OnlyFromNZ
It’s great to be back in the field in the UAE with Mansoor al Tamimi, and Wasel Abou Dahr from Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi (EAD).The second year of our research into Salt Leachate from irrigation, across three different water sources, Groundwater, RO-Brine and Aqua-Brine. It was unseasonably hot work (who says climate change isn’t happening!) last week, de-installing the equipment from the first year’s experiment. High temperatures and humidity took a bit of getting used to after NZ’s cooler climes. Big thanks to Sara Al Hussaini for lending a helping hand in the field.
Our project is in partnership with Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), and The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research (PFR) and is aimed at determining the water balance for halophytic crops across the three different water treatments. Why is that important? It is about effectively using water from different sources to grow commercial crops, while minimising the amount of salt and nutrients leaching back into the aquifers/groundwater – aiming for sustainable growth while minimising environmental impact in hyper-arid environments.