Terrestrial gastropods (snail and slug) species were studied concerning their occurrence survey and population density in 25 localities representing five districts of Kafr EL-Sheikh Governorate, during September 2015 to August 2016. An attempts to obtain basic information concerning their relationships between land snail species assemblage and soil properties .Ten herbivorous species, eight land snails and two land slugs' species belonging to three families Helicidae, Succinidae, Limacidae of order Stylomatophora were found on different crops. Population density of Land snails and slug species varied in their incidence and level of infestation according to each locality and host type. Soil samples were taken from five districts due to analytical chemically and assess the relationships between low or high snail population density and soil component. There is positive relation between terrestrial gastropods population and soil calcium content. Organic matter, soil PH and salinity (EC, electric conductivity) with low and high density in all districts were average [(1.2 and 2.9), (7.54 and 9.01) and (1.54 and 4.52)] respectively. It is clearly that Organic matter, soil PH and EC had negative correlation with land gastropods low or high densities. However, the quantitative species composition of the land snail assemblage is related to soil properties to a lower degree than snail density and species richness, and other habitat characteristics such as vegetation can be important for species abundance.

Egyptian Journal of Botany http://ejbo.journals.ekb.eg/ 11 H EAVY metal pollution is widespread worldwide, threatening global food security. An experiment was conducted on wheat (Triticum asetivum L.) to evaluate the hazard impacts of lead (Pb) and nickel (Ni) stresses and the mitigating role of Sonchus oleraceus (S) extract as a grain priming application. It was revealed that the growth traits of wheat plants (e.g., including lengths, fresh and dry masses of root and shoot, leaf area, and yield attributes) were significantly reduced by 100mM Pb or Ni. Chlorophylls, total pigments, and photosynthetic activity (Fv/Fm) declined, although carotenoids increased significantly. Ni stress had the highest reduction compared to the control. Moreover, the endogenous status of phytohormones and the chemical composition of the yielded grains were modified by Pb and Ni in a different pattern, indicating that wheat had varying tolerance responses to different heavy metals. The beneficial components of S that support its promising alleviating role were exhibited in an analysis of extracts. Most wheat metabolic activities were restored by the S priming, with additional significant enhancements in growth criteria, photosynthetic parameters, and crop yield productivity. The accumulation of heavy metals in the produced grains was limited by priming with S extract, with an additional enhancement in their nutritional value. The phytohormonal balance was retrieved after grain priming with the S extract. Therefore, using natural S extract as a simple priming application could be a sustainable and safe method to alleviate the adverse effects of Pb and Ni stress on wheat productivity.

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