Investigating the effect of rainwater catchment systems on the vegetation characteristics of arid areas (Case study: Tasuki region of Sistan)

Excessive use of water and soil resources, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, increases soil erosion, destructive storms, the occurrence of dust, and desertification. Therefore, to prevent environmental problems in these areas, it is necessary to efficiently manage water and soil resources in arid and semi-arid regions. Rainwater catchment systems are one of the management and operational methods, which can be used in arid and semi-arid areas. This study investigates the effect of rainwater catchment systems on vegetation characteristics of the Tasuki region of Sistan. In this research, the ​​rainwater catchment area was selected as the study area, and the adjacent area was selected as the control treatment. Due to the distribution of plant species in the ​​rainwater catchment area, the size of the plots was selected in a way to have more accuracy for plant cover and shrub species evaluation. For this purpose, two linear transects each with a length of 250 meters was placed in each research unit, then every 50 meters, a 3 × 3-meter plot was arranged, and a 1 × 1-meter plot was placed inside them to measure the canopy percentage, forage production amount, litter percentage, number of rootstocks and bare soil surface. Forage was harvested by hand and after drying, was weighed with a digital scale with an accuracy of 0.01 g. The outcomes were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. The results showed that Alhagi camelorum, Aeluropus littoralis, Tamarix stricta, Haloxylon aphylum, Hammada salicornica species have grown in the study area, but only Hammada salicornica distributed in the control area. Statistical analysis showed that all the characteristics of the control treatment and rainwater catchment area were significantly different at the one percent significance level, which indicates the proper performance of this system in improving vegetation cover of the area.