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Soil organic matter amendments in date palm groves of the Middle Eastern and North African region: a mini-review

Journal of Arid Land volume 8, pages 77–92 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Countries in the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) region are among the most water-scarce regions in the world, and their dryland soils are usually poor in organic carbon content (<0.5%). In this study, we summarize examples of how people in the few oases of the MENA region overcome environmental challenges by sustainably managing economically important date production. On the basis of the limited studies found in the existing literature, this mini-review focuses on the role of traditional soil organic matter amendments beneath the soil surface as a key tool in land restoration. We conclude that soil organic matter amendments can be very successful in restoring soil water and preventing the soil from salinization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Bio-Geoscience, Agrosphere Institute (IBG-3), Juelich Research Center, Juelich, 52428, Germany

    Rawan Mlih, Roland Bol & Wulf Amelung

  2. Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES)/Soil Science and Soil Ecology, University of Bonn, Bonn, 53115, Germany

    Rawan Mlih & Wulf Amelung

  3. Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, Department of Geology, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, 2092, Tunisia

    Nadhem Brahim

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  1. Rawan Mlih
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Mlih, R., Bol, R., Amelung, W. et al. Soil organic matter amendments in date palm groves of the Middle Eastern and North African region: a mini-review. J. Arid Land 8, 77–92 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-015-0054-8

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Keywords

  • review
  • Middle Eastern and North African (MENA)
  • drylands
  • organic matter amendments
  • oasis agrosystem
  • date palm production