SUPPLY AND ACCUMULATION OF METALS IN 2 EGYPTIAN DESERT PLANT-SPECIES GROWING ON WADI-FILL DEPOSITS

Sandy soils of the wadis in the Eastern Desert of Egypt have a poor re tentive capacity for metals. The contents of Ca, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Al, Mn , Co, Ni, Cu and Zn in 37 soils from this area were highly variable. T he metal contents of two dominant plant species of the Eastern Desert (Senna alexandrina and Cleome droserifolia) showed no correlation with soil metals. Metals accumulated in the leaves, with Cleome having ove rall higher contents of Fe, Al, Mn, Co, Ni, Na and Si than Senna, even though Cleome tended to grow in soil with low contents of these metal s. (C)1996 Academic Press Limited