Application of zeolite and geohumus superabsorbent on establishment and some growth indices of Nitraria schoberi L. Fatemeh Zareian a , Mohammad Jafari b, ⁎, Seyed Akbar Javadi a , Ali Tavili b a Department of Range Management, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran b Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Iran abstract article info Article history: Received 29 September 2017 Received in revised form 27 December 2017 Accepted 29 December 2017 Available online xxxx Using Superabsorbent is one of the solutions to water shortages in arid and semi-arid regions. In order to evaluate the effect of zeolite and geohumus on the growth of Nitraria schoberi L. species, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design was conducted with nine replications in Kashan city. The treatments consisted of various zeolite levels (0, 10 and 15 wt%) and geohumus (0, 100, 150, 250 gr for hole) and irrigation (normal irrigation, low irrigation). This study showed that superabsorbent application has a positive effect on establish- ment and other indices such as plant height, large and small canopy diameter and collar diameter. The highest survival percentage was observed in superabsorbent application (100%) and the lowest was measured in control treatment of low irrigation (the soil free of modifying substances) (78%). Also, the most growth indices of the plant are related to the treatment of 250 g geohumus with low irrigation treatment. Based on the results, it was found that adding superabsorbent on soil causes more establishment and improves vegetative growth traits. Also, considering the economical price of zeolite superabsorbent compared to geohumus as well as its abundance in Iran, it is recommended to use in order to increase irrigation intervals and reduce costs in desertification projects. © 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Ecological Society of China. Keywords: Irrigation Superabsorbent Nitraria schoberi L. Zeolite Geohumus 1. Introduction Iran has a warm and arid climate and its annual rainfall is low. Super- arid and arid climate of Iran cover the area about 573,884 and 472,562 km 2 of the country respectively [20]. The most important limit- ing factor in these areas is water resources. In addition to the shortage of rainfall, the temporal and spatial distribution is also very inadequate and unsuitable. Lack of water and desertification are serious problems in many parts of the world because these two problems pose the serious threats to development and establishment of vegetation (Puoci, 2008). Therefore, the effective use of modern technologies in improving the efficiency of water resources is vital [16]. Use of super adsorbent poly- mer (SAP) is one of these tools which is dry and sugar-like substances that has the ability in absorbing and maintaining aqueous solution to several times of its weight. These types of polymers are highly applicable for increasing vegeta- tion cover in degraded and contaminated soils [22–13]. Superabsorbent polymers increase the soil water durability in soil and reduce irrigation repetition by 50% [11]. Super absorbent polymers can hold up to 200–500 ml of water per gram of dry polymer [6]. These materials with high water absorption and preservation of water, increase the efficiency of rain and increase ir- rigation intervals in the case of soil irrigation [18–27] Zeolite (rosa- ceous-boiling rocks) was introduced in 1756 by the Swedish mineral explorer Eksel Fredrik Kronstad [23]. Now, more than 50 types of natural zeolites have been identified, which clinoptilolite is the most abundant material [28]. The most com- mon type of zeolite used in agriculture and natural resources is clinoptilolite. The cationic exchange capacity of clinoptilolite is about 2.25 meq/gr [8]. Therefore, this material can be used in sandy soils, especially in de- sert soils, to increase the water retention and irrigation intervals of plants in the pot and also in field operations [12–17]. Geohumus as another polymeric-organic complex produced in Germany is a superabsorbent of water and soil booster. This material is directly mixed with soil and absorbs water up to 40 times compared to its weight. Using of Geohumus, improves root formation, faster and better growth of plants and more yields. Armand Pisheh et al. [3] re- ported that application of zeolite can reduce the adverse effects of drought stress on the production of abnormal seedlings and increase germination and seedling dry weight in canola seeds. In this regard Bandak [4] studied the effect of using two super absorbent including of A200 and Stokozosverbe on the vegetative characteristics of Apripex cancesnes seedlings planted in the pot. Results showed that both super- absorbents used in this study had a positive effect on the establishment, Acta Ecologica Sinica xxx (2017) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: jafary@ut.ac.ir (M. Jafari). CHNAES-00542; No of Pages 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chnaes.2017.12.005 1872-2032/© 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Ecological Society of China. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Acta Ecologica Sinica journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/chnaes Please cite this article as: F. Zareian, et al., Application of zeolite and geohumus superabsorbent on establishment and some growth indices of Nitraria schoberi L., Acta Ecologica Sinica (2017), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chnaes.2017.12.005