GIS mapping of Main Pharmaceutical Plants in Al-Baha Region

Abstract

F OR THIS STUDY, we used geographic information systems (GIS) and ground surveys to map the important pharmaceutical plants in Albaha region of Saudi Arabia. We used GIS functions to generate distribution, richness, and density maps for 39 plants from 23 families and 25 genera. Three of these species are endemic to Saudi Arabia; two are found in both Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and five are found only in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Five species belong to the family Xanthorrhoeaceae; four belong to each of the two families Euphorbiaceae and Burseraceae, and three belong to each of the families Amaranthaceae and Papaveraceae. For each species of a pharmaceutical plant, we calculated density per hectare and determined a frequency percentage. Our study area was in southwestern Saudi Arabia, between latitudes 16 and 21, and longitudes 40 and 41. This is the first study that uses GIS to show the distribution of pharmaceutical plants in this region and can be considered a basic resource for the mapping and domestication of all pharmaceutical plants in Saudi Arabia. This may contribute to cultivate the Pharmaceutical Plants on a commercial scale, with consequent economic benefits at both individual and national levels.