Professor Dr. Hassan Jameel Jawad Al-Fatlawi, Dean of the faculty of Science at the University of Kerbala, participated as a committee member in the doctoral dissertation defense held at the College of Education for Pure Sciences, University of Kerbala. The dissertation, presented by Ph.D. candidate Duha Abbas Kazem, focused on “The Biodiversity of Vegetative Cover and Its Relationship to Certain Soil Properties in the Bahr Al-Najaf Depression.”

The study aimed to document and classify plant species in the target area, preserve collected samples in the college’s herbarium, and identify the morphological characteristics of the flora. It further sought to define the dominant plant communities and analyze their species composition.

Key findings from the research highlighted a significant correlation between vegetative biodiversity and rainfall. In contrast, most soil properties did not exhibit a statistically significant relationship with biodiversity, except for the silt content, which showed a positive correlation with plant diversity.

The dissertation concluded with recommendations for the protection of biodiversity and the ecological integrity of the Bahr Al-Najaf Depression specifically, and Iraq in general, emphasizing the long-term benefits of conserving native wild plant species.