Abstract
Water scarcity encourages municipalities to use more precise irrigation systems in arid urban landscapes. However, major concerns are associated with the adaptation of mature trees to new irrigation systems after they have matured under traditional management. We investigated the adaptation of mature olive trees to a change in irrigation system from a traditional surface to an automatic drip irrigation system in a coarse-textured urban forest park. The growth indices of eight-year-old olive trees were monitored for the period of 2012–2014 under three irrigation systems: (1) automated drip irrigation (ADI) for trees that matured under traditional basin-surface irrigation (TSI), (2) TSI since plantation, and (3) traditional drip irrigation (TDI) irrigating the trees depending on water availability since the time of planting. We additionally determined the spatial pattern of root development by collecting 156 soil samples from each irrigation system with a 20 × 20-cm grid system (120 cm width × 80 cm depth) in the soil profile. Results showed no significant differences in terms of fruit productivity between TSI and recently established ADI systems. Automated drip irrigation resulted in the maximum root density with a uniform root distribution pattern, where roots expanded all over the soil profile. In TSI, however, the roots were distributed irregularly, with the highest density close to the irrigation basin. The wide spacing between drippers in the TDI system created large gaps between the wetted zones in the soil with a low water-holding capacity, leading to a discrete small root system. The present study highlights the positive response of mature olive trees to the replacement of the irrigation system in an urban forest park with limited available water and low soil quality. Our findings will help municipalities to properly preserve mature urban trees and the ecosystem services for their inhabitants.
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Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit productivity did not differ significantly between traditional surface and recently installed automated drip irrigation.
- Taxon
- olive
Olea europaeat0 - Treatment
- recently established ADI systemse0
- Outcome
- fruit productivitye0
- Direction
- no significant differencese0
- Comparator
- TSIe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Results showed no significant differences in terms of fruit productivity between TSI and recently established ADI systems”
t0“olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Automated drip irrigation gave the maximum root density.
- Taxon
- oliveOlea europaeat0
- Organ / stage
- rootse0
- Treatment
- Automated drip irrigatione0
- Outcome
- root densitye0
- Direction
- maximume0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Automated drip irrigation resulted in the maximum root density with a uniform root distribution pattern, where roots expanded all over the soil profile”
t0“olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Automated drip irrigation produced a uniform root distribution throughout the soil profile.
- Taxon
- oliveOlea europaeat0
- Organ / stage
- rootse0
- Treatment
- Automated drip irrigatione0
- Outcome
- uniform root distribution patterne0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Automated drip irrigation resulted in the maximum root density with a uniform root distribution pattern, where roots expanded all over the soil profile”
t0“olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Under traditional surface irrigation, roots were irregularly distributed and densest near the basin.
- Taxon
- oliveOlea europaeat0
- Organ / stage
- rootse0
- Treatment
- TSIe0
- Outcome
- roots were distributed irregularlye0
- Qualifier
- highest density close to the irrigation basine0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In TSI, however, the roots were distributed irregularly, with the highest density close to the irrigation basin”
t0“olive”
Claim · model-written summary
Wide dripper spacing in traditional drip irrigation produced a small, discontinuous root system.
- Taxon
- oliveOlea europaeat0
- Treatment
- TDI systeme0
- Outcome
- discrete small root systeme0
- Qualifier
- wide spacing between dripperse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The wide spacing between drippers in the TDI system created large gaps between the wetted zones in the soil with a low water-holding capacity, leading to a discrete small root system”
t0“olive”
The same questions in other papers
irrigation · growth · Olea europaea (common olive)Results differ
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- negative
- no effect
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26 papers in the same direction as this paper · 26 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
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See all 53 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.