Planted forests
Description of plantation resources
Introduction
Qatar lies in the dry desert belt with low annual rainfall. The climate is very hot in summer and mild in winter. The soil is poor except in limited areas in the north, middle and south of the country where some wadis suitable for agriculture exist.
Development of forest plantations
The natural vegetation of Qatar includes a very limited number of plant species due to the arid climate. There is scattered natural vegetation with some trees found mainly in the wadis. Avecenia marina plants grow in small areas at the seashore or lagoons. There is no accurate survey of the area of natural woodlands. The total area of natural range is about 3.4 percent of the land. However, the area covered by old and scattered trees and shrubs does not exceed 10 percent of the rangeland.
Tree planting started on a wide scale in 1983. By 1997, the total planted area was 491 ha. It is expected to be 600 ha by the year 2000.
Species composition
Due to the arid climate, the number of tree species used in afforestation projects is very limited. Planted trees and shrubs are mostly indigenous species that grow well under the prevailing climatic conditions. The most common species are Acacia tortilis, Acacia ehrenbergiana, Lycium shawii, Zizyphus spina-christi, Leptadenia pyrotechnica, Tamarix spp. and Avecenia marina.
Trend
No information available.
Issues
Due to the scarcity of water, afforestation projects depend on treated sewage water as a source for irrigation. The sewage water is transported to the plantation sites by tankers. This greatly increases the cost.
Intensive grazing threatens the plantations. To control grazing, the planted areas are designated as protected areas.
References
DAD. 2000. Data for FRA 2000 project. Department of Agricultural Development, Ministry of Municipal affairs and Agriculture. March 2000.