Fruit trees’ survival ability in an arid desert environment without irrigation in the Negev Highlands of Southern Israel

Abstract

More than a hundred abandoned but presently maintained fruit trees are scattered in the Negev Desert Highlands in Southern Israel. Most of the older groves were planted by Bedouins in pre-existing agricultural systems built in the distant past, mainly during the Byzantine era, mostly during the sixth and seventh centuries AD. In these groves a variety of domesticated fruit trees such as date palms, figs, pomegranates, almonds, carobs, pistachios, bitter oranges, grapevines and olives have been planted. The trees growing in these abandoned sites throughout the Negev Highland region are strictly rain-fed and dependent on the amount of runoff water accumulating from the surrounding old runoff harvesting systems with no modern artificial irrigation at least for the past several decades. Despite the lack of active irrigation, some of the trees of all species continue to flourish and even persist in bearing fruit to this day. The trees growing in the Negev Highlands can be divided into several planting periods. The oldest olive trees are apparently descendants of trees planted in the area during the Byzantine period (sixth and seventh centuries AD), while the youngest consist of varieties and species recently planted by Bedouins, until 1948. The factors affecting the survival of the trees are mainly of a geological nature, especially the rock types and their spatial distribution that contribute to the potential of runoff water. Topographic layouts are also critical for enhancing water runoff, as well as various soil parameters, such as water-holding capacity, depth, salinity, and organic matter content. A significant impact on the trees' condition and survival depends also on the preservation state of the ancient terraces in which they were planted and the level of horticultural expertise of the Bedouins in growing fruit trees. During this study we characterized the geographical, geological and topographical conditions enabling the survival of different fruit trees with no artificially added irrigation in various locations within the Southern Israeli desert. Apparently no specific genotypes were required and involved in the survival of the various fruit trees, but the microconditions at each tree's location were found to be critical.

Ancient to Recent-Past Runoff Harvesting Agriculture in Recharge Playas of the Hyper-Arid Southern Israel

“…Furthermore, in extreme floods, runoff harvested in these terraces would be protected from becoming drained to the downstream Wadi Shaharut. Structural characteristics of these terraces are similar to those of many agricultural runoff harvesting infrastructures that were located in many ephemeral stream channels across southern Israel and dated to the Byzantine Age (fourth to seventh century AD) [21][22][23]. As elsewhere, agricultural utilization of Byzantine runoff harvesting infrastructures during later ages is very probable [22,23].…”

“…Structural characteristics of these terraces are similar to those of many agricultural runoff harvesting infrastructures that were located in many ephemeral stream channels across southern Israel and dated to the Byzantine Age (fourth to seventh century AD) [21][22][23]. As elsewhere, agricultural utilization of Byzantine runoff harvesting infrastructures during later ages is very probable [22,23]. For example, evidence for modern agricultural land use was provided for terraced lands in some wadis across the central Arava Valley by the location of tillage-induced shallow soil furrows, which indicate recent (decades old) tillage by Bedouins [24].…”

The Paleo-Anthropocene and the Genesis of the Current Landscape of Israel

“…When these run-off systems were active, the landscape would have included tens to hundreds of orchards and vineyards, and been totally different from the current landscape. As Ashkenazi et al, (2015) found in the Negev Highlands, more than a hundred fruit trees planted by Bedouin in the early 20 th century survive without any human maintenance thanks to water that accumulates from old runoff harvesting systems.…”

Variations in Hillslope Runoff as Detected Using Geological Strata Coupled with Vegetation Patterns- Implications on Spatially Distributed Desert Runoff Agriculture

“…The fact that most of the agricultural installations are restricted to the location of the present best runoff generation units may suggest that there was no significant change in the environmental conditions observed since these installations were built, some 1600 years ago. Recent study (Ashkenazi et al, 2014) indicates that after the 10 th century, the semi-nomad Bedouin population almost constantly practiced desert agriculture on a local scale in the Negev Highlands. This indicates that todays' desert climate and environment are suitable for desert agriculture practices, and that the desert environment in the southern Levant was almost unchanged at least during the last two millennia.…”