摘要
Soil and water conservation is essential for sustaining food production and for preserving the environment in arid and semi arid lands （ASALs） where conditions for agriculture and other land use systems are often harsh and unpredictable. The ASALs of Algeria are an important source of a variety of non wood forest products like Stipa tenacissima L. plant （esparto grass）. This research was conducted to determine the effects of different low concentration （〈 I%） polyacrylaJnide, Stipa tenacissima L. fiber （esparto grass fibers） and its mixtures with the polymer at water retention in arid and semi arid soil. All samples are characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray Diffractometry, thermal analysis TG DSC and scanning electron micrographs （SEM）. The results showed that polymer blend in soil could improve better soil physical proprieties decreased evaporation and increase water retention in arid soils compared with application of any other blend at the same concentration. The use of Polyacrylamide-Cellulose blend appears to promise for reducing the labor cost of irrigation at arid and semi-arid soils, and offers safe and environmentally friendly inexpensive materials. The importance of Polyacrylamide-Cellulose blends to alleviate poor physical properties and retain water in these arid regions to sustain plant growth.
