Attempts at reconstructing past environments are an important part of archaeobotanical investigations. However, any interpretation of archaeobotanical data must be, among other things, based on a detailed knowledge of species behaviour in recent vegetation. To meet this requirement, we studied vegetation in the area surrounding archaeological excavations in the western part of Jebel Sabaloka, near the 6th Nile Cataract in the Sudan, based on sample-plots (relevés) in different habitats covering a gradient from dry rocks to the irrigated alluvial plain of the River Nile. The species composition variability clearly corresponds with the environmental gradient of water availability. In addition to that, the vegetation of the irrigated alluvial plain shows a clear difference in the management of the plots (fields versus scrubby edges). Plant species with a narrow niche were selected as potential diagnostic species for certain habitats, in contrast to species with a broad niche. However, we need to be cautious in making generalizations about this finding. Especially for reconstructing the remote past, the knowledge of the local environment would be insufficient. It is generally known that the Holocene climate differed distinctively from that of today. In reconstructing the older phases of the Holocene, it is necessary to investigate recent vegetation in areas situated much further to the south. ; 94 ; 103