IRAQI JOURNAL OF DESERT STUDIES

The effect of water requirements in the cultivation and production of some vegetable crops (summer and winter) was studied in order to determine the importance of water during the different stages of growth in order to carry out the vital processes, as most of the physiological processes within plants in general are affected directly or indirectly by the presence of water, the research took Abu Ghraib district as a model for the study, as it is one of the important districts that are famous for cultivating vegetable crops that feed the markets of Baghdad , and the research has reached To the fact that moderate soil moisture is important in the germination of crops, as its decrease negatively affects the failure to germination, the failure to elongate peacocks, or the production of incomplete fruits. As for the increase of that moisture, it causes great damage to the vegetable crops, such as their exposure to diseases and pests, as is the case with air humidity, as its decrease leads to Drought and falling branches and leaves, as well as its effect on the increase in the process of evaporation - transpiration, which leads to the withering of crops. As for its height, it leads to the disruption of the pollination process. It was also found that some vegetable crops are well cultivated in high air humidity, such as lettuce, spinach and leafy greens, and that some of them are well cultivated in low humidity. Such as watermelon and watermelon, and it was found that the decrease or high of the fallen rain or irrigation water negatively affected the growth and germination of vegetable crops.

Iraq faces major environmental challenges because of its geographical location in the arid and semi aired areas that of desertification sensitivity and the global climate changes, especially in its central and southern parts as in the Al Anbar governorate. According to the UN reports, %92 of Iraq's area is in one way or another exposed to desertification as represented by dust storms, dune movement, deterioration of natural vegetationو droughts, and waterlogging and salinization of the soil. The desertification areas in Al Anbar estimates by %77 of the total area of 137,808 km2 of the governorate. Global attention in combating desertification has involved the implementation of preventive measures to halt and reduce desertification. The most effective way to combat desertification has been found through the introduction of agricultural systems that ensure the conservation of agricultural, natural resources (soil and water) and goes in line with the emerging environmental changes. This article presents the justifications for proposing a conservative agriculture system as an ideal solution to combat desertification in the Al Anbar governorate. The results of the research on the applications of conservation agriculture indicate that the conservation agriculture application leads to reduce soil erosion, mitigate droughts and scarcity of water resources, increase water usage efficiency, and increase productivity and economic return. These findings urge investing in the advantages of the conservation agriculture system to combat the desertification phenomena in the Al Anbar governorate. What should be emphasized in this context, however, is the need to double efforts and provide official support from the relevant authorities.

The importance of medicinal plants at the local level has increased in recent times, in both medical and economic terms, and due to the great importance of alternative medicine, it has attracted researchers to study in this area to dispense with chemical treatments and their side effects, this research has dealt with a (Climate, soil, water sources, and vegetation) and human characteristics (population number, age groups and labor force). The second topic dealt with studying the geographical distribution of medicinal plants in Anbar Governorate (desert plants, swamp plants, tree plants, weeds and crops). Furthermore, second chapter studies the appropriate geographical environment for medicinal plants in the governorate and the cultivation seasons for these plants, and the third topic included the medicinal importance of some plants grown in Anbar Governorate in terms of therapeutic and economic terms and the importance of developing this agriculture study of several studies, the first of which is a study of the geography of the governorate in terms of location. And space, boundaries and natural properties. The study focused on update of medicinal plants cultivation and using the condensed agriculture. Moreover, some medicinal plants could tolerate the environmental stresses viz., colocynth and datura. It found that the most cultivated important medicinal and aromatic plants are Baraka seed, dill, fenugreek, fennel, cumin and aniseed.

Euphrates River is the primary source of water in Anbar province. It provides the cities that passed with drinking, agricultural and industrial water, in addition to being the downstream of sewage and wastewater after treatment. Anbar province, and consequently the water of the Euphrates River, has been affected by climate and environmental changes resulting from the military operations, which have become an obsession for citizens and decision-makers in the province. This obsession became the motivation for conducting the necessary physical, chemical and biological measurements to identify the environmental characteristics of the Euphrates river due to the presence of many sources of pollution of rivers water and for the purpose of making sure that it is suitable for human uses, since its effects will be serious and direct on humans and the environment. The review article includes a comprehensive study of water quality in Anbar province, as well as a review of previous researches in this field to know and to improve the future of water in the province. As the specialists unanimously agreed that, the future crisis in the region is a water crisis. Also, the review included an analysis of physical, chemical, and biological measurements, and a comparison of results with Iraqi and international standard limits was made. Data were organized and the results were analyzed. Results were of importance, and important environmental recommendations were reached regarding Euphrates river within its flow stream and the time effect on it.

Salinity is one of the major problems of Iraqi agriculture, especially in central and southern Iraq, including the study area (Ali Al-Gharbi district) in Missan province, as this problem is considered one of the problems impeding agricultural production, as most agricultural lands are subject to different degrees of salinity due to Natural and human conditions such as the prevailing climatic conditions represented by high temperatures and evaporation, the Topography and the vegetation and the salinity of irrigation water in addition to the lack of effective drainage and drainage networks and high levels of ground water and poor management of soil and water and other reasons that lead to soil salinity. The effect of soil salts on plants begins with the accumulation of a large amount of salts in the soil. Boring it becomes difficult for plants to absorb water, and these salts must be kept away from the plant roots ( Rhizosphere ) in the region by adding more water during the washing process, which reduces their forgetting in the soil and the soil becomes effective for agricultural production. The quality of irrigation water is also an important factor that helps to salinize the agricultural soil, as this water contains different quantities and types of salts, it is natural that part of it will be left on the agricultural land due to the continuous use of it, especially in irrigated agricultural areas and under the conditions of dry climate and semi Dry, when the amount of salts added to the soil through irrigation water exceeds the amount of salts removed by natural or artificial puncture and by crops being harvested, this leads to the accumulation of salts in the soil in the future.