Germination, growth and drought resistance of native and alien plant species of the genus Prosopis in the Sultanate of Oman
2003
Al-Rawahy, S.H. | Al-Dhafri, K.S. | Al-Bahlany, S.S. ( Sultan Qaboos Univ., Alkhod (Oman). Biology Dept.)
Prosopis juliflora is an alien plant species introduced into Oman nearly three decades ago. This species competes intensively with indigenous Prosopis cineraria plant species. In this study, the germination rates of untreated seeds of P. cineraria were significantly low compared with P. juliflora. When both seeds were placed together, only 6 % of P. cineraria were germinated, whilst 73 % of P. juliflora were germinated. This may suggest that the latter species possesses allelochemicals that prevent the germination and growth of other plant species. The relative growth rates (RGR) per week of P. juliflora seedlings were significantly higher compared with P. cineraria seedlings under both stress and un-stress conditions. This invasive alien species poses a real threat to biodiversity of many plant communities in Oman. Sites that have a relatively diverse species must be protected from this invasive alien species.
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