Sabkha Ecosystems Volume I: The Arabian Peninsula and Adjacent Countries

Research on sabkha ecology commenced only a few decades ago and sabkhat were considered as wasteland. It is only now, that environmental managers realize that sabkhat are ecosystems with a research, development, and conservation value. This multidisciplinary volume is a first comprehensive documentation of sabkha research in the Arabian peninsula region, including contributions from 16 countries. Topics covered include aspects of geology, hydrology, geomorphology, zoology, botany, ecology, ecosystem analysis, past, present, and future land use methods and development, and nature conservation at the landscape level.

List of authors. Foreword. Preface. Introduction. Part I: Distribution of sabkhat within the Arabian Peninsula and the adjacent countries; The Abu Dhabi Sabkha; G. Evans, A. Kirkham. The Holocene tidal flat complex of the Arabian Gulf coast of Abu Dhabi; C.G.St.C. Kendall, et al. The sabkhat of Saudi Arabia - an introduction; H.-J. Barth. Plant communities bordering the sabkhat of Bahrain Island; J.A. Abbas. The coastal and sabkha flora of Qatar: An introduction; B. Böer, S. Al Hajiri. Sabkhat and halophytis in Kuwait; S.A.S. Omar, et al. An overview of an inland sabkha in Jordan: The Taba Sabkha, southern Wadi Araba; A.M. Abed. The sabkha vegetation of Oman; S. Ghazanfar. Salt deserts in Iran and Afghanistan; S.W. Breckle. Salt tolerant plants of coastal sabkhat of Pakistan; M.A. Khan, B. Gul. The coastal sabhat of Yemen; A.N. Al-Gifri, S.A. Gabali. Sabkhat and halophytes in the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan); B. Böer, et al. Short communication: Flora and phytogeographical aspect of the Red Sea sabkhat in Egypt; A.G. Fahmy, B. Böer. Part II: Sabkha ecology. Introduction. Hydrogeology and solute chemistry of the coastal-sabkha aquifer in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; W.W. Wood, W.E. Sanford. Holocene carbonate-evaporites of Abu Dhabi, and their Jurassic ancient analogs; A.R.S. Alsharan, C.G.St.C. Kendall. Sabkhat in coastal areas with special emphasis on the UAE; H. Lieth, U. Menzel. Dynamics of sabkha edges: Examples from the Jubail area, Saudi Arabia; H.J. Barth. Biological soil crusts of Arabian sabkhat; J. Belnap. Macroalgae associated with sabkha; D.M. John. Diatoms of the sabkha; F.E. Round. Vertebrate fauna of sabkhat from the Arabian Peninsula: A review of Mammalia, Reptilia and Amphibia; R.A. Loughland, P.L. Cunningham; Ecology of sabkha arthropods; P.J. Hogarth, B.J. Tigar. Fishes of sabkha related habitats; U. Zajonz, et al. Short communications: A short review on seagrasses of the Arabian Peninsula region with particular reference to mineralisation in sabkhat; R.C. Philips. The coastal and sabkha flora of the United Arab Emirates; B. Böer. Birds in sabkha environments; S. Aspinall. Sabkha and coastal plain development and evolution on the northeastern coast of the UAE; A. Al-Farray. Part III: Sabkha land use and development: Introduction. The archaeology of the sabkhat of Abu Dhabi; P. Hellyer. Saline wetland reserve management: A case study from the United Arab Emirates; S. Aspinall, P. Hellyer. Sustainable development of mangroves for coastal sabkhat environments in Abu Dhabi, UAE; A.G. de Soyza, et al. UNESCO's work for the protection of arid zones with particular emphasis to sabkhat; M. Clüsener-Godt. Index.