TITLE:
Impact of Some Amendments on Some Soil Properties and Plant Growth in Desert Area of Iran
AUTHORS:
M. K. Kianian, H. R. Asgari, F. Bahadori
KEYWORDS:
PLANTBAC, Soil Properties, Nitraria schoberi, Establishment, Semnan
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Ecology,
Vol.8 No.6,
June
11,
2018
ABSTRACT: Water availability and soil physicochemical
properties are the most important factors for the establishment and growth of
plant seedlings in arid and desert areas. Improving water use efficiency and
soil properties are two major factors for sustainable development in these
regions. Therefore, this research aimed to study the effectiveness of biological hydrogel (b), PLANTBAC vegetation layer
(PB), sand (sa) and barley straw (st) with inter-row system on some soil
properties, including N, Cl, Zn, Fe, clay, silt and sand percentages, ρband water use
efficiency under the cultivation of Nitraria schoberi. This experiment was tested in a split plot design
with 3 replications and 10 observations in 2015 during 2 years at Semnan province’s Natural Resources
Research Station. Data analysis was carried out in SAS software version 9.1.3.
According to the results, the highest amount of Cl was obtained at non-micro catchment by straw and sand treatments, as well as at micro catchment by PB treatments. The highest amount of Zn was obtained at non-micro catchment by straw treatment (1.106). The results of mulch
effect on Fe showed that four mulch treatments did not have significant
difference with the control. Also, the highest amount of total N content was
observed at micro catchment by hydrogel treatment. There
was not any significant difference among environment and clay, silt and sand treatments and about plant
establishment and, all four mulch treatments had significantly higher moisture
content and establishment than the control. The results of mulch effect on
water use efficiency showed that there was a significant difference between all
four mulch treatments (P 0.01) and the control. The highest water use efficiency occurred in sand
treatment (0.243), and the lowest was under straw mulches (0.154). Thus, considering the effects of different types of mulch on soil
properties and considering the price of each, the availability and area
conditions, they can be used to establish plants in desert areas, and
therefore, restore these areas.