Study of Rehabilitation on Plant Species Over Remediated Soils in Kuwait Desert Environment

This project is intended to Study on Rehabilitation of Plant Species over Remediated Soils in Kuwait Desert Environment. The general goal of the Remediation & rehabilitation component of the project was to leave areas of the oil fields, such as effluent pits, sludge pits and gatch pits that were contaminated, in a relative natural state such that once completed, the areas would not require ongoing management and would not cause adverse impacts elsewhere through drifting sand and contaminated aquifers. To this end, the rehabilitation component of the project included a native plant restoration and monitoring program with the purpose to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration methods, namely the use of irrigation and soil amendment, in facilitating the establishment of a native plant community. In addition, it was thought that if the remediated (cleaned) soil was returned to the various pits and native plants could be established, that would also be a good indicator of the success of the soil remediation process. 

Components of the rehabilitation program included eight native plants, high-level and low-level irrigation and soil amendment (biogenic fertilizer). Plants were installed in the features using a block design whereby equal numbers of plants received the irrigation and soil amendment treatments, as applicable. In the reference area blocks, half of all plants received high-level irrigation and the other half received low-level irrigation. In the gatch pits, all plants received high level irrigation. In sludge and effluent pits, half of the blocks were established in amended soil and the other half were established in unamended soil. Within the blocks, half of all plants received high-level irrigation and the other half received low-level irrigation. Plant survival, growth, soil moisture, salinity and temperature were measured over the 18 month monitoring period.