This paper reports on the recovery of desert plant communities after 20 years of oil-derived hydrocarbon contamination in desert habitats of Kuwait, caused by the First Gulf War (1990–1991). The hypothesis that certain native desert plant species can tolerate weathered oil-polluted soils and can potentially function as bioindicators and phytoremediator species for oil-polluted soil was tested. A field survey of 200 quadrat sampling plots at seven hydrocarbon-contaminated and unpolluted desert areas in Kuwait was performed and recorded 42 plant species, with Haloxylon salicornicum (Moq.) Bunge ex Boiss., Cyperus conglomeratus Rottb., and Rhanterium epapposum Oliv. as the dominant species. Analysis of plant tissues indicated plant uptake and accumulation of some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), depending on plant species and specific PAH compounds. Total PAHs in plant tissues in the most contaminated sites were over 200 μg kg⁻¹. H. salicornicum could develop in both oil-contaminated soil and uncontaminated soil although their biomass was about 16.7% smaller than usual. However, the plants appeared green and healthy in both sites, and showed no overt stress. The results suggest that some desert plant communities can recover after severe oil pollution and that H. salicornicum may serve as a phytoremediator of oil-contaminated desert soils. Our results also demonstrated that some desert plant communities could be cultivated in oil fields to reduce hydrocarbon contamination and provide support to other ecosystem services through improving soil quality and biodiversity.

中文翻译：

---

石油烃污染沙漠系统中的植物群落和潜在的本地植物修复物种

本文报道了第一次海湾战争（1990-1991 年）造成科威特沙漠栖息地石油衍生碳氢化合物污染 20 年后沙漠植物群落的恢复情况。测试了某些原生沙漠植物物种可以耐受风化的油污染土壤并可能作为油污染土壤的生物指示剂和植物修复物种的假设。对科威特 7 个碳氢化合物污染和未污染沙漠地区的 200 个样方采样点进行了实地调查，并记录了 42 种植物，包括Haloxylon salicornicum (Moq.) Bunge ex Boiss.、Cyperus conglomeratus Rottb. 和Rhanterium epapposum奥利夫。作为优势种。对植物组织的分析表明，植物对某些多环芳烃 (PAH) 的吸收和积累取决于植物种类和特定的 PAH 化合物。在污染最严重的地点，植物组织中的总 PAHs 超过 200 μg kg ^-1。H. salicornicum可以在受油污染的土壤和未受污染的土壤中生长，尽管它们的生物量比平时减少了约 16.7%。然而，植物在两个地点都显得绿色和健康，并且没有表现出明显的压力。结果表明，一些沙漠植物群落在严重的石油污染后可以恢复，而H. salicornicum可作为石油污染沙漠土壤的植物修复剂。我们的研究结果还表明，可以在油田种植一些沙漠植物群落，以减少碳氢化合物污染，并通过改善土壤质量和生物多样性为其他生态系统服务提供支持。