Dr. Orna Reisman-Berman
and Prof. Tel-Zur Noemi ( The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research) with a colleague Prof. Keasar Tamar (Haifa
University), have recently published a paper in one of the leading forestry
journals. The paper proposes a novel
conceptual framework for dryland afforestation. The framework aims at enhancing
ecosystem services and livelihood support while minimizing the harmful effects
of afforestation on the integrity of the surrounding natural arid ecosystems. It is based on participatory species selection
and planning of the afforestation by the local communities and other professional
stakeholders. The candidate species are then tested with an array of
experiments for their compliance with the ecological and sociological criteria
for forming an environmental-friendly, contributing afforestation. There is an emphasis on the need for
creating multi-functional afforestation that would address the limited
resources in drylands. The proposed framework was tested in the last years in
two sites: in Sde-Boqer by Yannai
Zausmer (MSc.) and the contribution of Dr. Udi Zurgil and Ms. Shlomo Feingold; and in Jordan with Jordanian colleagues –
funded by MERC-USAID
Reisman-Berman2019_Article_NativeAndNon-nativeSpeciesForD (002).pdf
