Vegetation and soil characteristics of the wasteland of Valika Chemical Industries near Manghopir, Karachi

The vegetation of the wasteland of Valika chemical industries near Manghopir road, Karachi was studied. Nine plant communities were recognized based on dominant species. In these plant communities the vegetation was disturbed, mostly halophytic and dominated by Suaeda fruticosa, Tamarix indica, Salsola imbricata, Cressa cretica, Atriplex griffithii, Haloxylon recurvum, Indigofera hochstetteri, Prosopis juliflora and Chenopodium album. The physicochemical properties of the soils were also analysed. Soil texture was mostly sandy loam, which exhibited slight variations in the water-holding capacity. The soils contained a sufficient amount of CaCO3 – and exhibited mostly alkaline soil pH. The soils of the different plant communities had scarcely any organic matter or inorganic phosphorus. The exchangeable sodium in the soils of many halophytic plant communities was high, with appreciable concentrations of potassium.