Microcatchment water harvesting for growing Tamarix ramosissima in the semiarid loess region of China

Revegetation is a pressing issue for eco-environmental improvement in the semiarid loess region of China; however, the establishment of vegetation is quite difficult due to inadequate availability of moisture. A field study was conducted to explore the possibility of using microcatchment water harvesting to growing Tamarix ramosissima during the period between 2001 and 2003. The experiment involved four different size microcatchments (5, 15, 30 and 50 m2) and the control (0 m2) with six replications to supply runoff water for one tree. Microcatchment water harvesting treatments significantly improved the growth of the T. ramosissima because more water was made available to the tree. Runoff volume increased with increasing catchment size, following a positive linear function; and runoff percentage decreased with increasing catchment size, following a negative exponential function. Considering catchment/planted area ratio and soil moisture storage characteristics, catchment/planted area ratios of 38.2 and 19.1 may be most appropriate for growing T. ramosissima using microcatchment water harvesting in the study area.