Prospects and limitations of soil amendment and irrigation techniques for the water-saving public urban greenery and ephemeral weed management in the sandy soils of the United Arab Emirates  

作　　者：Ayesha ALAM Elke GABRIEL-NEUMANN 

机构地区：[1]Department of Integrative Agriculture,College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine,United Arab Emirates University,Al Ain 15551,the United Arab Emirates [2]ASPIRE Research Institute of Food Security in Drylands,College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine,United Arab Emirates University,Al Ain 15551,the United Arab Emirates

出　　处：《Journal of Arid Land》2024年第9期1288-1302,共15页干旱区科学（英文版）

基　　金：partly funded by the Al Ain Municipality;National Water and Energy Center, United Arab Emirates University。

摘　　要：Public urban greenery greatly contributes to the residential and tourist value of cities in the Gulf Region,but due to the hyper-arid climatic conditions,the cost of irrigation and plant maintenance is very high.Existing strategies to reduce the monetary and ecological costs involve the cultivation of native xerophytic plantations,and/or the use of soil improvers to increase water-and nutrient-holding capacity of the sandy soils.Various soil improvers based on mineral,organic,or synthetic materials have entered the United Arab Emirates(UAE)market in recent years,but there is considerable uncertainty about how they should best be used in combination with ornamental plant stands involving xerophytic native plants.The present study investigated the effect of soil amendment and deep pipe irrigation on perennial ornamental plant stands involving native plants(Tephrosia appolinea(Gel.)Link in combination with Aerva javanica(Burm.f.)Juss.ex Schult.)and native-exotic plants(T.appolinea in combination with Ruelia simplex C.Wright)either or not topsoil and subsoil amendment with bentonite and hydrophobic sand under the irrigation water supply of less than 50%of reference evapotranspiration(ET0).After one year of cultivation,T.appolinea and A.javanica(native vs.native)produced high biomass and exhibited high water use efficiency(WUE)as compared with T.appolinea and R.simplex(native vs.exotic)combination given that no significant differences were found under the soil amendment treatments.All stands thrived under irrigation water supply far below what is usually supplied to exotic ornamental stands in public parks of the Al Ain City,the UAE.However,subsoil amendment in combination with deep pipe irrigation reduced the occurrence of weeds and increased the overall plant rooting depth.Our results suggest that subsoil amendment and irrigation up to 60-80 cm depth can potentially control ephemeral weed infestation,which is a great challenge in various plant production systems of the Gulf Region.The results of the present study su

关 键 词：native and exotic plant communities competitive strength soil improvers urban plantation subsoil amendment weed management 

分 类 号：TU985.1[建筑科学—城市规划与设计] S156[农业科学—土壤学] S274[农业科学—农业基础科学]