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Geobotanical prospecting

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General Geology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Science ((EESS))

Botanical methods of prospecting involve the use of vegetation in searching for ore deposits. Although these methods have been used for several centuries, there is much confusion about terminology because there are two distinct methods of botanical prospecting. Geobotanical methods are visual and rely mainly on an interpretation of the plant cover to detect morphological changes or plant associations typical of certain types of geologic environments or of ore deposits within these environments. Biogeochemical methods (see Biogeochemistry), which have been used only since the 1940s, involve chemical analysis of the plant cover to detect mineralization.

Geobotanical methods were first used in Roman times when vegetation was employed in the search for subterranean water. Later the Russian botanist Karpinsky (1841)became the first man to study thoroughly the relationship between plant communities and their geologic substrate. A number of books have appeared on the subject of geobotanical...

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Authors
  1. Robert R. Brooks
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© 1988 Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc.

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Brooks, R.R. (1988). Geobotanical prospecting . In: General Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_36

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30844-X_36

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-442-22499-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-30844-9

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