Water availability and soil physicochemical properties are the most important factors for the establishment and growth of plant seedlings in arid and desert areas. Improving water use efficiency and soil properties are two major factors for sustainable development in these regions. Therefore, this research aimed to study the effectiveness of biological hydrogel (b), PLANTBAC vegetation layer (PB), sand (sa) and barley straw (st) with inter-row system on some soil properties, including N, Cl, Zn, Fe, clay, silt and sand percentages, ρ b and water use efficiency under the cultivation of Nitraria schoberi . This experiment was tested in a split plot design with 3 replications and 10 observations in 2015 during 2 years at Semnan province ’ s Natural Resources Research Station. Data analysis was carried out in SAS software version 9.1.3. According to the results, the highest amount of Cl was obtained at non-micro catchment by straw and sand treatments, as well as at micro catchment by PB treatments. The highest amount of Zn was obtained at non-micro catchment by straw treatment (1.106). The results of mulch effect on Fe showed that four mulch treatments did not have significant difference with the control. Also, the highest amount of total N content was observed at micro catchment by hydrogel treatment. There was not any significant difference among environment and clay, silt and sand treatments and about plant establishment and, all four mulch treatments had significantly higher moisture content and establishment than the control. The results of mulch effect on water use efficiency showed that there was a significant difference between all four mulch treatments ( P < 0.01) and the control. The highest water use efficiency occurred in sand treatment (0.243), and the lowest was under straw mulches (0.154). Thus, considering the effects of different types of mulch on soil properties and considering the price of each, the availability and area conditions, they can be used to establish plants in desert areas, and therefore, restore these areas.
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