Halophytic Community of Foredunes in South-Central Coast of Vietnam

The halophytic communities on foredunes are increasingly threatened by global climate change and human activities, particularly in the South-Central Coast of Vietnam. The botanical surveys were conducted across 41 study sites in eight provinces along foredunes in this region. The results show that halophytic community comprises 195 native taxa, 64 families, and 165 genera. Fabaceae is the most diverse family, with the highest number of genera (20) and species (25), followed by Asteraceae (13 genera, 13 species), Malvaceae (10 genera, 12 species), and Poaceae (10 genera, 11 species), collectively representing 32.12% of total genera and 31.28% of total species. The ten most species-rich families contribute 55.38% of the total floristic diversity in the coastal foredunes while 37 families, comprising 57.8%, are represented by single genus and single species. The habit spectrum shows that the herbs predominate and constitute 23.59% (46 species) of the recorded taxa. These findings suggest that the halophytic composition of foredunes in the South-Central Coast of Vietnam exhibits similarities to tropical desert regions in Southwest Asia, China, Pakistan. The composition of habits indicates the distinguished vegetation between incipient dune (creepers, prostrate, herbs, rhizomatous, stoloniferous) and established foredune (shrubs, woody, climbers).