Vegetation and Biogeography of the Sand Seas of Saudi Arabia.

By David Watts and Abdulatif H. Al Nafie published by Kegan Paul ISBN 0 7103 0619 9 price 125.00 [pounds sterling] hardback

The sand seas of Saudi Arabia, although well known in literature, remain poorly explored scientifically, Consisting of vast areas of now largely stable sand, and often standing a few hundred metres above the surrounding land, sand seas cover about one third of the Arabian peninsular and the largest (Rub Al Khali, or Empty Quarter) extends over 640,000 km. This is the first book to analyse, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the patterns, nature, and communities of the vegetation of the sand seas, using new techniques, which the authors hope, will prove adaptable for similar studies in other arid areas. The book covers such topics as the natural environment of the sand seas, vegetative palaeohistory, and the importance of the sand seas as a recreational area.