species, rare species and endemic species; (2) wadis and ridge habitats being dominated by pure communities of plants such as Artemisia judaica, Anabasis articulata, and Fagonia mollis; (3) changes in the soil surface and moisture retention ability; and, (4) a reduction of the total plant cover that protects the soil surface, slow down erosion and stabilizes the relief. It is noticed, in certain plant communities, that the most common species is the least grazed.
Saint Katherine mountains are a centre of endemism. twenty endemics and 29 nearendemics were recorded (Bolous 2009), about 50% of them are growing in the floristically rich landforms types that have a wetter microclimate than other habitats of Sinai (Mosallam, 2007) Conclusion The present work is a contribution to the vegetation of THE Saint Katherine protectorate. Twelve sites including 42 stands were studied and Twelve plant communities have been identified. Further studies investigating vegetation and monitoring different environmental changes and anthropogenic activities in Saint Katherine protectorate are strongly recommended.