A field instrument for association-derived planting · Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The KSA Planting Engine

Choose a region, then the community within it. The palette resolves from the published vegetation classification; the engine scores it across the year and holds the species count to the layer budget.
◉ Map · click a region to enter
Hover a region to see its landscape communities; click to load its palette.
evidenced community present site-referenced composition only
Base layer: the Kingdom's 13 administrative regions (real boundaries). These are an interim navigation layer — the ministry's 19 Architecture Characters will replace them as the clickable zones once their map is wired in.
1 Region
2 Community within region
◆ read in context — abundance-dependent signal, hover for how to read it · ◆ right here, notable elsewhere · ✗ alien — exclude always. A flag marks a species worth a second look, not a verdict — the call is yours.
01 Spine · permanent structure

Trees, shrubs and perennial grasses that stand all year, read alive in the cool season and as bleached architecture in summer. Budget 10–15.

Select a region and community to load a palette.
02 Support · the layer that breathes

Perennial herbs and dwarf-shrubs that flush and retreat with the seasons. Budget 6–12.

03 Ephemeral · the carpet

The annual flora that appears after rain, performs, and vanishes — where the richness lives. Tagged by relay pulse where the data supports it; procured as one composed mix. Budget 30 minimum — the floor the engine enforces.

Pulse 1 · Earlyfirst flush
Pulse 2 · Midpeak
Pulse 3 · Lateseed-set
04 The relay calendar

The year as scored by the scheme you have composed. Timing shifts by region — the wetter south-west and the winter-rain north do not share the Najd calendar.

RainGreen tissuePulseDry-standingSpine aloneManage
05 Schedule · stock, centres and density

Spine and support as nursery stock. Centres lead: density is set from the centres (square grid) and rounded up to whole plants per m² (the round-up carries a margin for error); where a source states a density lower than its centres give, the centres win. Rates come from the Red Sea Airport schedule (P11854) adjusted to its centres; species not in it are sized by mature height from the SGI Native Plants Companion; species with neither are flagged. Each row carries a National Plant Specification (NPS) line: shrubs by container, height band, habit and breaks; herbaceous plants and grasses by container, minimum spread and buds; trees by form, calliper (Riyadh practice; girth comparison in the reference table below), height, clear stem and root protection. Trees are placed individually from the plan. The ephemeral carpet is seed-broadcast and stays out of this table.

Ephemeral carpet · seed mix E1

Germinable seeds per seedling: 8 (SGI)
Calliper and girth: reference table

Calliper (governs, Riyadh practice): trunk diameter in mm, measured 150 mm above ground, or 300 mm above ground where the calliper exceeds 100 mm (ANSI Z60.1); with slot callipers, average the smallest and largest readings. Girth (UK NPS): trunk circumference in cm, measured 1 m above ground. Calliper ≈ girth × 10 ÷ π. Because the two are measured at different heights and trunks taper and are rarely round, the conversion is approximate: for reference only, not for acceptance.

NPS girth (cm)NPS form≈ Calliper (mm)≈ Calliper (in)
4-6Standard (Half)13–190.5–0.8
5-6Standard (Extra light)16–190.6–0.8
6-8Standard (Light) / Feather19–250.8–1.0
8-10Standard (Standard)25–321.0–1.3
10-12Standard (Selected)32–381.3–1.5
12-14Standard (Heavy)38–451.5–1.8
14-16Standard (Extra heavy) / Multi-stem45–511.8–2.0
16-18Standard51–572.0–2.3
18-20Standard57–642.3–2.5
20-25Standard64–802.5–3.1
25-30Semi-mature80–953.1–3.8
30-35Semi-mature95–1113.8–4.4
35-40Semi-mature111–1274.4–5.0
40-45Semi-mature127–1435.0–5.6
45-50Semi-mature143–1595.6–6.3
50-60Semi-mature159–1916.3–7.5
60-70Semi-mature191–2237.5–8.8
70-80Semi-mature223–2558.8–10.0