Language: German with bilingual summary in English and German
In this study the present-day vegetation conditions of south-western Saudi Arabia (Asir, Tihama) are described.
Methods consist of the Braun-blanquet technique, importance value evaluation (Curtis), association analysis (Williams & Lambert), and vegetation mapping by means of floristic and physiognomic-ecological classification of vegetation. Soil and water analyses as well as the analysis of photosynthetic types complement the particulars of the habitat conditions and the strategies of the colonizing species by the example of the halophytic vegetation of the Tihama coastal plain.
Descriptions of the macroclimate, the distribution of summer/winter rainfall and the variability of precipitation are presented here as well as the results of microclimatic measurements. Such a thorough microclimatic survey is new to the Arabian peninsula.
Within the description of the vegetation units, the structure and habitat conditions as well as the distribution (chorology) and syntaxonomical relations are discussed in separate chapters respectively.