The Impact of rainwater harvesting systems in increasing the soil moisture in soil profile of Ahram rainfed gardens in Bushehr province

Integrated methods to store precipitation when it is not sufficient to cause floods will provide suitable conditions for improving the vegetation of floodplains. In this study, the application of rainwater harvesting systems in combination with the performance of flood distribution networks and its impact on increasing the moisture storage in soil profile were investigated. Therefore, while using rainwater catchment systems in three treatments, including control, cement coating, and plastic-gravel in three replications, the effect of each treatment was also studied. In this research, the role and efficiency of rainwater catchment systems in improving the soil moisture status of flood spreading areas to establish and develop productive vegetation were investigated. Furthermore, the SPSS software was used to compare the average percentage of soil moisture in different treatments of rainwater catchment systems. The Duncan test was used to compare the experimental treatment means. In terms of moisture content, the results between the plastic-gravel treatment (with an average of 19.73%) and the cement coating treatment (with an average of 20%) were not significant at one percent significance level, however, these two treatments showed a significant advantage at one percent significance level compared to the control treatment (with an average of 14.56%). The results of this research, while improving the quality of the performance of the mentioned systems, help managers to persuade users to actively participate in these projects. In examining the cost of implementing the rainwater catchment system with cement coating and plastic-gravel, the system with the plastic-gravel is recommended due to lower cost. Also, the use of gravel filters in these systems has a significant effect on increasing and storing soil moisture in the root development of rainfed trees and pasture plants, so the use of gravel filters in sloping areas is recommended.