Desert Plants of Egypt's Wadi El Gemal National Park

by Mahmoud, Tamer

• ISBN13: 9789774163500
• ISBN10: 9774163508
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-01
• Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press

Summary

The vegetation in Wadi El Gemal National Park in Egypt's Eastern Desert is more diverse than might first be expected, but even more surprising is the relationship that the desert dwellers continue to have with the plant life in their habitat, despite the increasing modernization of their world. As a ranger in the park, Tamer Mahmoud quickly realized the importance of surveying, identifying, and documenting the indigenous plants, and recording the information he compiled from interviews with the local community about how they use the plants for food, healing, animal fodder, and fuel. The result is this detailed and colorful guide, which includes photographs of each plant, the scientific name and local name in Arabic and English, and information on location, distribution, uses, and ecology. A glossary, bibliography, visitors' information section and distribution maps make this a comprehensive reference work that will interest visitors, scientists, anyone interested in the flora of arid areas, and even anthropologists.

Author Biography

Tamer Mahmoud was born in Elaim, Sharqiya, Egypt, in 1975. He received his B.Sc. in microbiology from Suez Canal University in 1999 and has been a park ranger in Egypt's Wadi El Gemal National Park since 2003, where he is in charge of the Plants unit and the GIS unit. He established the park's, herbarium and arboretum nursery. He is married with two daughters.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Map of Wadi El Gemal National Park	p. xiv
Map of the Main Basins of Wadi El Gemal National Park	p. xvi
Introduction	p. 1
Site Description	p. 1
Geomorphology	p. 4
Climate	p. 6
Water Resources and Hydrogeological Aspects	p. 7
Ecological Features, Flora, and Vegetation	p. 8
Land-use and Plants	p. 11
The Ababda and Land-use	p. 11
Plant Communities Recognized in WGNP	p. 14
Classification of Plant Uses	p. 19
Directory of Wadi El Gemal Plants	p. 25
Glossary	p. 141
List of Plants by Abbadi Name	p. 147
Plant Families and Species Identified in WGNP	p. 152
References	p. 157
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