Abstract

Saudi Arabia is located within an arid to semi-aridregion, however, it is a biological diverse area, because specieshave adapted to the adverse ecological circumstances. One ofthe most important habitats in Saudi Arabia is the MahazatAlsayd natural reserve. Understanding changes in vegetationcover over time is important for studying the habitats present inthe reserve, and for analyzing the availability of animal fodder,as well as the extent of vegetation regeneration. Using remotesensing data and field observations, we detected that thevegetation coverage of Mahazat Alsayd decreased by 80% from1995 to 2015. Multiple factors are currently affecting thestructure of the plant and animal communities within thereserve. Such factors include ecological changes and humanactivities. These factors might lead to the extinction of someplant and/or animal species in the near future, either directly orindirectly. Thus, a comprehensive management plan must beimplemented in the reserve as soon as possible to maintain andrecover vegetation to provide sufficient animal feed, facilitatingthe sustainable conservation of animals and plants within thereserve. The vegetation cover assessment presented hereprovides an important source of information for conservationplanning.