Single Session of Chiseling Tillage for Soil and Vegetation Restoration in Severely Degraded Shrublands

• Main Authors: Ilan Stavi, Zehava Siegal, Ben Drori, Eran Hyams, Amir Shafir, Yevgeni Kamiski, Ashraf Al-Ashhab, Michael Dorman, Asaf Tsoar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-06-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: available water capacity; central Negev; microbial biomass and activity; microtopography and geodiversity; plant cover; soil aeration; soil moisture content; soil roughness; organic carbon; species richness and diversity
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/6/755

While tillage of agricultural lands has been used extensively, its utilization for restoring degraded semi-natural lands is rare. This study was conducted in the arid southern Israel in a shrubland which has faced severe degradation processes over time, including soil erosion and compaction, and negation of vegetation recovery. In 2014, research plots were established for assessing the impact of a single chiseling session on the ecosystem’s restoration capacity. The study treatments included deep chiseling (35 cm), shallow chiseling (20 cm), and control (no-tillage). Data on spontaneously-established vegetation was collected one, two, and three years after the plots’ establishment, and soil data was collected once—three years after the plots’ establishment. Assessments of the vegetation parameters revealed a general similarity between the two chiseling treatments, which were generally better than those of the no-till plots. The soil properties revealed generally greater soil quality under the two chiseling treatments than that under the control plots, and a somewhat better soil quality for the deep chiseling than that for the shallow chiseling. Overall, results of this study show that in severely degraded lands, self-restoration processes are hindered, negating the effectiveness of passive restoration practices, and necessitating active intervention practices to stimulate restoration processes.