Potential of Some Forage Shrubs for Improving Degraded Rangelands Using Compost in Northwestern Coast of Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Plant Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture (Saba Basha), Alexandria University, Egypt

2 Department of Plant Ecology and Rangeland Management, Desert Research Center (DRC), Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

The northwestern coast of Egypt is one of the most important grazing areas in the country, with a natural rangelands area of about 2.3 million hectares. Rangelands in this area have been facing overgrazing and mismanagement for years, so rehabilitation and restoration approaches are urgently needed for the sustainable development of these rangelands. Hence, this research was conducted at Wadi El-Washka, El- Kaser Region, Northwestern Coast, Marsa Matrouh Governorate, Egypt, in 2017 and 2018 growing seasons to study the effect of compost manure rates on the growth parameters of three forages shrubs species. The experimental design of the experiment was split-plot design with four replications. The main plots included the three shrubs species (Medicago arborea, Periploca angustipholia, and Atriplex nummularia), while compost rates (0, 5, and 10 t/fed) in the subplot. The results concluded that the different shrubs significantly differed under increasing the rate of compost manure. In this respect fertilizing Atriplex nummularia by addition compost at the rate of 10 t/fed as organic manure increased all growth characters including, shrub height of 119.40 and 126.08 cm, number of branches/plants of 11.08 and 11.73 branches, crown coverage of 0.929 and 0.506 m2 and crown volume of 0.363 and 0.260 m3 in spring and autumn growing seasons of 2017 and 2018, respectively under study conditions at northwestern coast of Marsa Matrouh Governorate, Egypt. These findings would have management implications for the better use of untraditional water resources for the sustainable development of degraded desert rangelands

Keywords

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, H. Botany
Volume 10, Issue 2
December 2019
Pages 9-16

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