الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Agriculture in Egypt began some seven to eight thousand years ago. According to radiocarbon datings, the oldest agricultural settlements known are situated in Northern Egypt (Butzer, 1959). There is only scarce infonnation on the original natural vegetation of the Nile Delta and valley. Butzer ( 1959) assumes U1e existence of a kind of gallery forests along the River Nile banks, low scrubs with shrub and grass vegetation in the seasonally inlllldated alluvial flats) and limited swamp areas with marsh vegetation during predynastic and early historical times. The natural vegetation of the flood plains was gradually changed and diminished in its extent. Some species dominating this original vegetation have con1pletely disappeared, and are replaced by the artificial stands of cultivated crops and their weed companions. The present available knowledge of ancient, spontaneous as well as cultivated plants are mostly based on ftndings from prehistorical and historical settlements. fu Egypt, the n1ost itnportant sources of infonnation are plant-remains fron1 ancient tombs. Kosinovc\ (1974a) stated that the tenus weeds, weed flora and weed vegetation are conunonly used in the literature concen1ed with Egyptian flora. The Egyptian weed flora is most n•equently occur in artificial habitats such as cultivated fields, gardens, pahu groves, orchards, lawns, roads, roadsides, canal banks, cnnal channels, ditches, drains, etc. There are, however |