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Abstract
Along the Mediterranean Coast of Egypt, five natural lakes are present: Mariut (Western Coast), Edku, Burullus and Manzala (Deltaic Coast) and Bardawil (Sinai Coast). The floristic features, habitats and plant communities of these lakes were analyzed. A total of 402 species (203 annuals and 199 perennials) belonging to 248 genera and 68 families were recorded in these lakes. The grasses have the highest contribution to the total flora (16.3%), followed by composites (10.9%) and chenopods (9.4%). Floristically, the richest lake was Burullus (224 species and 149 genera). The life forms of the recorded species are ranged sequentially as follows: therophytes (49% of the total recorded species), geophytes-helophytes (14.7%), chamaephytes (14.5%), hemicryptophytes (10.2%), hydrophytes (5.6%), phanerophytes (4.3%) and parasites (1.8%). The global distribution of the recorded species indicated that seven species are endemic (1.7%) and most of the recorded species are monoregionals (34.4%). Multivariate analysis is used to analyze the vegetation and environmental variables of 298 sampled stands in Lakes Mariut and Edku (148 and 150 stands, respectively). Seventeen vegetation groups in Lake Mariut and 15 ones in Lake Edku were identified. These groups were separated along the prevailing moisture gradient from the shoreline to the open water. The vegetation groups (i.e. communities) representing the open water zones were less diverse than those of the shorelines. These communities were compared with those of Burullus, Manzala and Bardawil Lakes. A total of 316 species (78.6% of the total species) have at least one aspect of the environmental and/or economic importances.