oa Firewood: A Potential Resource Of Renewable Energy From Desert Environment

Owing to the ever increasing oil and gas prices, wood, the oldest fuel known to human beings, is going to experience a renaissance. Plantation firewood is a potential renewable energy source as it can be readily regrown, especially with those species that will coppice from the cut stumps. A good quality firewood needs to possess maximum available heat, higher density, easy to split quality, ready to lit and with minimum water content. About 30% of the Arabian Peninsula is covered with sand in the form of sand dunes. Effective utilization of these comparatively non productive area for human welfare is of serious concern to the policy makers. To prevent land degradation, while meeting the people's demand for fuel wood and fodder, the vegetation consisting of indigenous species must be regenerated and maintained. Local multipurpose shrubs are important natural resources which help arid land populations to combat their major problems of shortage of food, fodder, fuel and various problems related to the harsh environmental conditions. They ameliorate the microclimate by reducing the temperature and potential evapotranspiration. Many of such plants restore and improve soil fertility, stabilize moving sands, and prevent the spread of drought and desertification. Over the past few decades, increasing emphasis has been placed on promoting fast growing multipurpose species that produce fuel-wood, timber, fodder, other forest byproducts, stabilizing sand dunes, and improving the environment as well. However, much of the emphasis on multipurpose trees has focused on exotic species, because their silviculture and propagation know-how is well known. There is an urgent need to find easy methods of propagating and regenerating natural plants to ensure the sustainability of indigenous species. This article explains the propagation techniques of three potential firewood plants that can be grown successfully in the deep sandy soils as well as wadi soils.