Article

The soil seed bank and standing vegetation were investigated in nineteen stands (public gardens, in Lower and Upper Egypt). One hundred nineteen species were recorded. Vegetation analysis indicates the dominance of Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa colona, Digitaria sanguinalis, Portulaca oleracea, Cyperus rotundus, Solanum nigrum, Amaranthus lividus, Conyza bonariensis, Pluchea dioscoridis, Bidens pilosa, Plantago major, Sonchus oleraceus, Euphorbia prostrata and Symphiotrichum squamatum. The classification of stands according to the TWINSPAN technique resulted in five vegetation clusters at level three. These clusters are named after the dominant species as follows: Setaria verticillata, Amaranthus viridis, Plantago major, Centaurea calcitrapa - Plantago lagopus - Amaranthus graecizans - Phragmites ausrtralis - Artemisia monosperma and Eleusine indica. Soil variables in the present study are not effective in characterizing the vegetation clusters.