Case study on woody plant introduction into white oasis soil under limited watering in Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

White oasis soil, which is widely distributed in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, prevents the growth of root systems by forming an impermeable layer of hard calcium carbonate, and therefore is not suitable for plant growth. Consequently, it is difficult to restore the ecology once the land is devastated. Efforts to restore or reproduce the ecology in this region by continuously planting and watering large seedlings have had little success. Therefore, this study examined how to introduce woody plants into white oasis soil under limited watering conditions. For this study, nursery block seedlings of eight tree species were planted to compare their compatibility with white oasis soil. As a result, regarding the compatibility with white oasis soil, the survival rate one year and two months after planting was highest at 98％ for Ulmus pumila L., 85％ for Syringa oblata Lindl., 52％ for Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, and 40％ or less for the other five tree species. The result of the above test suggests the possibility of introducing woody plants into white oasis soil under limited watering conditions by planting U. pumila, S. oblata, P. persica and other tree species highly compatible with white oasis soil.