S. S. Tag El Din’s scientific contributions

Sands and sand dunes occupy vast areas of Egypt. The majority of these areas are of the inland type; the remaining are of the coastal type. The inland dune chains cannot be stabilized by vegetation due to the lack of permanent irrigation in the extremely arid climate, nor by the application of chemicals, which are of prohibitively high cost considering the enormous size of the dune areas involved. Only small sand areas, mostly around shallow wells or in places where the water table comes close to the surface, are stabilized by the growth of natural vegetation. The stabilization of coastal sand dunes, those where conditions allow stabilization by vegetation, could be carried out through certain steps enacted through a program taking local conditions into consideration. Techniques for the fixation and afforestation of the coastal dunes of Egypt are suggested.