الفهرس 
Foliage productivityOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 200 |  |  |
| | | from | 200 | | |
Abstract
Awad Mahmoud Al-Aswad: Assessment of forage production and nutritive values of the dominant range plants in two different locations at the North Western Coast of Egypt. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, 2009.
The present investigation was carried out in the North Western Coast of Egypt during the period extended from autumn 2005 till spring 2007 to study the effect of natural vegetation behavior, qualitatively and quantitatively in the two areas under study. The two areas under study were Fuka and Al-Omayed. Fuka area is located about 70 km East of Marsa-Matruh where five sites (S1, S2, S3, S4 and S5) were studied. Each site was about consecutive 2-5 km distance down the sea-shore . Al-Omayed area is located about 75 km West of Alexandria where similar five sites down south of the sea-shore were studied as mentioned with the previous area. The main results obtained were as follow:
The natural plant wealth of Fuka area was composed of 44 plant species belonging to 18 families. Out of the existing and identified 44 plant species,7 species belong to each of Asteraceae and Chenopodiaceae, 6 species belong to Fabaceae , 5 species belong to Poaceae, 3 species belong to Caryophyllaceae and Lamiaceae (Labiatae), the rest of families have less than 3 species for each e.g. Plantaginaceae , Aizoaceae , Apiaceae , Boraginaceae , Brassicaceae , Geraniaceae , Liliaceae , Malvaceae , Solanaceae , Tamariaceae , Thymelaceae and Zygophyllaceae. Meanwhile, survey indicated that the natural vegetation components of Al-Omayed location was composed of 32 plant species belonge to 16 families. This obtained number of species were distributed on the following families; Asteraceae (Compositae) 7 species ; Chenopodiaceae 6 species ; Gramineae (Poaceae) 3 species and 2 species for each of these families Fabaceae , Plantagonaceae and Lamiaceae (Labiatae) one , 1 species for each e.g. Caryophyllaceae , Brassicaceae , Liliaceae , Malvaceae , Thamariaceae , Plumbaginaceae , Thymelaceae , Solanaceae , Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) and Zygophyllaceae.
In Fuka area, spring season produced the highest values of the studied vegetative parameters such as plant density, coverage %, fresh forage yield, crude protein percentage compared with that of autumn season. Meanwhile, autumn season showed significant superiority in abundance %, frequency %, total carbohydrates % and crude fiber %. The effect of seasons on dry forage yield and total ash contents was non-significant. In respect to Al-Omayed area, the highest values in plant density, coverage %, crude protein %, crude fiber % and total ash contents were recorded in spring season, whilst, the autumn season surpassed the spring season in abundance %, frequency % and total carbohydrates %, and no significant differences were detected between the two seasons in fresh and dry forage yields.
Fuka area: Site 1 recorded the highest values in coverage %, fresh & dry forage yields and total ash contents. Meanwhile, the highest values in plant density and crude protein % were obtained from site 2, while, sites 3 and 5 were higher in abundance % and frequency %, respectively. On the other hand, the lowest values in coverage %, plant density and fresh & dry forage yields were noticed in site 5. Site 1 recorded the lowest values in abundance %, frequency % and crude protein %, whilst, site 2 gave the lowest values in total ash contents. No significant differences were detected between the five sites in total carbohydrate % and crude fiber %.
Al-Omayed area: The highest values in frequency %, crude protein % and crude fiber % were recorded in site 3. Meanwhile, the highest values in fresh forage yield, coverage % and total ash contents were obtained in site 1. The highest values in abundance % and total carbohydrate % were obtained from sites 2 and 4, respectively. The lowest values in abundance %, frequency %, total carbohydrates % and crude fiber % were recorded in site 1. The lowest values in coverage % and fresh forage yield were noticed in site 3, while, the lowest values in total ash contents and crude protein % were noticed in sites 2 and 5, respectively. No significant differences were detected between the five sites in plant density and dry forage yield.
The effect of the interaction between seasons and sites was significantly effected on the following studied measurements i.e. abundance %, frequency %, coverage %, plants density, fresh and dry forage yields, total carbohydrate %, crude protein %, crude fiber % and total ash contents in both locations (Fuka and Al-Omayed).
Results indicated that the highest values of dry matter %, crude protein % and crude fiber % were recorded for the following three plant species; Devera tortuosa, Gymnocarpos decandrum and Artemisia monosperma.
Results showed that Erodium cicutarium recorded the higest values in dry matter disappearance (DMD), crude protein disappearance (CPD) and crude fiber disappearance (CFD). Also, results showed that the 72 hours digestibility period showed significant superiority over the 24 hours in the studied measurements e.g. DMD, CPD and CFD. The interaction between studied native plant species and digestibility periods was significant in all studied measurements.
Key words: Survey, North Western Coast of Egypt , Fuka and Al-Omayed locations, Botanical composition , Abundance percentage , Frequency percentage, Plant density, Coverage percentage, Chemical composition, Foliage productivity, Nutritive values, Biological evaluation.