ABSTRACT
The desert of Kuwait is characterized by hot dry summers and cold winters. The meager annual rainfall allows a poor open steppe of undershrubs, perennial herbs and spring ephemeral. The vegetation is subjected to increasing pressure by human activities resulting in deterioration of plant cover and yield. The objectives of this study were to assess the vegetation of Rhanterium epapposum (Arfaj) and Haloxylon salicornicum (Remth) steppe, to determine the seasonal variation in herbage production and percent cover in relation to seasonal precipitation and to investigate the differences between protected and nearby grazed areas.
The vegetation was sampled quantitatively to provide herbage production and the percentage cover. During the nine years period (1979–88) an average of 96 mm seasonal precipitation produced an average of 247 kg ha−1 in the Arfaj steppe while an average of 81 mm seasonal precipitation during the five years period (1983–88) produced an average of 110 kg ha−1 in the Remth steppe. Annual forbs and perennial shrubs were more efficient procedures of dry matter per kg of above-ground phytomass in Arfaj and Remth steppe, respectively. The seasonal production of dry matter was related directly to the seasonal precipitation in Arfaj steppe whereas the Remth steppe did not show any direct relationship. Plant cover was 83 ± 16% and 70 ± 20% less in grazed areas than in protected areas in Arfaj and Remth steppes, respectively. Relative difference in herbage production was 74 ± 29% and 89 ± 12% in favor of protected areas in the Arfaj and Remth steppes, respectively.
