Ghaf Trees

Cover image: Lowai Alkawarit, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Some species of tree are better adapted to deal with drought than others. Species such as the remarkable Ghaf native to the UAE, with it's 30 metre plus taproot or the coast live oak found in California are examples that have evolved to deal with harsh stressful conditions.

These trees use water more efficiently, and they generally have a much more extensive 'mining' root system than other trees. That extensive root system lets the tree take advantage of all available water.

Early successional species also tend to be more used to dealing with adverse conditions such as poor soil and dry conditions as this tend to be the successional conditions they magically appear to deal with.

Species will often have smaller leaves that transpire less moisture and are less damaged by the heat. The leaves tend to be waxy as this offers additional protection during drought. Hawthorn is a good example of this.

Overall restoring 'native forests of native trees' is still one of the best steps we can implement when concerned about drought. The diversity working with local biodiversity and creating the micro climate effect.