The Vegetation of Egypt (eBook)

M.A. Zahran, A.J. Willis (Autoren)

eBook Download: PDF

2008 | 2., Second Edition 2009
437 Seiten
Springer Netherland (Verlag)
978-1-4020-8756-1 (ISBN)

Infos

This book is an attempt to compile and integrate the information documented by many botanists, both Egyptians and others, about the vegetation of Egypt. The ? rst treatise on the ? ora of Egypt, by Petrus Forsskal, was published in 1775. Records of the Egyptian ? ora made during the Napoleonic expedition to Egypt (1778–1801) were provided by A. R. Delile from 1809 to 1812 (Kassas, 1981). The early beginning of ecological studies of the vegetation of Egypt extended to the mid-nineteenth century. Two traditions may be recognized. The ? rst was general exploration and survey, for which one name is symbolic: Georges-Auguste Schweinfurth (1836–1925), a German scientist and explorer who lived in Egypt from 1863 to 1914. The second tradition was ecophysiological to explain the plant life in the dry desert. The work of G. Volkens (1887) remains a classic on xeroph- ism. These two traditions were maintained and expanded in further phases of e- logical development associated with the establishment of the Egyptian University in 1925 (now the University of Cairo). The ? rst professor of botany was the Swedish Gunnar Tackholm (1925–1929). He died young, and his wife Vivi Tackholm devoted her life to studying the ? ora of Egypt and gave leadership and inspiration to plant taxonomists and plant ecologists in Egypt for some 50 years. She died in 1978. The second professor of botany in Egypt was F. W.

Inhalt

Contents 7
Foreword: First Edition 9
Foreword: Second Edition 11
Preface 12
About the Authors 14
Introduction 16
Egypt: The Gift of the Nile 19
Physiography, Climate and Soil-Vegetation Relationships 21
2.1 Geological Characteristics 21
2.2 Geographical Characteristics 23
2.3 The Climate of Egypt 24
2.4 Soil-Vegetation Relationships 25
The Western Desert 31
3.1 General Features 31
3.2 The Western Mediterranean Coastal Belt 32
3.3 The Oases and Depressions 62
3.4 Gebel Uweinat 112
3.5 The Gilf Kebir 117
The Eastern Desert 119
4.1 Geology and Geomorphology 119
4.2 Ecological Characteristics 120
The Sinai Peninsula 231
5.1 Geomorphology 231
5.2 Climate 236
5.3 Water Resources 238
5.4 The Vegetation 239
The Nile Region 269
6.1 Geomorphology 269
6.2 Climate 273
6.3 Vegetation Types 273
The History of the Vegetation: Its Salient Features and Future Study 323
7.1 The History of the Vegetation 323
7.2 Future Study of Phytosociology and Plant Ecology 333
7.3 The Main Types of Vegetation and Its Features: Synopsis 335
Remote Sensing and Vegetation Map of Egypt 337
8.1 Introduction 337
8.2 Case Studies 339
Sustainable Development of Egypt’s Deserts 353
9.1 Definition 353
9.2 Religious Attitudes 354
9.3 Ecological Considerations 355
9.4 Renewable Natural Resources 357
Appendix: Photographs Covering Western Desert, Eastern Desert, Sinai Peninsula, Nile Region 393
A. Western Desert 393
B. Eastern Desert 399
C. Sinai Peninsula 411
D. Nile Region 417
References 427
List of Species 445

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 23.11.2008
• Reihe/Serie: Plant and Vegetation
• Reihe/Serie: Plant and Vegetation
• Zusatzinfo: XIX, 437 p.
• Verlagsort: Dordrecht
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Botanik
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Zoologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften ► Geografie / Kartografie
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: desert • Ecology • Egypt • geomorphology • Morphology • Nile • sustainability • Vegetation
• ISBN-10: 1-4020-8756-X / 140208756X
• ISBN-13: 978-1-4020-8756-1 / 9781402087561