Testing newly introduced ornamental plants to the arid climate of Kuwait

Abstract

Thirty five ornamental plants were introduced into the Ahmadi Bioremediated Soil Park to screen and closely monitor the growth performance of these new introductions under the local environmental conditions. Out of these 35 plant species, 15 were planted in both bioremediated and agricultural soils to assess their suitability for growing in bioremediated soils. Data on vegetative growth was recorded to assess the performance of newly-introduced plants, whereas, the heat stress was documented of Bauhinia blakeana, where no visible effects of petroleum pollutants on plant growth were observed. Performance of each plant group is discussed separately in the text. Overall, plant survival was 72.73% for all plant groups. Generally, plants that failed to grow in bioremediated soil also did not survive in the agricultural soil, indicating that they were sensitive to heat stress more than the presence of petroleum contaminants in the soil. New plant species that were able to establish and perform satisfactorily will be used in greenery projects after they are fully naturalized to the prevailing climatic conditions.

Keywords:

• Ornamental plants
• heat stress
• plant introduction
• bioremediated soil
• arid climate

Acknowledgement

The authors thank the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research Management for supporting this project. The project team members are also thanked for their assistance in executing this project. Additionally, the Petroleum Energy Center is highly thanked and appreciated for establishing the Ahmadi Bioremediated Soil Park.