Assessing garden ecosystems in the Fayoum Depression of Egypt: An analysis of plant communities, ecological attributes, non-indigenous species, and biodiversity trends

The Fayoum Depression (FD), renowned as one of the world’s oldest agricultural hubs and Egypt’s most productive agrarian landscape, exhibits a topography strikingly like that of Egypt itself. Qarun Lake, situated along FD’s northern boundary, mirrors Egypt’s Mediterranean coastline, while the Bahr Yusuf Canal serves as FD’s vital water source, akin to the Nile River’s role in Egypt. This research examined the floristic composition of cultivated plants, trees, and associated weeds in four public gardens: Fayoum University Gardens (FUG), Fayoum Plantation International Garden (FPIG), Fayoum Governorate Club (FGC), and Fayoum Zoo (FZ). The investigation recognized 216 species from 151 genera across 58 plant families, with Asteraceae, Moraceae, and Fabaceae emerging as the dominant families in the region’s flora. Significantly, perennial species (81%) exceeded annuals (19%), a characteristic feature of FD where perennials potentially demonstrate greater resilience to climatic variations. The study identified six life form categories, with phanerophytes (44.91%) and hemicryptophytes (38%) being the most prevalent. Additionally, four primary phytogeographical plant groups were observed: worldwide, bi-regional, pluri-regional, and mono-regional, with bi-regional and mono-regional categories exhibiting the highest representation at 21% and 53%, respectively. Notably, 27 species (13%) were classified as native to the Saharo-Arabian region. Two hundred and sixteen taxa are classified into 175 (81.4%) cultivated and 41 (19 %) wild species, all the cultivated are non-native while the wild species categorized into 18 (8.4%) native and 23 (11%) non-native species. This research contributes valuable insights into the floristic diversity and distribution of cultivated trees and weeds in the Fayoum area, enhancing our comprehension of these gardens’ ecological characteristics and informing future conservation and management approaches.