Identification of the most preferred topographic elevation characteristics for the wild olive trees in Al-Baha Region, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The aim of this research was to identify the topographical elevation characteristics most preferred by wild olive trees in the Al-Baha region. This study successfully identified the elevation preferred by wild olives. The results show that the majority (81.6%) of wild olives are located at an elevation range of 1,750–2,500m. However, in the Al-Mandaq sub-region, many wild olive trees can also be found at a lower elevation of 1,250–1,500m, while wild olive presence at a higher elevation of 2000–2,500m can be found in the Al-Baha sub-region. It was observed that at a lower elevation of 1500–1750m, most wild olive crown sizes are small, indicating that the wild olive prefers a higher elevation to grow well. These findings can be regarded as theoretically indicating landforms suitable for olive plantation. As a basis for the suitability of olive plantation sites, these topographical characteristics factors are the essential prerequisites. However, it is obvious that site suitability is subject to the temporal dynamics of environmental variables.