Spatial variation in the biodiversity of Bedouin gardens in the St Katherine Protectorate, South Sinai, Egypt

Three wadi systems in the St. Katherine Protectorate (south Sinai, Egypt) were surveyed for spatial variation in the biodiversity of plants, flying and ground insects during August- September, 2000. Plant diversity and species richness were significantly different among the systems (the St. Katherine and Gebal systems were more diverse than the Gharaba system), and each system had characteristic groups of plant species. There were no significant differences in the diversity of flying insects among systems, perhaps because of their mobility. Nevertheless the St. Katherine system had the highest diversity, while Gharaba had the lowest one. In contrast, ground insects showed a different pattern of diversity: there were significant differences among systems, with the highest diversity and species richness recorded in the Gharaba system. The results indicate that the St. Katherine Protectorate is biologically very heterogeneous even among adjacent wadi systems that are physically very close and apparently have similar physical structure. This has important implications for conservation and management. KEY WORDS: insects, plants, gardens, Bedouin, St Katherine Protectorate, Sinai, Egypt Egyptian Journal of Biology Vol.3(2) 2001: 147-15