Effect of restoration techniques on Haloxylon ammodendron C.A.Mey

Biological rehabilitation is an effective way in preventing desertification process. Saxaul trees have distributed in Central Asia including Iran. It is a psammophyte species, and grows in sandy deserts, on sand dunes. This species is drought resistance, wind, salinity and limited nitrogen. So, it is widely planted to rehabilitate the arid areas in Iran since 1955. Water scarcity is going to be the major global issue. Supplying water in arid climates is the first step in tree planting. Therefore, different irrigation techniques were considered to invent new water supplying methods for Haloxylon. Ammodendron seedlings. The average annual rainfall in the study area (Sejzi Plain) is about 99 mm and annual evaporation is 1675 mm. The wind speed varies from 1 to 16 m/s. The experimental treatments were considered in a completely randomized design with five replications. Suitable water supplying techniques for saxaul sapling in these arid conditions based on the results are; pitcher irrigation, aquasorb usage, surface stone coverage and Plastic isolation of the planting pits, respectively, as compared with the normal planting and watering. The saplings irrigated with the pitcher technique as the most efficient way show 84 % higher length and 88% greater canopy diameter.