DOCSLIB.ORG

Wild Edible Plants Traditionally Collected and Used in Southern Yemen Mohamed Al‑Fatimi*

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Wild Edible Plants Traditionally Collected and Used in Southern Yemen Mohamed Al‑Fatimi* Al‑Fatimi J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine (2021) 17:49 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002‑021‑00475‑8 RESEARCH Open Access Wild edible plants traditionally collected and used in southern Yemen Mohamed Al‑Fatimi* Abstract Background: The local wild edible plants (WEPs) are still used traditionally in the rural communities in Yemen, but this traditional knowledge is still undocumented and has been never reported before. Therefore, this study is the frst ethnobotanical survey on WEPs conducted in Yemen. Methods: The study is based on two feld surveys made in two periods 1988–1992 and 2014–2016 to document the wild plants used as edible by local indigenous peoples in 23 districts belonged to fve governorates, in southern Yemen. Information data were collected by oral face‑to‑face interviews from 250 informants. Citations numbers were calculated for each species. Results: A total of 58 plant species belonged to 37 genera and 21 families are reported as wild edible plants con‑ sumed in southern Yemen. Apocynaceae was the dominant plant family with 18 species followed by Asteraceae (6) and Malvaceae (5). The most widely used edible parts are stem, leaf and fruit with more than 17 species for each. Herbs were reported as the most important sources (31 species), followed by shrubs (16) and trees (9). Most of reported wild edibles (48 species parts) are consumed in raw form; only 12 of them are cooked. Seven wild edible plants were collected in dry season, 16 species throughout the year and 38 in rainy season. In this study, 58 wild plants were reported for the frst time as food in Yemen. Comparing the southern Yemeni fndings to those from other world countries, 12 of them are new WEPs eaten only in southern Yemen, while 46 species are shared in the use in diferent world countries practically in East Africa and Arab countries. Conclusions: The results data refect the strong relationship between the local peoples and the local WEPs as poten‑ tial sources insure food security. The traditional use of these WEPs is attributed to food shortage, nutritional values and local cultural tradition. The study is of great importance in preserving the traditional and knowledge heritage from being lost due to the risks of time, war and immigration. Keywords: Traditional knowledge, Wild edible plant, Ethnobotany Introduction Te relationship between human and plant is consid- Collection of wild plants was the ancient source of food ered an ecological balance system since ancient times for human besides hunting; however, this wild source has to preserve living organisms in the earth. Terefore, the been continued also after the emergence of agriculture “ethnobotany” studies the relationship between humans and animal husbandry. Ethnic peoples have kept in their and plants. It aims to survey and to document difer- memory the traditional knowledge of wild food plants as ent local wild plants using by ethnic groups for therapy, heritage and transmitted it orally through generations. nutrition and economic proposes [1]. In developed coun- tries, in Europe, wild edible plant (WEP) is considered *Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] to be an iconic ecosystem factor [2]. Many ethnobotani- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Aden University, cal researches have resulted the importance of the wild P.O. Box 5411, Maalla, Aden, Yemen edible in saving people during famine, drought and war © The Author(s) 2021. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ licen ses/ by/4. 0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creat iveco mmons. org/ publi cdoma in/ zero/1. 0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Al‑Fatimi J Ethnobiology Ethnomedicine (2021) 17:49 Page 2 of 21 in diferent developing and developed world countries [3, the current study presents for the frst time the WEPs of 4]. southern Yemen as well as for whole Yemen (Fig. 1). Tis Even there is now modern agriculture technology, the will be establishing the basis of the documented data of local people in Yemen still have strong relationship to the traditional knowledge of WEPs for Yemen and Ara- the WEP. Many conditions that have made an attention bian Peninsula. by local people to the wild plants as an important food Te aims of the current study are: (1) documentation include the economic crises, the unlimited war and the of the wild plants using as food for human in southern continuous political and tribal conficts. Moreover, the Yemen and (2) identifcation of the new species used as aridity and drought are general climatic characters of the food by comparison with the reported WEPs with data Yemeni tropical southern rural regions, due to the lack of of other traditional systems in neighboring, regional and rains during one or more years; therefore, the agriculture world countries. did not provide sufcient crops for food. In this situation, local people were dependent on consumption of local Materials and methods agricultural crops until the eighteenth century. Southern Study area Yemen including the study area has a large geographical Te study region is the southern part of Yemen that is region and wide diversity in mountains, deserts, plains located in southwest of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bor- and islands [5–7]. It has a rich diversity of plants, espe- dered by only two Arab neighboring countries: Saudi cially in some of the islands and the inner depth of the Arabia to the northeast and Oman to the east. Te west country [7]. part of southern Yemen is bounded by Gulf of Aden and On the other hand, along with its importance as edi- Red Sea. Te southern part is bordered by the Gulf Aden ble, modern science is proving to be important sources and Arabian Sea, with approximately 1580 km (Fig. 1). for disease resistance [5]. In ancient Arab-Islam medi- Te terrain of the study region is high (1500–2200 m) cine, Al-Razi (865–910 C.E.) identifed for the frst time in the northwestern part and low (300–1500 m) in the the relationship between food and medicine. He wrote a middle part. Valleys (Wadis) spread between costal stripe famous book about the “benefts of the foods and avoid and highlands. Te desert of the Rub al Khali occupies their undesired efect”; that has the fact that “your medi- in the northeastern part of the study region [7, 12]. Te cine is in your food.” Terefore, we can indicate that climate of southern Yemen is dominated by subtropical Al-Razi was the father of the health nutrition or nutra- climate. Te temperature is an average of 25–30 °C, but it ceutical science. slight changes with seasons and terrain. Rains fall in win- Te phytochemical contents of many WEPs have previ- ter (February to April) and in summer (July–October); ously been investigated focused on their nutritional and however, the rainfall is very poor in many years. Tere- antioxidant constituents, which afect human nutrition fore, the region is dominated by drought, arid and semi- and health [8]. Generally, WEP contains two metabo- arid conditions [5, 12]. lites groups: a) the primary metabolites, which are essen- Te plants distributed in the study region can be tial agents for the organism life, include carbohydrates, divided according to the terrain into plants growing in fats, protein and mineral elements and b) the secondary valleys (Wadis) and low plains, and plants growing on metabolites including antioxidant agents mostly polyphe- high plateaus, mountain slopes and mountain tops [12]. nols and vitamins that protect plants. Compared to the Tis diverse nature creates a distinctive fora of southern cultivated food plants, the wild food plants are the ideal Arabia with many indigenous and endemic plants [5]. and richer natural sources for the inorganic metabolites Te study region comprises Abyan, Lahj-Al-Dhalee, (minerals) for balance of human and animal health. Te Shabwa, Hadhramout and Al-Mahrah governorates high content of the mineral elements gives the important with 23 districts in southern Yemen (Fig. 1, Tables 1, 2). diferences between the wild and cultivated food plants. In Yemen, including the study region in the southern Te available published studies on the WEPs in Arab Yemen, the local people are divided into Arab tribes, but countries are rare, except the neighboring Oman where they are united in historical, ethnic, and linguistic ori- numerous various WEPs have been reported [9]. In con- gins, customs and religion (Islam); this extends to include trast, there is high interest in the regional African coun- tribes deployed in neighboring Arab countries (Table 1). tries such as Ethiopia [4, 10, 11] focusing on studies of Te ethnic data in the study regions are shown in Table 1. the WEPs. Agricultural products in southern Yemen focus on sor- Moreover, there are no previous reports about the tra- ghum, maize, millet, wheat and barley. Te local economy ditional knowledge on WEPs plants neither in southern depends on agriculture and livestock.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Wild Food Plants in Graecanic Communities in Calabria, Southern
    Wild food plants in Graecanic communities in Calabria, Southern Italy - Ethnobotany, current role in Mediterranean diets, and antioxidant activity Thesis presented by Sabine M. Nebel for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Centre for Pharmacognosy and Phytotherapy The School of Pharmacy University of London 2006 ’^OL OF " ProQuest Number: 10104805 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10104805 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 This thesis describes research conducted in the School of Pharmacy, University of London between 2002 and 2006 under the supervision of Prof. Michael Heinrich. I certify that the research described is original and that any parts of the work that have been conducted by collaboration are clearly indicated. I also certify that I have written all the text herein and have clearly indicated by suitable citation any part of this dissertation that has already appeared in publication. 7 / (^foC Signature Date Abstract Dietary patterns are changing rapidly all over the world. The body of available local food knowledge, which forms the basis of many local traditions, is decreasing dramatically.
    [Show full text]
  • NJ Native Plants - USDA
    NJ Native Plants - USDA Scientific Name Common Name N/I Family Category National Wetland Indicator Status Thermopsis villosa Aaron's rod N Fabaceae Dicot Rubus depavitus Aberdeen dewberry N Rosaceae Dicot Artemisia absinthium absinthium I Asteraceae Dicot Aplectrum hyemale Adam and Eve N Orchidaceae Monocot FAC-, FACW Yucca filamentosa Adam's needle N Agavaceae Monocot Gentianella quinquefolia agueweed N Gentianaceae Dicot FAC, FACW- Rhamnus alnifolia alderleaf buckthorn N Rhamnaceae Dicot FACU, OBL Medicago sativa alfalfa I Fabaceae Dicot Ranunculus cymbalaria alkali buttercup N Ranunculaceae Dicot OBL Rubus allegheniensis Allegheny blackberry N Rosaceae Dicot UPL, FACW Hieracium paniculatum Allegheny hawkweed N Asteraceae Dicot Mimulus ringens Allegheny monkeyflower N Scrophulariaceae Dicot OBL Ranunculus allegheniensis Allegheny Mountain buttercup N Ranunculaceae Dicot FACU, FAC Prunus alleghaniensis Allegheny plum N Rosaceae Dicot UPL, NI Amelanchier laevis Allegheny serviceberry N Rosaceae Dicot Hylotelephium telephioides Allegheny stonecrop N Crassulaceae Dicot Adlumia fungosa allegheny vine N Fumariaceae Dicot Centaurea transalpina alpine knapweed N Asteraceae Dicot Potamogeton alpinus alpine pondweed N Potamogetonaceae Monocot OBL Viola labradorica alpine violet N Violaceae Dicot FAC Trifolium hybridum alsike clover I Fabaceae Dicot FACU-, FAC Cornus alternifolia alternateleaf dogwood N Cornaceae Dicot Strophostyles helvola amberique-bean N Fabaceae Dicot Puccinellia americana American alkaligrass N Poaceae Monocot Heuchera americana
    [Show full text]
  • Plant Species Associated with Some Asteraceae Plant and Edaphic Factor Effect Yasser A
    DOI: 10.21276/sajb.2017.5.3.2 Scholars Academic Journal of Biosciences (SAJB) ISSN 2321-6883 (Online) Sch. Acad. J. Biosci., 2017; 5(3):125-147 ISSN 2347-9515 (Print) ©Scholars Academic and Scientific Publisher (An International Publisher for Academic and Scientific Resources) www.saspublisher.com Original Research Article Plant Species Associated with Some Asteraceae Plant and Edaphic Factor Effect Yasser A. El-Amier1,*, Sulaiman M. Alghanem2, Abd El-Nasser S. Al Borki3 1Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt 2Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Tabuk University, Tabuk, KSA 3Botany Department, Faculty of Science and Arts, Benghazi University, Agdabia, Libya. *Corresponding author Yasser A. El-Amier Email: [email protected] Abstract: The family Asteraceae is the largest and the most cosmopolitan of the world particularly in semiarid region of the tropics and subtropics. In this present study investigate the ecology and edaphic factor effect of five species namely: Nauplius graveolens (Forssk.) Wiklund, Picris asplenioides L., Reichardia tingitana (L) Roth, Sonchus oleraceus L. ‎and Urospermum picroides (L.) F.W. Schmidt. The study area is located in some selected governorates in the northern part of Nile Delta and Eastern Desert regions of Egypt. The total number of the recorded plant species in the present study was 182 species belonging to 144 genera and related to 37 families. Asteraceae contributing 18.13%, of all recorded species in the study area, followed by Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Fabaceae and Brassicaceae. The vegetation structure was classified by TWINSPAN classification into four groups. Group I was dominated by Retama raetam, group II was codominated by Diplotaxis harra and Bassia muricata, these groups represent the vegetation type of the inland desert.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Appendix 2 1 2 3
    1 Appendix 2 2 Table A1: List of species and relative Climatic Niche Group (CNG) found in each treatment (i.e. 3 community origin - climate combination). CNG boundaries were set following the classification 4 proposed by Bilton et al (2016). CNG1: 100-230 mm rainfall; CNG2: 230-360 mm; CNG3: 360- 5 490 mm; CNG4: 490-620 mm. Species Family Average CNG M- SA- M- SA- rainfall M M SA SA (mm/year) Reichardia tingitana Asteraceae 179.3 1 x x Stipa capensis Poaceae 221.7 1 x x x x Adonis dentata Ranunculaceae 227.0 1 x x Carrichtera annua Brassicaceae 203.2 1 x x x Plantago coronopus Plantaginaceae 185.5 1 x Schismus arabicus Geraniaceae 146.9 1 x x Cuscuta campestris Convolvulaceae 488.1 1 x x Picris damascena Asteraceae 165.7 1 x x x Astragalus tribuloides Fabaceae 115.0 1 x Erucaria rostrata Brassicaceae 168.5 1 x Filago desertorum Brassicaceae 122.5 1 Gagea reticultata Liliaceae 143.7 1 x Pteranthus dichotomus Caryophyllaceae 120.3 1 x Atractylis cancellata Asteraceae 361.1 2 x x x x Bromus fasciculatus Poaceae 302.9 2 x x x x Hippocrepis unisiliquosa Fabaceae 341.3 2 x x x x Onobrychis crista- galli Fabaceae 279.3 2 x x x x Trisetaria macrochaeta Poaceae 244.5 2 x x x Crithopsis delileana Poaceae 302.1 2 x x Filago contracta Brassicaceae 342.9 2 x x x Filago palaestina Brassicaceae 344.4 2 x Helianthemum aegytiacum Cistaceae 360.2 2 x Helianthemum salicifolium Cistaceae 347.9 2 x x x Malva parviflora Malvaceae 235.0 2 x x Astragalus asterias Fabaceae 278.2 2 x Calendula sp.
    [Show full text]
  • Updates in the Flora of the Maltese
    A FLORISTIC SURVEY ON THE GOZITAN ISLETS OF TAĊ-ĊAWL AND TAL-ĦALFA IN THE MALTESE ARCHIPELAGO Stephen Mifsud Citation: Mifsud, S. (2011).A FLORISTIC SURVEY ON THE GOZITAN ISLETS OF TAC-CAWL AND TAL-HALFA IN THE MALTESE ISLANDS". MaltaWildPlants.com Online Publications; Ref: MWPOP-001. URL: http://www.MaltaWildPlants.com/publ/index.php#W01 Abstract A floristic survey was carried out on the islets of Tal-Ħalfa and Taċ-Ċawl, both situated just off the Southern coast of Gozo. The aim was to confirm or otherwise results of a recent study (Sciberras & Sciberras, 2010) which concluded that a number of species had become extinct or doubtful when compared to an earlier work (Cassar and Lanfranco, 2000). The present work confirms the occurrence of most of the species found by Cassar and Lanfranco and in addition reports on the discovery of a significant number of new records of legally protected or rare vascular plants. Taxonomical notes concerning a few ambiguous plants which were discovered are discussed. Keywords Flora, Taċ-Ċawl, Tal-Ħalfa, Islets, Maltese Islands 1: Introduction After reading an article (Sciberras & Sciberras, 2010) regarding surveys carried out on the islets around the Maltese islands, the author decided to visit and survey the flora of the islets of Taċ-Ċawl and Tal-Ħalfa. The reason being that of a substantial number of discrepancies between this article and an earlier survey (Cassar and Lanfranco, 2000). It was surprising to read that after visiting each site at least “four times each season from the period 1998-2010” the authors had only found 24 and 21 species for Taċ-Ċawl and Tal-Ħalfa Rocks respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • The Naturalized Vascular Plants of Western Australia 1
    12 Plant Protection Quarterly Vol.19(1) 2004 Distribution in IBRA Regions Western Australia is divided into 26 The naturalized vascular plants of Western Australia natural regions (Figure 1) that are used for 1: Checklist, environmental weeds and distribution in bioregional planning. Weeds are unevenly distributed in these regions, generally IBRA regions those with the greatest amount of land disturbance and population have the high- Greg Keighery and Vanda Longman, Department of Conservation and Land est number of weeds (Table 4). For exam- Management, WA Wildlife Research Centre, PO Box 51, Wanneroo, Western ple in the tropical Kimberley, VB, which Australia 6946, Australia. contains the Ord irrigation area, the major cropping area, has the greatest number of weeds. However, the ‘weediest regions’ are the Swan Coastal Plain (801) and the Abstract naturalized, but are no longer considered adjacent Jarrah Forest (705) which contain There are 1233 naturalized vascular plant naturalized and those taxa recorded as the capital Perth, several other large towns taxa recorded for Western Australia, com- garden escapes. and most of the intensive horticulture of posed of 12 Ferns, 15 Gymnosperms, 345 A second paper will rank the impor- the State. Monocotyledons and 861 Dicotyledons. tance of environmental weeds in each Most of the desert has low numbers of Of these, 677 taxa (55%) are environmen- IBRA region. weeds, ranging from five recorded for the tal weeds, recorded from natural bush- Gibson Desert to 135 for the Carnarvon land areas. Another 94 taxa are listed as Results (containing the horticultural centre of semi-naturalized garden escapes. Most Total naturalized flora Carnarvon).
    [Show full text]
  • Technical Report Series No. 287 Advisory List of Environmental Weeds in Victoria
    Advisory list of environmental weeds in Victoria M. White, D. Cheal, G.W. Carr, R. Adair, K. Blood and D. Meagher April 2018 Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Technical Report Series No. 287 Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning PO Box 137 Heidelberg, Victoria 3084 Phone (03) 9450 8600 Website: www.ari.vic.gov.au Citation: White, M., Cheal, D., Carr, G. W., Adair, R., Blood, K. and Meagher, D. (2018). Advisory list of environmental weeds in Victoria. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Technical Report Series No. 287. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Heidelberg, Victoria. Front cover photo: Ixia species such as I. maculata (Yellow Ixia) have escaped from gardens and are spreading in natural areas. (Photo: Kate Blood) © The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning 2018 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to any images, photographs or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms, the Victorian Government logo, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning logo and the Arthur Rylah Institute logo. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en Printed by Melbourne Polytechnic, Preston Victoria ISSN 1835-3827 (print) ISSN 1835-3835 (pdf)) ISBN 978-1-76077-000-6 (print) ISBN 978-1-76077-001-3 (pdf/online) Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.
    [Show full text]
  • Local Food and Medicinal Plant Uses Among Arbëreshë, Occitans, and Autochthonous Calabrians Living in Calabria, Southern Italy
    This is postprint version of the article: Mattalia, G., Sõukand, R., Corvo, P., & Pieroni, A. (2019). Blended divergences: local food and medicinal plant uses among Arbëreshë, Occitans, and autochthonous Calabrians living in Calabria, Southern Italy. Plant Biosystems-An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology, 1-12. Blended divergences: local food and medicinal plant uses among Arbëreshë, Occitans, and autochthonous Calabrians living in Calabria, southern Italy Giulia Mattaliaab*, Renata Sõukandb, Paolo Corvoa and Andrea Pieronia aUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Bra (CN), Italy; bDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, Venezia, Italy [email protected] *corresponding author A study focusing on traditional uses of wild plants for gastronomic and medicinal purposes was carried out among three linguistic communities in Calabria, southern Italy. Ninety interviews with local elderly informants were conducted among Occitans and Arbëreshë, two linguistic minorities, and the dominant culture of autochthonous Calabrians. We recorded 85 taxa belonging to 39 botanical families and 66 different detailed use-reports including 35 culinary and 31 medicinal uses. Our overall data show the permanence of traditional ecological knowledge related to wild and semi-domesticated food and medicinal plants; however, high similarity indices among the three communities demonstrates that traditional ecological knowledge is following the pathway of homogenization and standardization toward the dominant culture, facilitated by a context of linguistic erosion, limited intergenerational transmission, and a centuries-old diffusion with Calabrian culture. Moreover, our study calls for further field surveys in isolated areas of Calabria to analyze how traditional ecological practices can be key tools in the development of local small-scale economies through the promotion of artisanal food entrepreneurship of wild food plant transformation.
    [Show full text]
  • Wild Edible Plants Traditionally Collected and Used in Southern Yemen
    Wild Edible Plants Traditionally Collected and Used in Southern Yemen Mohamed Ali Al-Fatimi ( [email protected] ) University of Aden, Pharmacy Faculty https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4473-3906 Research Article Keywords: Traditional knowledge, Wild edible plant, Ethnobotany Posted Date: March 18th, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-310321/v1 License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Read Full License Version of Record: A version of this preprint was published at Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine on August 9th, 2021. See the published version at https://doi.org/10.1186/s13002-021- 00475-8. Page 1/32 Abstract Background: The local wild edible plants (WFPs) are still used traditionally in the rural communities in Yemen but this traditional knowledge is still undocumented and has been never reported before. Therefore, this study is the rst ethnobotanical survey on WFPs conducted in Yemen. Methods: This study is based on two eld surveys made between 1988 and1992 and between 2014 and 2016 to document the wild plants used as edible by local indigenous peoples in 15 districts belongs to six governorates, in southern Yemen. Information data were collected by oral face-to-face interviews from 250 informants. Percentage of citation were calculate for each species. Results: A total of 58 plant species belong to 37 genera and 21 families are reported as wild edible plants consumed in southern Yemen. Apocynaceae was the dominant plant family with 18 species followed by Asteraceae (6), and Malvaceae (5). The most widely used edible parts are stem, leaf and fruit with more than 17 species for each.
    [Show full text]
  • Goats: a Threat to Biodiversity in the United Arab Emirates by Dr
    Goats: a threat to biodiversity in the United Arab Emirates by Dr. Mohammad Shahid Abstract Goats have a severe negative impact on the environment since they graze on native vegetation, preventing regeneration. To examine the effect of goats and other grazing animals on local flora, a study was conducted at Wadi Ghalilah in the emirate of Ra’s al-Khaimah. For the purpose, five abandoned, but fenced, farms and two unfenced farms were studied to determine the number of plant species growing there. In the enclosed farms, 74 plant species were noted that represent more than 9% of the recorded United Arab Emirates (UAE) flora, while in the open farms only two taxa were recorded. Two of the recorded species from the area are rare, while four species have only recently been recorded in the UAE for the first time. The fenced plots can be described as islands of biodiversity, with between 20 and 44 species of flora present, thus helping to protect the wild plant species of the region. The surrounding area is dominated by Tephrosia apollinea, a poisonous plant species disliked by goats and other browsing mammals. Controls on the numbers of goats present may help to ensure the survival of the local flora, contributing to preservation of biodiversity in the region. Picture 1. Goats feeding in Wadi Ghalilah Introduction Unrestrained grazing by goats (Capra hircus L.) can have has been consumed, with only plants unpalatable to goats a serious impact on native plants and wildlife. Goats have surviving. The goats also have an indirect impact on native been identified as a serious pest in many parts of the fauna.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of Melittology Bee Biology, Ecology, Evolution, & Systematics the Latest Buzz in Bee Biology No
    Journal of Melittology Bee Biology, Ecology, Evolution, & Systematics The latest buzz in bee biology No. 47, pp. 1–5 19 March 2015 BRIEF COMMUNICATION Supplementary note on the solitary bee fauna from the Suez Canal region of Egypt (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Mohamed A. Shebl1, Sebastien Patiny2, & Denis Michez2 Abstract. Previous surveys (2011–2013) of the bee fauna from the Suez Canal region, Egypt, recorded a total of 55 species. Those surveys did not include important floral species among the Asteraceae, a family known to be associated with various oligolectic bees. The aim of the present note is to report bees visiting four uncultivated species of Asteraceae that are common in the region during the Spring of 2014. Nine species of bees were recorded from these flowers, these increasing the number of species recorded from the Suez Canal region to 62. Some spe- cies, such as Daypoda sinuata Pérez (Melittidae) and Panurgus dentatus Friese (Andrenidae), are known oligoleges of Asteraceae. INTRODUCTION The melittofauna of the region around the Suez Canal has been surveyed continu- ously since 2011, and during this time numerous species of pollinating and cleptopara- sitic bees have been recovered and recorded. In total, 55 species belonging to nearly all families of bees have been collected, with the sole exception of the Melittidae (Sheblet al., 2013). Those species were sampled from a diverse flora, including some important crop plants such as alfalfa [Medicago sativa L. (Fabaceae)] and Egyptian clover [Trifo- lium alexandrinum L. (Fabaceae)], but not from Asteraceae (Shebl et al., 2013). Species of Asteraceae are often visited by a diverse bee fauna, some of which are oligolectic on these flowers and may not otherwise be captured in surveys that over- look the family.
    [Show full text]
  • TARGET: Sonchus Oleraceus L. (Asteraceae) Common Sowthistle
    NOMINATION OF A TARGET WEED FOR BIOLOGICAL CONTROL TARGET: Sonchus oleraceus L. (Asteraceae) Common sowthistle August 2017 NOMINATING ORGANISATION: CSIRO, Health & Biosecurity Submitted to: Invasive Plants & Animal Committee via NSW DPI representative Prepared by: Gavin C. Hunter & Kylie B. Ireland Contributions from Raghu Sathyamurthy, Michelle Rafter, Kumaran Nagalingam and Louise Morin Correspondence to: CSIRO Heath & Biosecurity, P.O. Box 1700, Canberra ACT, 2601, Australia [email protected] [email protected] 1 Nomination of a target weed for biological control: Common sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus) Summary This document presents issues relevant to determining the suitability of common sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus) as a target for biological control in Australia. Common sowthistle is an increasingly important weed in Australia, especially in cropping systems. Predominant in the fallow period, it uses vital stored soil moisture during this period, acts as an alternate host for insects and is difficult to control. Development of resistance to herbicides is making populations increasingly difficult to manage in agricultural environments. Leaves and young stems of this species are edible, but rarely consumed in Australia. This species has no beneficial aspects in Australia, except that Maori communities settled in Australia sometimes consume its edible leaves. Given the success of previous biological control programs against other weeds in the Asteraceae family (e.g. Onopordum and Cirsium thistles), there are promising prospects of establishing an effective program for the management of common sowthistle. Of the 59 fungal pathogens and 83 insect species recorded as infecting and feeding on common sowthistle around the world, at least 10 may hold promise for biological control in Australia.
    [Show full text]