The Effect of Different Watering Regimes on the Growth of Trees and Shrubs in Desert Regions of Mongolia

The selection of tree species resistant to drought, cold, salt and other natural and anthropogenic stressors is important for the success of afforestation processes especially when these take place in desert and semi-desert regions of Mongolia. The seven woody species (Tamarix ramosissima, Ulmus pumila, Elaeagnus moorcroftii, Hippophae rhamnoides, Caragana microphylla, Armeniaca sibirica, Amygdalus pedunculata) were grown under four different watering regimes and nine years of continuous monitoring conducted on the growth performances. All measured growth traits (root collar diameter, stem height, and survival rate) showed significant differences between treatments and species. The best performance of stem height and root collar diameter was observed in T. ramosissima and E. moorcroftii whereas A. pedunculata presented be lowest values. Ulmus pumila, E. moorcroftii and T. ramosissima showed the highest survival rate compared with all other species. However, control plants showed a 0% survival rate in 2016. Date presented here suggest that native species are characterized by the best adaptive characteristics compared to non-native species, which species are the best candidates to be used for afforestation processes of desert and semi-deserts areas.