DefinePK

Abstract

Abstract | Dryland afforestation is a primary tool for controlling soil erosion, land degradation, and desertification. Pakistan is predominantly a dry country, where 51.5% of the area is arid and 36.9% is semi-arid. The two-thirds of the livelihood of Pakistan is growing rapidly over a population of 184 million people, who directly depend on goods and services provided by dryland natural resources, especially natural forests. In the dry zone areas, the natural forests have completely disappeared and degraded. The forest cover cannot be regenerated naturally in dry areas with erratic climatic conditions. Several research organizations such as the Pakistan Forest Institute, PARC, IC, FAO, UNDP etc., initiated systematic research in dry areas to combat land degradation and desertification effectively. These research studies focused on the maximum utilization of rainwater to ensure the availability of soil moisture to the plants for a longer period to enhance survival and growth. Various water harvesting techniques such as mud plaster, conservation contour trenches, V-shaped micro-catchments, hillside ditches, roaded catchments, water spreading, and individual basins were investigated to determine their efficiency and effectiveness. Deep planting and plastic mulching were extensively used for this purpose. Several multipurpose tree species were recommended for the desert environmental conditions in Thal, such as Acacia albida, Acacia tortilis, Acacia elata, Tecoma undulata, Acacia victoriae, Tamarix aphylla, Acacia modesta, and Prosopis cineraria,. For semi-arid areas Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Acacia saligna, Acacia elata, Acacia albida and Leucaena leucocephala were found to be quite successful. These techniques have shown positive outcomes regarding runoff induction, survival rates, and the growth of tree species. This review recommends adopting specific water harvesting techniques for dry land forestry and range improvement in different geographical areas based on these research findings.