Land imprinting as an effective way of soil surface manipulation to revegetate arid lands Item Type Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic); text Authors Abusuwar, Awad Osman Mohmed,1952- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 29/09/2021 11:10:49 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/191107 LAND IMPRINTING AS AN EFFECTIVE WAY OF SOIL SURFACE MANIPULATION TO REVEGETATE ARID LANDS by Awad Osman Mohmed Abusuwar A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF PLANT SCIENCES In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN AGRONOMY AND PLANT GENETICS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 1986 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Awad Osman Mohmed Abusuwar entitled Land imprinting as an effective way of soil surface manipulation to revegetate arid lands and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement Doctor of Philosophy • ItTr; Date Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. A-erti g6: Dis ertation Director Date STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to bor- rowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or re- production of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED C ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express sincere thanks to his major ad- visor, Dr. M. H. Schonhorst, and to his minor advisor, Dr. R. M. Dixon, for their support, patience, and expert guidance during the course of this study. Grateful appreciation is extended to the members of the committee, which included Dr. R. E. Briggs, Dr. R. E. Dennis, and Dr. V. Marcarian, for their valuable suggestions during the course of the study and for reviewing this manuscript. Special thanks are ex- tended to Dr. P. G. Bartels who served on my committee as a substitute both during the preliminary examinations and the final oral examination. Appreciation and respect are due to my family for their encour- agement and support, and to my loving wife, Samia, for her patience, sacrifice, and support without which this study could not have been completed. The presence of my fifteen-month-old daughter, Areij, encouraged me and gave me the motivation to continue. The Government of the Sudan paid my expenses for transportation, tuition, books, food, lodging, and other costs. This assistance made my studies at the University of Arizona possible, and for this I will always be grateful. Thanks are extended to Mr. Paul Johnson of the Statistical Consulting Unit, who helped with the analysis of this study, and to Ms. Anna McKew who typed the thesis. iv A debt of gratitude is due to all who helped in any way to make this dissertation possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ABSTRACT xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 7 Land Shaping and Types of Seedbeds 7 Soil Mulching 9 Artificial Revegetation 11 Competition 12 Adapted Species and Suitable Planting Tools 13 Grass-Legume Mixture 16 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS 20 Treatments 21 Parameters Measured 26 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 30 Meteorological Data 30 Soil Moisture 32 Plant Population 46 Physiological Data (Legumes) 52 Transpiration 52 Leaf Diffusive Resistance 55 Plant Height (Grass) 60 Canopy Cover 63 Biomass 66 Individual Harvests 66 Overall Means of the Different Cutting Dates 78 5. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 82 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS--Continued Page APPENDIX A: EFFECTS OF TREATMENTS ON PLANT HEIGHT AT THE ORACLE AGRICULTURAL CENTER FOR THE DIFFERENT SAMPLING DATES 85 APPENDIX B: EFFECTS OF TREATMENTS ON PLANT HEIGHT AT THE CAMPUS AGRICULTURAL CENTER FOR THE DIFFERENT SAMPLING DATES 90 APPENDIX C: EFFECTS OF TREATMENTS ON PERCENT CANOPY COVER AT THE ORACLE AGRICULTURAL CENTER FOR THE DIFFERENT SAMPLING DATES 97 APPENDIX D: EFFECTS OF TREATMENTS ON PERCENT CANOPY COVER AT THE CAMPUS AGRICULTURAL CENTER FOR THE DIFFERENT SAMPLING DATES 102 LITERATURE CITED 109 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Monthly average temperature (C) at the Oracle and Campus Agricultural Centers 33 2. Monthly average relative humidity (%) at the Oracle and Campus Agricultural Centers 34 3. Effects of treatments on percent soil moisture at the Oracle Agricultural Center 37 4. Effects of treatments on the percent soil moisture at the Campus Agricultural Center 38 -2 -1, 5. Effects of treatments on transpiration rates (11.g cm s ) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (Overall means of 8 sampling dates 53 -2 -1, 6. Effects of treatments on transpiration rates (11g cm s ) at the Campus Agricultural Center (overall means of 8 sampling dates) 54 7. Effects of treatments on leaf diffusive resistance (S cm) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (overall means of 8 sampling dates) 56 -1 8. Effects of treatments on leaf diffusive resistance (S cm ) at the Campus Agricultural Center (overall means of 8 sampling dates) .57 9. Effects of treatments on leaf temperature (C) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (overall means of 8 sampling dates) 58 10. Effects of treatments on leaf temperature (C) at the Campus Agricultural Center (overall means of 8 sampling dates) 59 11. Effects of treatments on grass height (cm) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (overall means of 4 sampling dates) . 61 12. Effects of treatments on grass height (cm) at the Campus Agricultural Center (overall means of 6 sampling dates) 62 vii viii LIST OF TABLES--Continued Table Page 13. Effects of treatments on percent canopy cover at the Oracle Agricultural Center (overall means of 4 sampling dates) 64 14. Effects of treatments on percent canopy cover at the Campus Agricultural Center (overall means of 6 sampling dates) 65 15. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ ha) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (First harvest on 9/29/84) 67 16. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (Second harvest on 5/25/85) 68 17. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (Third harvest on 8/5/85) 69 18. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (Fourth harvest on 10/12/85) 70 19. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Campus Agricultural Center (First harvest on 5/15/84) 71 20. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Campus Agricultural Center (Second harvest on 6/28/84) 72 21. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Campus Agricultural Center (Third harvest on 8/20/84) 73 22. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Campus Agricultural Center (Fourth harvest on 10/24/84) 74 23. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Campus Agricultural Center (Fifth harvest on 5/22/85) 75 ix LIST OF TABLES—Continued Table Page 24. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Campus Agricultural Center (Sixth harvest on 8/5/85) 76 25. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Oracle Agricultural Center (overall means of 4 harvesting dates) 80 26. Effects of treatments on forage dry matter production (kg/ha) at the Campus Agricultural Center (overall means of 6 harvesting dates) 81 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. The imprintation pattern of land imprinter . 4 2. The hand imprinter 22 3. The land imprinter 23 4. Precipitation at the Campus and Oracle Agricultural Centers: Long term average vs. study period average . 31 5. Neutron probe calibration curves for the Oracle and Campus Agricultural Centers 35 6. Response surface plots showing the effects of surface treatments on soil moisture at the Oracle Agricultural Center 41 7. Response surface plots showing the effects of surface treatments on soil moisture at the Campus Agricultural Center 42 8. Response surface plots showing the effects of cover treatments on soil moisture at the Oracle Agricultural Center 43 9. Response surface plots showing the effects of cover treatments on soil moisture at the Campus Agricultural Center 44 10. Plant population count at the Oracle Agricultural Center (Pilot Study) 47 11. Plant population count at the Oracle Agricultural Center (Second Study) 49 12. Plant population count at the Campus Agricultural Center 51 X ABSTRACT Research was conducted over a 2-year period at the University of Arizona Campus and Oracle Agricultural Centers to evaluate the ef- fectiveness of surface imprintation in revegetating arid lands. Introduction of forage leguminous species into arid rangelands through land imprintat ion was another objective of this study.