Page 210 - Çevre Şehir ve İklim Dergisi İngilizce - Özel Sayı

Use of Climate-Resilient Plants in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands

Figure 12: 2018; Kırşehir, Malya; image of Lycium barbarum in the test area
(From the writer’s personal archive, 2018).
On the other hand, in a study conducted with Ankara University in the same
area (Kırşehir, Malya Agricultural Enterprises Directorate Land), between 2016
and 2020, under the “Adaptation Project of Some Legume and Gramineous
Forage Plants in Marginal (Saline-Alkaline) and Wind Erosion-Affected Areas,”
perennial gramineous and leguminous herbaceous and semi-shrub plants
with high potential for adaptation, forage production, and erosion prevention
were tested in this area. The species applied included meadow barley
(Elymus junceus), sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa), meadow foxtail (Agropyron
cristatum), bladder senna (Colutea arborescens), blue gramineous (Agrapyron
intermedium), yellow-flowered birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), and alfalfa
(Medicago sativa). At the end of the first year, three of these species successfully
adapted: blue gramineous, meadow foxtail, and meadow barley. In the second
year, blue gramineous and meadow barley showed growth. Additionally, it
has been determined that meadow foxtail (Agropyron Elongatum) naturally
propagates in the area (ÇEM, 2021). Based on the previous studies, it has
been determined that forage plants such as saltbush, meadow foxtail, steppe
grass, and wild barley, which naturally grow in these areas, are tolerant to salt.
Among the naturally growing species, it has been determined that meadow
foxtail has the highest salt tolerance as a forage plant It has been reported
that this plant can grow in soils with an electrical conductivity of 7.5 dS/m
(Maas, 1985; Ashraf, 1994).
Due to the fact that a large portion of our country’s rangeland is located
in arid and semi-arid areas, there is a need for research and development
efforts in rangeland areas. In order to carry out adaptation and reclamation
studies in arid and problematic soil rangeland areas, revegetation efforts
were conducted as part of the ‘Model Rangeland Application Project’ in the

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