Abstract
With increased interest in water conservation, traditional residential landscapes, which often include turfgrass and other high-water use plants, are often eliminated in favor of low water use desert landscape plants. But even with a desert landscape, home owners often overwater, thereby reducing any water conservation possibility. This experiment was designed to demonstrate that plants can retain physiological health even when on reduced irrigation. Three 26.8-m2 plots each of two contrasting landscapes, designated as either traditional or desert, were installed in a desert environment using a pot-in-pot in-ground system. Plots were irrigated at 100% or 50% of evapotranspiration (ET) with either sprinklers (turf) or drip emitters (trees and shrubs) using a modified crossover design. Midday stem water potentials (Ψmd) for Arizona ash, Indian hawthorn and Cleveland sage exhibited seasonal differences. In Chinese pistache, Ψmd remained stable when irrigation treatments were lowered from late spring/early summer (−0.26 MPa) to late summer (−0.35 MPa). Chinese pistache maintained less negative osmotic potential when irrigation increased from 50% ET (−5.13 MPa) to 100% ET (−3.68 MPa) in early fall. The ability of Chinese pistache to maintain Ψmd and osmotic potential may indicate this species’ resilience to drought. Surprisingly, Arizona ash sustained greater relative water content in late fall when irrigated at 50% ET (92% elative water content (RWC)) than when irrigated at 100% ET (76% RWC) and this might be due to osmotic adjustment. The plants used in this study recovered after two weeks of full (100% ET) irrigation suggesting that landscape managers could irrigate at 50% ET for a limited period (approx. four weeks) as a way to conserve water.
Highlights
In the arid and semi-arid environments of the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah), water conservation efforts would benefit from evaluating managed landscapes that could potentially thrive on reduced irrigation regimes
What has not been demonstrated is whether reduced irrigation in both desert and traditional landscapes could aid water conservation, and how plants in these landscapes perform when subjected to reduced irrigation
The Indian hawthorn from the traditional plot and the Cleveland sage from the desert plot had similar physiological responses to tolerant plants irrigated at 100% ET will use the applied water
Summary
In the arid and semi-arid environments of the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah), water conservation efforts would benefit from evaluating managed landscapes that could potentially thrive on reduced irrigation regimes. One such managed landscape is the desert landscape, a designed or natural landscape with plants native or adapted to arid environments [1]. Traditional landscapes, which usually consist of non-native turfgrass and other high-water use plant species, require additional irrigation, even after establishment [2]. What has not been demonstrated is whether reduced irrigation in both desert and traditional landscapes could aid water conservation, and how plants in these landscapes perform when subjected to reduced irrigation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
