The maintenance of species diversity by miniature dunes in a sand-depleted Haloxylon salicornicum community in Kuwait

Dwarf shrubs play a predominant role in the natural vegetation cover of Kuwait, with the chenopod Haloxylon salicornicum widespread in northern parts of the country. A number of influences, largely anthropogenic in nature, have led to serious land degradation in many areas. The present study deals with species diversity and other floristic attributes of the ephemeral vegetation in a sand-depleted Haloxylon salicornicum community, contrasting the situation of miniature dunes formed at the base of shrubs with that of the interdune space. The importance of such dunes and their associated shrub cover as a protection against further land deterioration is examined. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.