The first order of business, begun in 1951 and completed in 1953, was the taking of a comprehensive inventory of the land. This comprises the 2.38 million acres north of the 60th parallel, about half the territory of Israel, where major agricultural development is possible. One of the most thorough inventories of its kind in the world, it furnished a secure foundation for land use policy and for the immense task of reclamation and water development that has followed. Classification of the inventoried land by end-use shows that, given adequate water supply, about 40 per cent, or a million acres, can be made suitable for general cultivation; about 15 per cent for orchard, vineyard, pasture and other use that will keep a permanent plant cover on the soil; 20 percent for natural pasture without irrigation; and 25 percent for forests, parks and wasteland. Outside the area of detailed survey, in the Negev, an extensive reconnaissance has projected a program for range development and for the cultivation of forage crops in those areas where the scant winter runoff can be diverted or impounded to support irrigation.
A major feature of the land inventory was the classification of the lands according to their relative exposure to erosion by wind and water. In the hands of the Israeli Soil Conservation Service this has served as a blueprint for measures to preserve the best soils and ultimately to reclaim land now unusable. The hazard of erosion increases in geometrical ratio with increase in the gradient of the soil. The first line of defense is directed against the dynamics of the falling raindrop and includes measures of soil management that are also required for sustained crop yields such as the build-up of organic matter to increase the water-holding capacity of the soil and the use of crop litter to absorb the energy and reduce the splash-erosion of the raindrop. Contour plowing and the planting of crops in strips along the contour provide the second line of defense and usually suffice against the hazards of moderate storms. These defenses can be set up by the individual farmer or farm cooperative and are everywhere encouraged through education and demonstration by the Soil Conservation Service. But rains in Israel characteristically come in downpours, in a few heavy storms during the rainy season and in extreme storms every few years. Where such rains overtax the first two lines of defense, more elaborate and costly measures must be designed and laid out by soil-conservation engineers of the Soil Conservation Service. Slopes must be broken by broad base terraces to pick up and slow storm runoff and the terraces must be interconnected by waterways to keep the accumulated water from cutting gullies through the fields. Storm waters are then available for storage in surface ponds and reservoirs or to recharge ground waters. This line of defense must be accurately and adequately engineered, for running waters do not forgive a mistake or oversight in design.
One of the effects of man-induced erosion in the past was the creation of marshes on the narrow coastal plain, notably at Hadera, Kabri and in the Jezreel Valley. Carrying through the work started by the early settlers, Israel has now fully reclaimed these lands, draining and planting them to eucalyptus trees in the lowest spots and to citrus groves and crops on the higher ground.
A more substantial engineering challenge was presented by the marshlands of the Huleh basin at the head of the Jordan Valley. In Roman times and before, this region was fertile and thickly populated, but it had become a dismal swamp and a focus of malarial infection to the country at large. Sediments from the uplands to the north had progressively filled in the northern end of Lake Huleh, thus creating a marsh that was overgrown with papyrus. The marshes have now been drained by widening and deepening the mouth of the lake to bring down its water level and by a system of drainage canals. With the papyrus cleared away, the deep deposit of peat beneath yields richly to cultivation, much as do the delta peat-lands at the head of San Francisco Bay. The Huleh Reclamation Authority estimates that this little Garden of Eden will support a population of 100,000 in an intensive agricultural economy, cultivating vegetables, grapes, fruits, peanuts, grains, sugar cane, rice-even fish (in ponds impounded on the old lake bed) . The yield of fruits and vegetables will soon require the installation of processing and canning plants on the spot. Another gain achieved by the reclamation of this land is the conservation of water; the reduction of the evaporation surface of the lake and surrounding marshes will save enough water to irrigate 17,000 to 25,000 acres of land, depending on the rainfall of the district to which these waters will be delivered. The Huleh Drainage and Irrigation Project is not great in size, but it symbolizes the determination of Israel to make the most of its resources.
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Add CommentOne wonders what has been the impact of the draining of wetlands in the early days of the State of Israel on percolation of surface water down to undergound aquifers?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this(This, especially with consideration of all the pumping of ground water, and is not even to mention, the impact on wetland biota).
Also, I cringed at the several mentions of the introduction of non-native plants, from eucalypts to southern California species. This practice contributes nothing to the restoration of the ancient biological richness of the region, and indeed threatens it, should any of the non-natives turn into the aggressive, invasive sort (as no doubt some have by now).
One wonders what has been the impact of the draining of wetlands in the State of Israel on the regeneration of aquifers (This, especially with consideration of all the pumping of ground water)?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFurther, one wonders how much effort and expenditure now needs to be done to conserve wetland biota, with its vastly shrunken habitat?
Also, I cringed at the several mentions of the introduction of non-native plants, from eucalypts to southern California species. This practice contributes nothing to the restoration of the ancient biological richness of the region, and indeed threatens it, should any of the non-natives turn into the aggressive, invasive sort (as no doubt some have by now).
It would be interesting to read (a less patently biased) account of the present state of affairs of the ecology and agricultural sustainability of in modern Israel and surrounding coutnries.
For some reason, the latest edit of my comment did not get submitted...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI wanted to add that I wonder how much effort, now, is being directed to restoration of wetlands destroyed in the name of progress, back then?
It would be of great interest to read a report on the current state of affairs in Israel and surrounding countries, with regard to the ecology and agricultural sustainability of the region. One that is less biased than this piece of patently propagandistic journalism would be especially welcome.
It likely depends on your definition of ecology. The Middle East has been host to civilisation longer than anywhere else in the world. Like Europe (Greece being an excellent example), there was almost certainly very wide forestation across Israel, which was then denuded by millennia of cultivation. The fact that the marshlands existed in the 1950s doesn't mean they had been standing for thousands of years. If anything, reforestation and croplands have replenished the ecosystem.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso, Israel has very efficient agricultural systems, relying especially on drip systems. These are much less wasteful than the spray irrigation used by most of the world.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs long as we treat population growth as an inevitable act of God, we are setting ourselves up for future disaster. There are too many resources with doubtful future prospects: water, land, fertilizer, pesticides, transportation, fuel. We pander to local customs and organized religion by allowing population growth to continue, but we make the system ever more sensitive to glitches and failures. In the future, even the smallest failure in agricultural production will probably kill millions of people. We are building a system with no excess capacity.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article is a great opportunity for pictures.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWeb space is free, push to get more pictures with each article.
It would be great to have pictures of soil conditions, irrigation techniques, erosion prevention techniques...
In the 1800's a British traveller in "Palestine" as it was then called by the British,commented that there was not a tree to be found from Safed to Akko and all the birds had been shot and killed by the local Arabs and all of the crocodiles killed and eaten by them.The custom of goat herding had converted the whole area into a desert as goats eat the plants.Modern Israel has worked miracles in restoring the environment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI cannot believe that in the 21st century Scientific American will re-issue such a biased, history-distorting article. Claiming that 'Palestine' was uninhabited since the Byzantine era, rules out a millenia of Arab and Islamic civilization. And the comments that the local Arabs converted the area into desert land is naive, as everyone knows that the Bedouins are the indigenous population of the desert, and did not contribute to desertification, which is purely an ecological process, for which we have the climate to blame and not the arabs. However, I do thank the magazine for providing me with an insight on the views of the past 50 years or more which will encourage me to do some serious research on the subject .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI cannot believe that in the 21st century Scientific American will re-issue such a biased, history-distorting article. Claiming that 'Palestine' was uninhabited since the Byzantine era, rules out a millenia of Arab and Islamic civilization. And the comments that the local Arabs converted the area into desert land is naive, as everyone knows that the Bedouins are the indigenous population of the desert, and did not contribute to desertification, which is purely an ecological process, for which we have the climate to blame and not the arabs. However, I do thank the magazine for providing me with an insight on the views of the past 50 years or more which will encourage me to do some serious research on the subject .
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Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI live in Israel, and like many is very concerned with the status of environmental issues here and worldwide. Reforestation here is something like a national value there is a holiday dedicated to tree planting and cutting down trees is forbidden by law.
Unlike the main narrative though, the land was not completely barren till the 20th century. Most of the northern part of the country, which was not densely settled, remained covered by diverse vegetation, dominated by oak trees. However, apparently the bush-like height (4-5m) of these trees didnt look much like a forest to European visitors. These trees continue to thrive to this day and form a natural habitat to many animal species.
Some other parts of the country were and remain completely barren, despite adequate precipitation, specifically due to human intervention. There is a huge difference between land management of the Jewish and Arab population (by the way, most of the Arabs are not Bedouins). You can see this directly if you visit Israel, or by looking at aerial maps like Google earth.
Like any other developed nation, Israel has many environmental problems, these include water management air, water and soil pollution, and expansion of cities. Probably, due to the problematic political status, environmental issues do not receive adequate attention from the government and the voters. It is hard to tell what the future holds for already immensely stressed natural wild life.
Climate & economy of Southwestern Asia,Central Asia (Near & Middle East) & Northern (North) Africa. Water supply.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOnly by making the climate is more saturated with moisture can make the Near and Middle Asia and North Africa is even more suitable for a good life.
There are good and real water projects in deserts. The purpose of one of the projects - to give the water in a deserts and to spend the finance and water for the right thing, that to change the climate.
Megaprojects,technologies,innovations,management decisions,investment objects,climate change.
http://www.usw.com.ua/profiles/blogs/technologies-from-past-and-future-that-could-change-the-world?xg_source=activity
http://easypay-shop.com/index.php?ukey=news
http://blogs.pravda.ru/users/3039108/post198925789
http://konsyltacii.livejournal.com/21903.html