Desire for Greener Land
Desire for Greener Land
Desire for Greener Land
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Tabia T<br />
Tunisia T<br />
The<br />
tabia earthhen<br />
dyke is a wwater<br />
harvesti ing techniquee<br />
used in the fo oothill and<br />
piedmont<br />
areass.<br />
The<br />
tabia technnology<br />
is similaar<br />
to the jessou ur system but is<br />
used in the gently-sloping<br />
g<br />
fo oothill and pieedmont<br />
areas. . It is conside ered to be a relatively ne ew technique,<br />
de eveloped by mmountain<br />
dwelllers<br />
who migr rated to the pplains.<br />
Tabias, like jessour,<br />
co omprise an eaarthen<br />
dyke (500-150<br />
m in len ngth, 1-2 m in height), a spi illway (central<br />
an nd/or lateral) aand<br />
an associaated<br />
water har rvesting area. The ratio betw ween the area<br />
where w water is aapplied<br />
(croppeed<br />
area) and th he total area frrom<br />
which wate er is collected<br />
va aries from 1:6 to 1:20. The differences be etween the tabbia<br />
and the jes ssour systems<br />
ar re that the foormer<br />
containss<br />
two additiona al lateral bundds<br />
(up to 30 m long) and<br />
so ometimes a ssmall<br />
flood diversion<br />
dyke (mgoud). Smmall<br />
tabia are e constructed<br />
manually m using shovels, picklees<br />
and carts. La arger construct ctions are done mechanically<br />
us sing tractors annd<br />
bulldozers.<br />
Above left: TTabia<br />
on the pie edmont area. TTree<br />
products (olivve,<br />
almond, fig, palm) and annnuals<br />
(barley) can bbe<br />
harvested. (Photo: ( Mongi<br />
Chniter)<br />
Above right: Tabia earthen n dam in the plaain.<br />
Olive trees arre<br />
generally gro own along the dam,<br />
where the harrvested<br />
water infiltrates i betteer<br />
(Photo: Mohaamed<br />
Ouessar) )<br />
Tree<br />
products aand<br />
annual crops<br />
are commonly<br />
grown usinng<br />
tabia. Besides<br />
their water<br />
ha arvesting qualiities,<br />
tabias alsso<br />
have a posit tive effect on soil<br />
erosion and d groundwater<br />
re echarge.<br />
Location: Meedenine<br />
Region: Meddenine<br />
nord<br />
The<br />
tabia runoff-water<br />
harveesting<br />
techniqu ue is widely ppractised<br />
in ce entral Tunisia. Technology area: 10 - 100 0 km<br />
Tabias<br />
are usuaally<br />
installed oon<br />
the piedmont,<br />
where the slope does no ot exceed 3% Conservationn<br />
measure: st<br />
an nd where the ssoil<br />
is relatively<br />
deep. Ancient<br />
remnants off<br />
tabias have been b found in Stage of inteervention:<br />
prev<br />
th he region of GGafsa<br />
(south wwest<br />
Tunisia). The T system haas<br />
been adopt ted by people degradation<br />
liv ving in the neigghbouring<br />
footthills<br />
and plains<br />
of the centraal<br />
and southea astern regions Origin: externnally<br />
(10-50 ye<br />
(J Jeffara) of the ccountry,<br />
followiing<br />
the trans<strong>for</strong> rmation of theirr<br />
pasture to cultivated<br />
fields. <strong>Land</strong> use: cro ropland, grazin<br />
Climate: aridd,<br />
subtropics<br />
WOCAT dataabase<br />
referenc<br />
cdewocat.unibe.ch/wocatQT<br />
DESIRE site in<strong>for</strong>mation: w<br />
his.eu/en/zeuuss-koutine-tun<br />
Related apprroach:<br />
Dryland<br />
management t approach (QA<br />
Compiled byy:<br />
Mohamed O<br />
Chniter, Instittut<br />
des Régions<br />
Tunisia<br />
Date: 30th Jaan<br />
2009 update<br />
2<br />
tructural<br />
vention of land<br />
ears ago)<br />
g land<br />
ce: QT TUN122<br />
on<br />
T<br />
www.desireisia<br />
d watershed<br />
A TUN09)<br />
uessar, Mongi<br />
s Arides (IRA),<br />
ed 5th Jul 20111<br />
SLM Technology: Tabia, Tunisia DESIRE – WOCAT 2012<br />
113
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