ABSTRACT
Two pilot studies were carried out on 130 hectares in the arid zone of Syria and on 23 hectares in the semi-arid zone of Jordan to study the effect of some technological and agricultural practices on rangeland resources. Some single and combined treatments including protection from livestock grazing, contour ripped furrows, contour unripped furrows, soil pitting, soil terracing and soil compaction, were applied in two studies during the fall season of 1986. During February 1987, artificial revegetation by seedlings and/or seeds of Russian thistle vermiculata (Salsola vermiculata L.) Syrian saltbush (Atriplex leucoclada Boiss), Mediterranean saltbush (Atriplex hatimus L.) Fourwing saltbush (Atriplex canescens L.) and Oldman saltbush (Atriplex nummularia L.). Protection of range from livestock grazing increased vegetation cover percentage, improved botanical composition of vegetation and forage production. Contour ripped furrows, contour unripped furrows, soil pitting and soil terracing stimulated growth of natural and revegetated plants and improved range productivity. Soil compaction decreased forage production per unit area, inhibited growth of most annuals, reduced growth of many desirable perennial and stimulated growth of undesirable shrubs. Planted species showed different adaptation potential; Russian thistle vermiculata, Syrian saltbush, Mediterranean saltbush and Fourwing saltbush were more tolerant to adverse condition than Oldman saltbush. Results showed that the rate of recovery of depleted ranges depended mainly on the technological treatment, annual rainfall, topographic features of the area, soil characteristics and degradation rate of the range.
