El-Ghani’s scientific contributions

Castanopsis tungurrut (Blume) A. DC. (Fagaceae) is an Indonesian native plant species with limited spatial distribution; it is found only in Java, Kalimantan, and Sumatera in lower montane to submontane forests. This species has been classified as endangered by the IUCN, necessitating collection of more information on its habitat and environmental preferences before embarking on conservation planning. Studies on the species' natural habitat are scarce. This study aims to identify the environmental factors (edaphic + climatic factors) influencing the distribution of C. tungurrut along an altitudinal gradient in the Cibodas Biosphere Reserve. The nested plot method was applied to assess the forest vegetation at an altitudinal range of ca. 750-1800 m asl. Environmental factors were measured using portable equipment and through laboratory analysis. Ordination technique using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was utilised to pinpoint the environmental factors influencing the species' distribution based on basal area. CCA showed temperature to be the most limiting factor affecting the distribution. Edaphic factors-cation exchange capacity, content of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and soil pH-had less influence. Thus, it can be inferred that dependence of C. tungurrut on temperature determines its distribution pattern in its natural habitat, like Ostodes paniculata and Sloanea sigun. In contrast, the distribution of Castanopsis javanica, Castanopsis argentea, Schima wallichii, Altingia excelsa, Dacrycarpus imbricatus, Cestrum aurantiacum, and Castanopsis acuminatissima was found to be more influenced by edaphic factors than by climatic factors.

Representatives of the Euphorbiaceae s.l. in the flora of Egypt are notoriously difficult to identify with any degree of certainty, especially when using the manually constructed keys currently available for them. Such keys are based largely on single characters separating alternative entries of the same couplet which may vary considerably in individual plants of the same species. To benefit from the versatility and advantages of computer programs designed for key construction, two data matrices were constructed to accommodate comparative variation in the features of vegetative and floral morphology of three succulent Euphorbia species and 45 non-succulent species of the eight genera representing the Euphorbiaceae s.s. and the Phyllanthaceae in the flora of Egypt. Each matrix was subjected to analysis using the DELTA package of computer programs to generate a key to the species, accompanied by detailed and item descriptions of individual species in terms of the recorded characters for confirmation of the results obtained by the user. Both keys are a marked improvement over their previous manually constructed counterparts.