World
\nDay to Combat Desertification and Drought was observed on 17th June,
\nan opportunity to remind people that pollution, climate change and extreme phenomena
\nwill, in time, lead to the destruction of forests and crops and the degradation
\nand desertification of soil. A number of European states, including Romania,
\nare already confronted with desertification. In Romania, the phenomenon is
\naffecting the southern part of the country, near River Danube, as well as the
\nregion of Dobruja. In the absence of measures to tackle the problem the
\ndegraded surface areas are expanding from one year to the next, with sand taking
\nover more and more fertile land. A 2018 report of the European Court of Auditors
\nnoted the lack of a common vision across the European Union and the fact that
\nthe risk of desertification is not tackled efficiently and effectively.<\/p>\n
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In an interview to Radio Romania, the environment
\nminister Costel Alexe says the current government is willing to support the
\nimplementation, as soon as possible, of projects to combat desertification and
\nmentioned a number of measures taken for the stabilisation of sand soil. <\/p>\n
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One
\nconcrete example is the acacia forest that has been planted in M\u00e2r\u015fani, in Dolj
\ncounty, for stabilisation and in order to prevent the expansion of sand dunes. The
\nRomanian government has at its disposal the financial resources to carry out
\nthese campaigns and forestations on sand land, resources covered by the
\namelioration fund and the Environment Fund Administration. The local authorities
\nneed only identify the land in question and, especially, talk to the owners and
\nmake them understand that unless we act very quickly, and we’re late as it is, it
\nwill be far too late in ten- or twenty-years’ time.<\/p>\n
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Dolj
\ncounty, in the south of Romania, has the largest surface area of sandy soil in
\nRomania, namely more than 100,000 hectares, an area known as the Sahara of Romania.
\nThe desertification process in Oltenia, a region in the southern part of the
\ncountry, is closely followed by the experts from the Research and Development Centre
\nfor Plants Grown on Sand in D\u0103buleni, who have proposed a number of solutions since
\nthis institute was created. The centre’s director Aurelia Nedelcu believes the efficient
\nexploitation of this type of soil is the solution to combat desertification: <\/p>\n
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Sand
\ncan be an ideal soil for agriculture, especially horticulture, considering the
\naverage temperatures recorded in this climate in Oltenia, which is arid and
\nsemi-arid. The amount of precipitation that falls in a year is not enough for
\nany species. This is why we must use irrigation. The soil in this area is sandy,
\nlight, the result of wind activity and is easily moved by the wind, which is a
\nvery restrictive factor in agriculture.<\/p>\n
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Fifty
\nyears ago, an irrigation system known as the Sadova-Corabia system was built in
\nthis area. Over 9,000 hectares of land were deforested, but another 1,400 hectares
\nof shelterbelts were created to prevent the advance of sand. Unfortunately,
\nsome of these forests have disappeared in the last thirty years as a result of illegal
\nlogging. The director of the Research and Development Centre for Plants Grown
\non Sand in D\u0103buleni Aurelia Nedelcu explains how sandy soils can be stabilised:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Rows
\nof 10-metre wide acacia shelterbelts are planted on sandy soils susceptible to
\nwind activity and dissipation. They are placed within a distance of 288 metres in
\nthe most exposed areas and within 560 metres in the less vulnerable areas. The
\neffect of the wind is thus counteracted by these barriers made up of acacia
\ntrees and shrubs. Rye is cultivated in autumn in strips located 50 metres of
\neach other, and in spring we cultivate horticultural plants to act as
\nwindbreaks. Irrigation has also helped turn these sandy soils into land that
\ncan be used in agriculture.<\/p>\n
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The Research
\nand Development Centre for Plants Grown on Sand in D\u0103buleni has been studying
\nfor many years how different plants and fruit trees adapt to sandy soils and
\nthe results have been encouraging. The director of the centre Aurelia Nedelcu
\ntells us more:<\/p>\n
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Fruit
\ntree plantations were introduced, especially stone fruit trees such as peaches,
\napricots and cherries. They responded well to irrigation. Vegetables were also
\ngrown. The D\u0103buleni water melons are now in high demand at farmers’ markets. While
\nin the past there was no question of growing potatoes here, this arid region
\nhas been transformed, thanks to irrigation, into an area that produces early crops
\nof potatoes, a very profitable business for local farmers. Strawberries are
\nalso doing very well here, and they can be harvested beginning in April.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Last
\nyear, the Research and Development Centre for Plants Grown on Sand in D\u0103buleni started
\ngrowing species that could so far only be found in Romania in botanical gardens,
\nsuch as kiwi, olive trees, Chinese dates, goji trees and fig trees. However,
\ncreating new varieties and hybrids is not enough, but must be accompanied by
\nthe most important means of combating desertification, namely irrigation. <\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A number of European states, including Romania, are confronted with desertification.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":153313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44315],"tags":[35587],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-153312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-planet","tag-desertification"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n