BIOGEOCHEMICAL PROSPECTING IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN DESERT OF EGYPT

The distribution of the nine metal elements in 20 desert plants was st udied in order to detect the indicator value of these plants for miner al prospecting. The plants vary greatly in their ability to absorb and accumulate the elements and so the concentrations vary between specie s. Plants show a selective absorption of the elements. Selenium was on ly recorded in eight species, titanium in 11 species. Each species sho ws considerable variability in accumulation of the elements in differe nt locations. The indicator capacity of Maerua crassifolia, Zilla spin osa and Balanites aegyptiaca to the different elements is revealed.