climate change on UAE - Stockholm Environment Institute-US Center

away many plant species and at the same time
bring the seeds of new plants to grow in these
unique microhabitats. Important grasses of
wadi beds are Cymbopogon commutatus and C.
schoenanthus, as well as Cenchrus ciliaris.
5.4. Flora of the oases
The natural oases at Al-Ain and Liwa, which
were the habitat for the earliest agricultural
settlements in Abu Dhabi, are the largest in
the emirate, and they continue to expand with
irrigation. Some of the oases are naturally
occurring, while others are man-made; however,
generally they have similar wild and domestic
flora as they provide good environment
for date plantations together with other
agricultural crops (Brown 2004). Date palm
plantations provide habitats for a number of
wild plant species. Farms have sprung up in
desert areas where there is a sufficient supply of
water (e.g. Liwa), and fields of Chloris gayana
(Rhode’s grass) are dotted around the country.
Typical wildflower species of the agricultural
areas include Amaranthus spp., Chenopodium
murale, Emex spinosa, Eruca sativa, Euphorbia
prostrata, Launaea procumbens, Melilotus
indica, Phyllanthus rotundifolius, Portulaca
olereaca, Sisymbrium erysimoides, Sporobolus
spicatus and Trigonella hamosa.
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Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability & Adaptation