Whether you choose to use trees that are adapted to arid regions in land restoration efforts would very much depend on what the goal of the project is. If the goal is to restore the area to a previously extirpated ecosystem the tree species complement would need to be replaced as closely as possible. If the goal is to restore an area that has been stripped by some occurrence and restoration to some point in time is not the goal then you can use what ever complement of species that matches with the conditions that currently exist in that area. 

It is not as easy as it would appear to determine which tree species exist in a given area under current circumstances due to adaptation to the current circumstances or if they are remnant members of a population that have hung on despite change in the area's circumstances. An example is bald cypress (Taxodium distichum). If all you knew about them was from observation of the mature trees you would assume that they are completely adapted to aquatic environments. But if you planted young saplings of that species in those conditions they would not live.

Also, the reason for the restoration effort is vitally important to understand prior to starting on any restoration effort. Are you restoring an area so it will once again function as a whole ecosystem that was in that area or location in a past time? Are you restoring an area so it will be aesthetically pleasing to the humans who see it? Those have very different answers and the compliment of tree species that would be available for use would be very different.   As if all of these questions are not enough to consider also please carefully consider that introducing species from out side a give in area has the potential to create invasive species issues.

Just a few more things to think about as you consider which species to use. Good luck!

By environmental site similarity index and natural or endemic plant evaluation for new area from the old one with some literature reviews.

Actually, it is a tough question. I would like emphasize the effects of forest on water conservation. Please check the following paper that Dr. Zhou has published in nature communication. It may be useful for your full-understanding the topic.

Zhou, G., X. Wei, X. Chen, P. Zhou, X. Liu, Y. Xiao, G. Sun, D. F. Scott, S. Zhou, L. Han and Y. Su (2015). "Global pattern for the effect of climate and land cover on water yield." Nat Commun 6.

Thanks for all the answers.