Flora 208 (2013) 502–507 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Flora j our nal homep age: www.elsevier.com/locate/flora Nebkhas of Salvadora persica and their effect on the growth and survival of Prosopis cineraria, Tamarix aphylla, and Capparis decidua trees and shrubs Mohammad Ramezani Pool a,∗ , Sadegh Khazaei Pool b,1 , Iraj Parvaneh c,2 , Zahra Dehghani d,3 , Mohammad Rostamian e,4 a Yazd University, Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Studies, Ramezan Alley, Pool Town, Mazandaran 4658114114, Iran b Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Pool Town, Mazandaran 4658114114, Iran c Tehran University, Faculty of Natural Resources, Karaj 31544314, Iran d Yazd University, Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Studies, Shahid Beheshti Street, Esfahan 8491736961, Iran e Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Tollab Street, Khoram Abad 6819664519, Iran a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 18 February 2013 Accepted 1 July 2013 Available online 12 September 2013 Keywords: Nebkha Soil resources Salvadora persica Jegin region Phytogenic mounds a b s t r a c t Few studies were published on the effect of nebkhas (phytogenic mounds) on species diversity and soil resources, but no detailed study has been conducted yet on possible specific influence of nebkhas on growth and survival of the plants associated with them. We studied the nebkhas of Salvadora persica and their effect on growth and survival of three woody species (Prosopis cineraria, Tamarix aphylla, and Capparis decidua) in the Ommanian coast of Hormozgan Province in the south of Iran. The results showed that mean height and mean canopy diameter of P. cineraria and T. aphylla trees and shrubs inhabiting nebkhas of Salvadora persica were considerably higher than those of plants of these species growing outside nebkhas. The reverse occurred in the case of C. decidua. Generally, the percentages of stems with dead parts were significantly lower in plants inhabiting the nebkha sites in comparison to comparable ones growing outside the nebkhas. Salvadora persica nebkhas are enriched with more soil nutrients in comparison to inter-nebkha sites. Soil accumulated per each hectare in the nebkhas of the study area dominated by trees of Salvadora persica amounted to 237.6 m 3 . This indicates the great importance of nebkhas in the protection of soil and the associating species. © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. Introduction Nebkhas or phytogenic mounds are natural accumulation of wind-borne sediments within or around the canopies of plants. Nebkhas especially those formed by wild species have the poten- tial to preserve plant diversity in overgrazed plant communities, because they are effective in capturing and retaining water, soil materials, and propagules within the areas they occupy and from nearby areas, resources that would otherwise be lost (El-Bana et al., 2003). These fertile islands have significantly great effects ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 9365778132; fax: +98 1913352622. E-mail addresses: fateme.9662@yahoo.com, justgod 63@yahoo.com (M.R. Pool), khazaei sadegh34@yahoo.com (S.K. Pool), parvaneh i@ut.ac.ir (I. Parvaneh), liliom 2009@ymail.com (Z. Dehghani), mohammad24rostamian@yahoo.com (M. Rostamian). 1 Tel.: +98 9117889524. 2 Tel.: +98 9188341430. 3 Tel.: +98 9131368621. 4 Tel.: +98 9359167528. on vegetation dynamics and ecosystem processes (Danin, 1996). Salvadora persica is an evergreen shrub or small tree that is native to north, east, and southern Africa, Arabian Peninsula, west and south of Asia (Ecocrop, 2011; Orwa et al., 2009). It forms nebkhas which sometimes can reach up to a height of ten meters (Danin, 1996). S. persica thrives in dry environments, but in areas where groundwater is readily available, like waterholes, river banks, desert floodplains, and along drainage lines. The species is highly tolerant of alkaline and saline soils and contributes to sand dune and saline soils reclamation (Ecocrop, 2011; Orwa et al., 2009). Hesp and McLachlan (2000), Khalaf (1989), Tengberg and Chen (1998) and other authors investigated the geomorphological or pedological characteristics of nebkhas, while the floristic composi- tion of the associating species and their ecological processes were studied, e.g., by Bornkamm et al. (1999) and Brown and Porembski (1997). The formation of nebkhas by leguminous woody shrubs was investigated by Danin, (1996), El-Bana et al. (2002), and Tielbörger (1997). El-Sheikh et al. (2010) investigated the role of patches and edaphic factors in vegetation ecology of nebkhas. Brown and Porembski (1997) also demonstrated that nebkhas of woody shrubs 0367-2530/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2013.07.010