Vegetation and management of tar piles on Qatar coastal marshes

Abstract EN

-This pilot study was de cided to assess the problem o f oil pollution in Qat ar and o the r oil producing co untries and suggest a management programme for disp osing the co llected tar o r lessening the imp act of tar pile accumulation by using flowe ring plant indicators .

The vege ta tion in the dumping sites of ta r and other se a-bo rne materi als is used in fie ld surv ey as bioindicator of tar po llutio n and natu ral recover y of polluted sites .

The ph ytom on itoring results indi cat ed that recovery of polluted landscape can be quit e rapid und er managed clean-up and rest or ati on techn iques .

Th e following prelim inar y plant spec ies list is suggested to be used in natural reco ver y a nd rest or at ion of polluted sites: Aeloropus lagopoides, Aizoon canariense , Anabasis ole(ifera, Cyp erus cong lomeratus, Fagonia ovalijolia, Herniaria hemist emo n, Launuea procumbens, Oligom eris subulata, Reichardia tingtuna , Salsola baryosma , Schan ginia aegyptiaca, Senecio desj onta inei , Zygophllum quatarense and Zygophylium simp/ex .

To facilit at e natural plant invasion and rest or ation o f tar piles , the dumping sites must ha ve plant communities with high species diversity and high percent age of annual plants .

Depending on sandtar ratio in the pile s .

artificial see ding of se lec ted plant species ca n be appli ed by using species mixes o r single spec ies see d ing.

Managem ent co nside ratio ns are sugge sted to opt imize the natural recovery and restoration of tar affecte d coast al marshes.