Download or read book Fundamentals Of Arid Zone Ecology written by Dr. Manoj Kumar Sharma and published by Academic Guru Publishing House. This book was released on 2023-02-22 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fundamentals of Arid Zone Ecology include a wide range of landforms, soils, animal and plant life, water balances, and human activities. It is impossible to pin down exactly what conditions qualify as "arid" because of this variation. Nevertheless, aridity itself is the common thread that ties together the world's driest places. The degree of aridity is often quantified as a function of average annual precipitation and average annual temperature. A region is deemed to be dry when there is a significant dearth of water resources, to the point that plant and animal growth and development are hampered or prevented. Arid regions are sometimes described as xeric or desertic because of their absence of flora. Foundations of Arid Zone Ecology, including geography, physiography, and Rajasthan's climate, are some of the primary themes covered in this book. Another is how to comprehend how deserts arise and are distributed. The book also discusses how wastelands are distributed and how plants and animals may adapt to dry environments, both of which are important in this topic. Also, we discuss the ecological effects of the Indira Gandhi Canal in this book.
Download or read book Arid Land Ecosystems Volume 1 written by R. A. Perry and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1979-03-08 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive account of arid-land ecosystems will be of importance to university teachers and professional ecologists throughout the world.
Download or read book Arid Zone Irrigation written by Bruno Yaron and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A book previously published within the framework of the Ecological Studies Series, entitled "Physical Aspects of Soil Water and Salts in Ecosystems" included awidespectrum of research papers devoted to new findings in the field of soil-plant-water relationships. "Arid Zone Irrigation" has been written specifically as a textbook for agronomists, soil scientists, agrometeorologists, water engineers and plant physiologists who want a clear presentation of irrigation fundamentals in arid and semi-arid zones. It was our intention to provide an understanding of the basic principles governing irrigation technology and to help overcome the problem of water shortage in arid zone agriculture. This book, written by a large number of specialists and covering a broad spectrum of different disciplines, is based on general up-to-date information, as well as on the results of the authors' own research. The idea of preparing such a textbook was conceived during a series of international advanced courses on irrigation held annually at the Institute of Soils and Water, Agricul tural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel. The final organization of the material has been influenced by discussions with colleagues from Sweden and Holland and the participants in our summer courses. Grateful acknowledgements are due to Professor CALVIN C. ROSE, CSIRO, Canberra, Australia, Professor DALE SWARTZENDRUBER, Purdue University, Lafayetta, U.S.A., and Dr. SHLOMO P. NEUMAN, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel, for their many helpful suggestions during critical reading of the manuscript. We thank also Mrs.
Download or read book The Arid Zones written by Kenneth Walton and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Arid Lands Management written by T. W. Hoekstra and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers various directions for both research and management.
Download or read book Aridity and Man written by American Association for the Advancement of Science. Committee on Desert and Arid Zones Research and published by . This book was released on 1963 with total page 616 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Arid Zones written by Hilton Kramer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The hot and temperate deserts and their marginal steppe lands comprise one-third of the land surface of the world and are an increasingly critical area for the economic wellbeing of world populations. The remarkable mechanisms of floral, faunal, and human adaptation to the distinct and difficult environment of these arid zones, as well as the potential of modern technology for facilitating adaptation, are described and explained by Walton in the light of our most recent knowledge of the phenomena and processes involved.Beginning with a clarification of the definitions of arid and semi-arid regions and with the delineation of techniques for measuring the degree of aridity in these areas, the author shows that there is wide variation among the arid zones in landscape and climate and that there are numerous local and microclimates within any single arid region. The life cycles of the plants and animals of the arid zones are described and the water resources, including problems of salinity, mineral contamination, and the construction of reservoirs, are examined. Extensive treatment is given to potential agricultural adaptations and to pastoralism as the most widespread response to dry land. A final chapter summarizes attempts at adaptation to prevailing drought and discusses the kinds of future development that the author deems most likely in arid zones.Throughout the book emphasis is placed on specific, detailed analysis, with adequate tables and formulas for in-depth understanding of particular aspects of aridity. Examples from both Old and New Worlds are used to demonstrate the spheres in which progress is being made and to show the mistakes in past and present land use in arid areas. An essential supplement for courses in physical geography, the book will be useful in many area studies and in studies of economic development.
Download or read book Desertification of Arid Lands written by Harold E. Dregne and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 1983 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 1983. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Download or read book The Arid Lands written by Diana K. Davis and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2016-03-25 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An argument that the perception of arid lands as wastelands is politically motivated and that these landscapes are variable, biodiverse ecosystems, whose inhabitants must be empowered. Deserts are commonly imagined as barren, defiled, worthless places, wastelands in need of development. This understanding has fueled extensive anti-desertification efforts—a multimillion-dollar global campaign driven by perceptions of a looming crisis. In this book, Diana Davis argues that estimates of desertification have been significantly exaggerated and that deserts and drylands—which constitute about 41% of the earth's landmass—are actually resilient and biodiverse environments in which a great many indigenous people have long lived sustainably. Meanwhile, contemporary arid lands development programs and anti-desertification efforts have met with little success. As Davis explains, these environments are not governed by the equilibrium ecological dynamics that apply in most other regions. Davis shows that our notion of the arid lands as wastelands derives largely from politically motivated Anglo-European colonial assumptions that these regions had been laid waste by “traditional” uses of the land. Unfortunately, such assumptions still frequently inform policy. Drawing on political ecology and environmental history, Davis traces changes in our understanding of deserts, from the benign views of the classical era to Christian associations of the desert with sinful activities to later (neo)colonial assumptions of destruction. She further explains how our thinking about deserts is problematically related to our conceptions of forests and desiccation. Davis concludes that a new understanding of the arid lands as healthy, natural, but variable ecosystems that do not necessarily need improvement or development will facilitate a more sustainable future for the world's magnificent drylands.
Download or read book Management of Problem Soils in Arid Ecosystems written by A. Monem Balba and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2018-05-02 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Management of Problem Soils in Arid Ecosystems examines the challenges of managing soils in arid and semiarid regions. These soils contain low organic matter, are not leached, and accumulate lime, gypsum, and/or soluble salts, requiring special management and practices. This book discusses how to identify problems, reclaim the soils, and then use them efficiently and economically. Water management and desertification in these areas are also discussed. It contains extensive references as well as 40 tables and illustrations.
Download or read book Ecophysiology of Economic Plants in Arid and Semi Arid Lands written by G. E. Wickens and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1998-07-20 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book deals with arid and semi-arid environments and their classification, and the physiological restraints and adaptations of plants to the environment. Further, it discusses economic botany and the needs and methods of conserving economic plants. A broad view is taken regarding the definition of economic plants, taking into account their value to the environment as well as to man and to livestock. The individual deserts and associated semi-arid regions are described in separate chapters, providing background information on the regional environments in terms of climate and major plant formations. The economic plants within these formations, their usages, geographical distribution together with their morphological and physiological adaptations are treated in detail.
Download or read book Arid Land Ecosystems Volume 2 Structure Functioning and Management written by D. W. Goodall and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-19 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume was first published in 1981. The history of man's use of arid lands is a sad record of deterioration of the natural resource base and of low and declining living standards for the 300 million people who live in them. One prerequisite to meeting the challenge of reversing the deterioration and of raising living standards is a sound knowledge of the natural ecosystems.
Download or read book The Reconstruction Of Disturbed Arid Lands written by Edith B. Allen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-11 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume emphasizes application of the basic ecological relationships among plants, animals, microorganisms, the physical environment and man to reconstruct wildland ecosystems. It contains the proceedings of a symposium sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Download or read book Management of Semi arid Ecosystems written by Brian Harrison Walker and published by Elsevier Science & Technology. This book was released on 1979 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Extensive regions of the world have a climate which, whilst permitting development of a continuous vegetative cover, is too dry for successful annual cropping. These are the semi-arid areas where land use is based on the natural vegetation. Easily degraded and difficult to maintain, they are under increasing pressure as expanding human populations move in and endeavour to force a living from them. As a result they contain some of the worst examples of resource degradation. This book examines the problems and opportunities involved in man's use of semi-arid areas. The authors are all actively involved in research and land management in the areas discussed. Each chapter begins with a detailed, up-to-date account of the ecology of the region (its climate, soils, vegetation, fauna and main ecological characteristics). This is followed by a history of land use, problems involved in its management, a review of current research and recommended land use practices. The common features of semi-arid ecosystems are brought together in a final section.
Download or read book Arid Lands written by Whitehead and published by . This book was released on 1988-04 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a substantial reference work covering all aspects of desert science, including ecological, biological, agricultural, economic and demographic topics. The 112 articles, arranged by subject area, are based on papers given at an international research and development conference on arid land use held from 20-25 October 1985 at Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Download or read book Fundamentals of Soil Ecology written by David C. Coleman and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2004-08-11 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fully revised and expanded edition of Fundamentals of Soil Ecology continues its holistic approach to soil biology and ecosystem function. Students and ecosystem researchers will gain a greater understanding of the central roles that soils play in ecosystem development and function. The authors emphasize the increasing importance of soils as the organizing center for all terrestrial ecosystems and provide an overview of theory and practice of soil ecology, both from an ecosystem and evolutionary biology point of view. This volume contains updated and greatly expanded coverage of all belowground biota (roots, microbes and fauna) and methods to identify and determine its distribution and abundance. New chapters are provided on soil biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem processes, suggested laboratory and field methods to measure biota and their activities in ecosystems.. Contains over 60% new material and 150 more pages Includes new chapters on soil biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem function Outlines suggested laboratory and field methods Incorporates new pedagogical features Combines theoretical and practical approaches
Download or read book The Changing Mile Revisited written by and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2003-05 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Changing Mile, originally published in 1965, was a benchmark in ecological studies, demonstrating the prevalence of change in a seemingly changeless place. Photographs made throughout the Sonoran Desert region in the late 1800s and early 1900s were juxtaposed with photographs of the same locations taken many decades later. The nearly one hundred pairs of images revealed that climate has played a strong role in initiating many changes in the region. This new book updates the classic by adding recent photographs to the original pairs, providing another three decades of data and showing even more clearly the extent of change across the landscape. During these same three decades, abundant information about climatic variability, land use, and plant ecology has accumulated, making it possible to determine causes of change with more confidence. Using nearly two hundred additional triplicate sets of unpublished photographs, The Changing Mile Revisited utilizes repeat photographs selected from almost three hundred stations located in southern Arizona, in the Pinacate region of Mexico, and along the coast of the Gulf of California. Coarse photogrammetric analysis of this enlarged photographic set shows the varied response of the region's major plant species to the forces of change. The images show vegetation across the entire region at sites ranging in elevation from sea level to a mile above sea level. Some sites are truly arid, while others are located above the desert in grassland and woodland. Common names are used for most plants and animals (with Latin equivalents in endnotes) to make the book more accessible to non-technical readers. The original Changing Mile was based upon a unique set of data that allowed the authors to evaluate the extent and magnitude of vegetation change in a large geographic region. By extending the original landmark study, The Changing Mile Revisited will remain an indispensable reference for all concerned with the fragile desert environment.
