AGRO-ECOLOGY OF TRADITIONAL DATE PALM PLANTATIONS IN OMAN

Cultivation of horticultural, agronomic and field crops have been going on for thousands of years in Oman. Methods of cultivation followed traditional practices that were meant to resolve the adverse climatic conditions (such as excessive heat) and shortage of water. As modernization of the traditional farming systems are being replaced with modern practices such the use of modern irrigation systems and orchard and tree management, information is being lost on the settings that made farming under extreme weather sustainable. The proposed study aims to study the agricultural ecology of traditional farming systems, particularly those relevant to date palm and the under story fruit and other crops. Field studies will be conducted to determine the component of the traditional farming systems that included (but not limited to): Diversity of crops under date palm plantations and flora species abundance, species distribution, species richness. The study will compare these variables in several governorates. The ultimate objective is to determine the level of biodiversity that currently exists under traditional farming systems compared to modern systems. The project outcomes include mapping of the traditional date palm farms with information such as spacing among palms and intercrops and cultivar and age variations. It will also include flora diversity of major crop and wild plants in each farm. This will enable comparing agroecological and socio-economics of traditional and modern farming systems