Growing forests in the desert

Photo courtesy of Tel Aviv University

The Tamarix grove in the Arava is soaking up harmful gases from the air.

By Abigail Klein Leichman  
...Leave it to Israeli scientists to figure out a way of growing trees in the barren sands of the Arava Desert.
The trees aren't just meant to look pretty. This pollution-reducing forest planted over the summer is soaking up harmful excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releasing beneficial oxygen. Another "green" bonus is that the trees are nurtured with recycled sewage water and saltwater.
The project is a research collaboration between Tel Aviv University's Porter School of Environmental Science, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the University of Tuscia in Viterbo, Italy. The Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea is financing the study, which is outlined in an article soon to appear in the European Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology...Read here...