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Natural regeneration of severely degraded terrestrial arid ecosystems needs more than just removing the cause of the degradation

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Title Natural regeneration of severely degraded terrestrial arid ecosystems needs more than just removing the cause of the degradation
 
Creator Louhaichi, Mounir
 
Contributor Gamoun, Mouldi
AL Hashash, Nouf
Al-Ameer, Fatima
ALRashedi, Dala
Redha, Amal
Alkandari, Fatemah
Niane, Abdoul Aziz
 
Subject therophytization
natural restoration
kuwait's rangeland
 
Description Rangelands cover over 75% of Kuwait’s total land area. Most of these rangelands are severely degraded because of overgrazing, poor anthropic utilization, and mismanagement. Restoring natural rangelands is a way to increase forage productivity, enhance biodiversity, and achieve sustainable development. When degradation has not reached the point of irreversibility, natural restoration through resting is one of the best low-cost restoration techniques. This study evaluated the effect of natural restoration on vegetation cover and species richness in the desert rangelands of Kuwait. The studied rangeland was a completely fenced area of 1 km2. The percent of vegetation was measured using the lineintercept method. The cover of perennial species was the same in fenced and unfenced areas (0%), but annual species cover was 19.67% in fenced areas and 6% in unfenced areas. There was no significant difference in the contribution to the total cover of the dominant invasive species Stipa capensis between fenced (90%) and unfenced areas (83%). All recorded species are therophytes, which raises the disturbance index to 100%. This therophytization demonstrates an imbalance in the rangeland ecosystem and desertification due to the high anthropozoogene pressure. Under such a severely degraded ecosystem, natural restoration cannot restore vegetation. Reintroducing native species including Helianthemum lipii, Haloxylon salicornicum, Rhanterium epapposum, and Calligonum comosum, is required to restore the ecosystem, facilitate the growth of annual palatable species, and enhance the flora diversity.
 
Date 2023-12-29T14:19:28Z
2023-12-29T14:19:28Z
 
Type Conference Paper
 
Identifier https://mel.cgiar.org/dspace/limited
Mounir Louhaichi, Mouldi Gamoun, Nouf AL Hashash, Fatima Al-Ameer, Dala ALRashedi, Amal Redha, Fatemah Alkandari, Abdoul Aziz Niane. (12/12/2023). Natural regeneration of severely degraded terrestrial arid ecosystems needs more than just removing the cause of the degradation. Kentucky, United States of America.
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/68954
Timeless limited access
 
Language en
 
Format PDF
 
Publisher Curran Associates