The aim of this study was to identify the main weed communities in Al-Jouf province in
northern Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the composition and diversity of these communities were studied
in relation to soil variables and crop type. Some 54 stands representing olive orchards, date palm
orchards, wheat crop and watermelon crop were studied, using ten quadrats (1 · 1 m) per stand.
A total of 71 species belonging to 22 families and 61 genera were observed. The classification of veg
etation using the Two Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN) resulted in the recognition of
four vegetation groups representing wheat crop, orchards in winter season, orchards in summer sea
son and watermelon crop. These results suggested the importance of both crop and season for the
formation of weed community. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) showed that these
groups are clearly distinguished by the first two DCA axes. The species richness was higher in both
olive and date palm orchards than in wheat and watermelon crops. This pattern of species richness
could be related to farm management practices and habitat micro-heterogeneity Soil electrical con
ductivity, organic carbon and soil texture showed significant correlations with species richness and
the cover values of some dominant species, suggesting the significant role of soil characteristics in
weed community structure and diversity
The aim of this study was to identify the main weed communities in Al-Jouf province in
northern Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the composition and diversity of these communities were studied
in relation to soil variables and crop type. Some 54 stands representing olive orchards, date palm
orchards, wheat crop and watermelon crop were studied, using ten quadrats (1 · 1 m) per stand.
A total of 71 species belonging to 22 families and 61 genera were observed. The classification of veg
etation using the Two Way Indicator Species Analysis (TWINSPAN) resulted in the recognition of
four vegetation groups representing wheat crop, orchards in winter season, orchards in summer sea
son and watermelon crop. These results suggested the importance of both crop and season for the
formation of weed community. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) showed that these
groups are clearly distinguished by the first two DCA axes. The species richness was higher in both
olive and date palm orchards than in wheat and watermelon crops. This pattern of species richness
could be related to farm management practices and habitat micro-heterogeneity Soil electrical con
ductivity, organic carbon and soil texture showed significant correlations with species richness and
the cover values of some dominant species, suggesting the significant role of soil characteristics in
weed community structure and diversity
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