Background Traditional vegetation restoration in arid riparian zones of China predominantly relies on artificial irrigation afforestation. However, this approach faces practical constraints such as limited implementation scope and prohibitively high promotion costs due to natural challenges including low annual precipitation and scarce surface water resources. In contrast, non-irrigation afforestation technology, which simulates natural vegetation’s niche allocation and interspecific relationships, not only eliminates dependence on artificial irrigation but also alleviates regional water resource pressure while significantly reducing restoration costs. This study investigates the effects of different treatments on the survival rate of seasonal riverbank no-irrigation afforestation in extreme arid areas, aiming to provide scientific basis and technical support for the restoration of riverbank vegetation in arid desert areas.

Methods In this study, an L₈(4 × 2⁴) type orthogonal experiment was conducted on the riverbank slope of the Peacock River in Yuli county, Bazhou, Xinjiang, to investigate the effects of three factors (slope position, mulching for moisture retention, and depth of planting pits) in a total of eight treatments on the no-irrigation afforestation of the desert riverbanks in the extreme dry zone. The survival rate was determined through field surveys, soil moisture content was determined by drying method, and soil chemical properties were determined by Nano colorimetry, diazo coupling method, ammonium molybdate spectrophotometry and sodium tetraphenylboron turbidimetry, respectively. The experimental data were processed by Excel 2021 and SPSS 26, plotted by Origin 2021, and the significance of differences between treatments was tested by Duncan's test (P < 0.05).

Results 1) According to the results of multiple comparisons, the overall survival rate was Slope 4 > Slope 3 > Slope 2 > Slope 1, indicating that the closer to the river and the lower the terrain, the higher the survival rate. Analysis of variance showed that the survival rate of irrigation-free afforestation in the four slopes differed significantly (P < 0.05), and the survival rate of Elaeagnus angustifolia irrigation-free afforestation in Slope 3 and Slope 4 was significantly higher than that in Slope 1 and Slope 2; the soil moisture content of the four slopes differed significantly, with Slope 4 being significantly higher than the other three slopes. 2) The survival rate of E. angustifolia on different slopes was positively correlated with soil water content and effective phosphorus, with correlation coefficients of 0.672 and 0.744, respectively; negatively correlated with pH and all-salt, with correlation coefficients of −0.709 and −0.835, respectively; positively correlated with nitrate nitrogen and quick-acting potassium, but the correlation was insignificant, with correlation coefficients of 0.307 and 0.006, respectively; and negatively correlated with ammonium nitrogen, but the correlation was insignificant, with correlation coefficients of −0.115, respectively. However, the correlation was not significant, with a correlation coefficient of −0.115. 3) The correlation coefficient between the survival rate of jujube and soil water content was r = 0.961, reaching a highly significant level (P < 0.01). The one-way linear regression equation of survival rate of E. angustifolia and soil moisture content y = 88.757 + 0.494x, indicated that during the period of mid-June to the end of August, the soil moisture content is within the range of 3.13%–15.80%, and every increment of 1.00% increases the survival rate of jujube irrigation-free afforestation by 0.494%.

Conclusions In the orthogonal test, the importance of the survival rate influencing factor is slope height > planting pit depth > water preservation by film. Overall, in seasonal riverbank no-irrigation afforestation, all three measures are beneficial to improve plant survival, but from a cost-saving point of view, in the area closer to the river and with lower terrain, i.e., Slope 4, only deep pit afforestation is needed, without the need of mulching. This conclusion may provide technical support for the renewal and restoration of vegetation in seasonal river floodplains in extremely dry areas.