Moisture content (range) of mesquite trees (Prosopis juliflora) in Oman

Published on by

While having a conversation on project with my professional friend we got stuck over this point (as title state above) that what will be the moisture content of (Prosopis juliflora) based on Oman geographical condition ?  

While surfing, I came to know that mesquite tree have more than 40 species and it is undesirable by many water stress countries because it sucks the ground water to the depth lowering water table.

So that is reason (highlighted in bold) to ask this question on this platform. 

Kindly accept my apologies if this query is out of out of water network area.

Taxonomy

8 Answers

  1. it can be interesting if it takes advantage of the groundwater of the lower portion of the irrigated areas of arid zones. It would be necessary to see its tolerance to saline water to establish it as an agronomic alternative, in substitution of annual crops that become unprofitable due to saline effect.

  2. From your question I deduce that you are talking about annual water use of the tree rather than the moisture content of the tree itself. In comparison to grass vegetation, annual water use will be higher. This is because of the higher rainfall interception of trees (10-20% of P) in comparison to grass (<5%). Furthermore, non-irrigated grass will have seasonal water use due to its dormant stage, whereas the prosopis will transpire throughout the year, also because with its deep roots it has a much larger reservoir of water in the soil.

    In general, you could estimate water use from potential evaporation (>2000 mm/y in Oman) using crop and moisture stress factors and taking into account rainfall interception loss. My estimate would be that annual water use of non-irrigated prosopis , or any other tree for that matter, planted to have closed canopy would exceed 1000 mm/y. That of groundwater irrigated date palm plantations exceeds 2000 mm/y. With substantially lower rainfall and groundwater recharge in Oman, this would not be sustainable. The annual actual use, however, also depends on the tree planting density and at low density (few trees per ha) water use would be reduced a lot and if the tree root system could enhance soil structure, infiltration and groundwater recharge it may become sustainable. I would be curious what alternative land use/cover would be considered, why you would be considering prosopis , and if there are native trees that could be an option.

    1 Comment

    1. maarten waterloo Thank you for this wonderful explanation ........would you please help me little more on this, if we truly consider it with respect to moisture ​content of the ​tree itself in Oman geographical condition.

      1 Comment reply

      1. Moisture content differs between tree parts with highest levels in the leaves. Most of the biomass is in the stem/root system though. Moisture content is expressed as the fraction of moisture (fresh-dry mass) and oven dry (105 Celsius) matter mass ( is (Mf-Md)/Md *100%). A value of 100% is then equal mass of water to oven dry wood. Most tree species have moisture contents below 100% and this may also decrease with age of the tree. For Prosopis juliflora I found a value of 32.6% at a dry wood density of nearly 900 kg/m3 in Kenya (http://bft.cirad.fr/cd/BFT_298_25-36.pdf). I would think that this value would be similar for P. julifora when grown in Oman. Note that in other fuel wood studies lower moisture contents are cited, but then samples were dried before going into the oven. I hope that this helps...

  3. First of all, prosopis is a hardy species and is a representative of arid zones where water availability is low.  The tree has a profuse growth and has adaptive characteristic in its spines and thus not eaten by many animals. Being a leguminous plant, fixes nitrogen through root nodules.  In many parts of India, it is a menace and pretty difficult to eradicate completely.  Hope this answers your question.

    Answered on by

    2 Comments

    1. In India, they grow in the desert, and its profuse abundance reduces grazing grounds for animals.

       

    2. Thank you for feedback....but can you make it specific to oman geographical conditions.

      1 Comment reply

      1. Of course, as the conditions are similar to Indian Arid zones.  However, please note that this will become a menace difficult to eradicate later.

        Commented on by

  5. 1. The roots of this tree grow up to 80 meters vertically and 30 meters horizontally, and this strange growth causes, first of all, any other plant to fail in the competition for groundwater and dry up; Second, the mosaic growth of the roots of this invasive tree causes the earth around the trees to harden, so rainwater cannot sink into the ground, so any rainfall can cause flooding.

    2. Planting these trees on public roads will penetrate and damage the municipal sewage system.

    3. This tree causes malaria to return; Research by 13 researchers from six countries shows that the plant (Prosopis juliflora) absorbs the Anopheles mosquito, which is a carrier of malaria.

    4.Planting fruitless and invasive trees is not acceptable when different countries of the world have established fruit tree parks.

    1 Comment

  6. You should definitely pose this question to an arborist or an agronomist. However, Mesquite trees are quite adaptable to arid conditions and the bias against their water usage profile often comes from a bias towards different crops/grass. In many cases the mesquite simply outperforms alternative crops/grass and "excessive water usage" is often labelled (incorrectly?) as the cause.

  8. While a question like this is appropriate for a water discussion group the best answer may come from an arborist that studies mesquite and other similar species. I do know one at a college in Georgia (USA) and will send the question to her.