ID :
166032
Sat, 03/05/2011 - 20:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/166032
The shortlink copeid
Qatar s Sabkhat Offer Great Potential For Seawater Irrigation- Ecologist
Doha, March 05 (QNA) - Qatar could convert its coastal sabkhat, presently lying barren, into highly productive eco-systems with full-fledged seawater irrigation.
"Such an initiative can generate jobs and income through land-based fish and shrimp production, livestock fodder cultivation, carbon sequestration and production of charcoal and biofuels," Dr Benno Boer an ecologist from Unesco told Qatari English-language newspaper "Gulf Times".
Sabkha, whose plural is Sabkhat, is an Arabic term for hyper saline coastal flats devoid of any vegetation, explained Unesco s ecological science adviser in the Arab region.
The concept gains currency given that global food and fresh water crises are looming on the horizon, he stressed while observing that sabkhat have gigantic potential to be turned into highly productive ecosystems.
Dr Boer is part of a group of experts who has compiled the three-volume Sabkha Ecosystems series, published by Springer in the Netherlands. The last volume came out recently.
Sabkhat cover about 5 to 10% of the surface of Qatar, which has a total land area of 11,437sqkm. Sabkhat are seen during the drive from the Sealine Beach Resort to the Inland Sea.
"The flat terrain you encounter after the dunes, they are dark in colour because they are moist, these sabkhat are full of water, you dig 50cm or one metre you get water, but it is highly saline," Dr Boer said.
The expert suggested that sabkhat could be planted with the local mangrove species, avicennia marina, a number of salt tolerant species from the families of chenopodiaceae and zygophyllaceae, a plant called salicornia bigelorii, macro alagae and the three species of sea grasses seen in the Arabian Gulf.
"With avicennia marina, you can not only sequestrate carbon dioxide from the air, but also produce wood, wood chips, charcoal, use the leaves and the seeds for the production of livestock fodder and possibly put beehives there to produce honey," Dr Boer said.
The biomass that is produced could be decomposed by marine bacteria and fungi so that fish can feed on it.
The salt-tolerant plant species from the families of chenopodiaceae and zygophyllaceae could be used to produce cash crops, including some fodder crops, and others for use as insulation material and to make carpets.
Saliconia bigaloviei could be used to produce vegetable oil as it has low cholesterol containing seeds.
There should be a non-corrosive irrigation system as seawater is highly saline.
"The pumping needs to be round-the-clock to leach the salt back into the sea, failing which and on account of the high evaporation rates the areas would be enriched with salinity," Dr Boer cautioned.
Continuous irrigation is very crucial during the hot summer months when the evaporation rates are about 3,000mm a year per sqm in contrast to the mere 80mm of rain received in the country.
"We have the largest sabkha in the world in the Arabian peninsula, the Sabkha Matti on the border between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia," Dr Boer pointed out.
The Sabkha Matti, stretches inland from the coast for more than 100 km into the Empty Quarter (the world s largest sand sea, at more than 583,000sqkm, it is spread across Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the UAE).
"Such an initiative can generate jobs and income through land-based fish and shrimp production, livestock fodder cultivation, carbon sequestration and production of charcoal and biofuels," Dr Benno Boer an ecologist from Unesco told Qatari English-language newspaper "Gulf Times".
Sabkha, whose plural is Sabkhat, is an Arabic term for hyper saline coastal flats devoid of any vegetation, explained Unesco s ecological science adviser in the Arab region.
The concept gains currency given that global food and fresh water crises are looming on the horizon, he stressed while observing that sabkhat have gigantic potential to be turned into highly productive ecosystems.
Dr Boer is part of a group of experts who has compiled the three-volume Sabkha Ecosystems series, published by Springer in the Netherlands. The last volume came out recently.
Sabkhat cover about 5 to 10% of the surface of Qatar, which has a total land area of 11,437sqkm. Sabkhat are seen during the drive from the Sealine Beach Resort to the Inland Sea.
"The flat terrain you encounter after the dunes, they are dark in colour because they are moist, these sabkhat are full of water, you dig 50cm or one metre you get water, but it is highly saline," Dr Boer said.
The expert suggested that sabkhat could be planted with the local mangrove species, avicennia marina, a number of salt tolerant species from the families of chenopodiaceae and zygophyllaceae, a plant called salicornia bigelorii, macro alagae and the three species of sea grasses seen in the Arabian Gulf.
"With avicennia marina, you can not only sequestrate carbon dioxide from the air, but also produce wood, wood chips, charcoal, use the leaves and the seeds for the production of livestock fodder and possibly put beehives there to produce honey," Dr Boer said.
The biomass that is produced could be decomposed by marine bacteria and fungi so that fish can feed on it.
The salt-tolerant plant species from the families of chenopodiaceae and zygophyllaceae could be used to produce cash crops, including some fodder crops, and others for use as insulation material and to make carpets.
Saliconia bigaloviei could be used to produce vegetable oil as it has low cholesterol containing seeds.
There should be a non-corrosive irrigation system as seawater is highly saline.
"The pumping needs to be round-the-clock to leach the salt back into the sea, failing which and on account of the high evaporation rates the areas would be enriched with salinity," Dr Boer cautioned.
Continuous irrigation is very crucial during the hot summer months when the evaporation rates are about 3,000mm a year per sqm in contrast to the mere 80mm of rain received in the country.
"We have the largest sabkha in the world in the Arabian peninsula, the Sabkha Matti on the border between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia," Dr Boer pointed out.
The Sabkha Matti, stretches inland from the coast for more than 100 km into the Empty Quarter (the world s largest sand sea, at more than 583,000sqkm, it is spread across Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the UAE).
