Download or read book Highlands and Drylands written by Pedro Regato Pajares and published by Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dryland mountains are of great strategic value to regional and global development. They provide up to 90% of the freshwater supply to surrounding dry lowlands with more than a quarter of the world's biodiversity hotspots found in drylands mountains. Yet these mountains regions are under increasing threat from climate change and unsustainable forms of land use, including mining and tourism. This publication presents the socio economy and environment of dryland mountains, the current threats they face, and good practice in sustainable development. It concludes with key messages for policy and decision makers.
Download or read book Highlands and Drylands written by Nora Berrahmouni and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Drylands written by Peter Beaumont and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-08 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is simply structured but covers the major topics in detail Well reviewed in the field
Download or read book The Archaeology of Drylands written by Graeme Barker and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many dryland regions contain archaeological remains which suggest that there must have been intensive phases of settlement in what now seem to be dry and degraded environments. This book discusses successes and failures of past land use and settlement in drylands, and contributes to wider debates about desertification and the sustainability of dryland settlement.
Download or read book Improved Crop Productivity for Africa s Drylands written by Tom Walker and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-08-17 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than 200 million people living in dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa make their living from agriculture. Most are exposed to weather shocks, especially drought, that can decimate their incomes, destroy their assets, and plunge them into a poverty trap from which it is diffi cult to emerge. Their lack of resilience in the face of these shocks can be attributed in large part to the poor performance of agriculture on which their livelihood depends. Opportunities exist to improve the fortunes of farming households in the drylands. Improved farming technologies that can increase and stabilize the production of millet, sorghum, maize, and other leading staples are available. Irrigation is technically and economically feasible in some areas and offers additional opportunities to increase and stabilize crop production, especially small-scale irrigation, which tends to be more affordable and easier to manage. Yet many of these opportunities have not been exploited on a large scale, for reasons that include lack of farmer knowledge, nonavailability of inputs, unfavorable price incentives, high levels of production risk, and high cost. Future production growth in drylands agriculture is expected to come mainly from raising yields and increasing the number of crop rotations on land that is already being cultivated (intensifi cation), rather than from bringing new land into cultivation (extensifi cation). Controlling for rainfall, average yields in rainfed cropping systems in Sub-Saharan Africa are still much lower than yields in rainfed cropping systems in other regions, suggesting that there is considerable scope to intensify production in these systems. Furthermore, unlike in other regions, production of low-value cereals under irrigation is generally not economic in Sub-Saharan Africa unless the cereals can be grown in rotation with one or more high-value cash crops. The long-run strategy for drylands agriculture, therefore, must be to promote production of staples in rainfed systems and production of high-value cereals (for example, rice), horticultural cops, and industrial crops in irrigated systems. Based on a detailed review of currently available technologies, Improved Crop Productivity for Africa’s Drylands argues that improving the productivity and stability of agriculture in the drylands has the potential to make a signifi cant contribution to reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience. At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that in an environment characterized by limited agro-climatic potential and subject to repeated shocks, farming on small land holdings may not generate suffi cient income to bring people out of poverty.
Download or read book The World Atlas of Deserts and Drylands written by David Thomas and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2024-10-22 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A richly illustrated atlas of the world’s deserts and drylands, their ecosystems, and their environments Deserts and drylands account for more than 40 percent of land on our planet. Characterized by a lack of water and extreme temperatures, they are the result of atmospheric stability, large landmass characteristics, rain shadows, and cold ocean currents. They appear harsh and hostile, but deserts and drylands are also exceptionally beautiful environments. Desert ecosystems often teem with diverse forms of life that exhibit astonishing ingenuity in the face of such forbidding conditions. The World Atlas of Deserts and Drylands takes readers on a guided tour of some of the most awe-inspiring desert environments on Earth, explaining their environmental and ecological dynamics and describing the techniques used to categorize and map them. From the ever-expanding Gobi of Mongolia and China to the ancient Namib of coastal Africa, this is the ultimate reference book for deserts. Features a wealth of color photos, maps, and infographics Describes the resilient and complex biodiversity of the world’s desert and dryland terrains Covers subtropical deserts, continental deserts, rain shadow deserts, and ocean margin deserts Addresses the challenges posed by global warming and human activity, and discusses solutions and opportunities Written by a team of leading experts
Download or read book Dynamics of Agricultural Land Use and Physiological Diversification written by SHIJITHA M and published by Archers & Elevators Publishing House. This book was released on with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dryland Ecohydrology written by Paolo D'Odorico and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2006-01-09 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecohydrology emerges as a new field of research aiming at furthering our understanding of the earth system through the study of the interactions between the water cycle and vegetation. By combining the analysis of biotic and abiotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, this volume provides a synthesis of material on arid and semiarid landscapes, which is currently spread in a number of books and journal articles. The focus on water-limited ecosystems is motivated by their high sensitivity to daily, seasonal, and decadal perturbations in water availability, and by the ecologic, climatic, and economic significance of most of the drylands around the world. Conceived as a tool for scientists working in the area of the earth and environmental sciences, this book presents the basic principles of eco-hydrology as well as a broad spectrum of topics and advances in this research field. The chapters collected in this book have been contributed by authors with different expertise, who work in several arid areas around the World. They describe the various interactions among the biological and physical dynamics in dryland ecosystems, starting from basic processes in the soil-vegetation-climate system, to landscape-scale hydrologic and geomorphic processes, ecohydrologic controls on soil nutrient dynamics, and multiscale analyses of disturbances and patterns.
Download or read book Sustainable Management of Marginal Drylands written by UNESCO and published by UNESCO Publishing. This book was released on 2012-12-31 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Highland lowland Interaction in Mesoamerica written by Arthur G. Miller and published by Dumbarton Oaks. This book was released on 1983 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dryland Climatology written by Sharon E. Nicholson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-27 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a comprehensive overview of dryland climates and their relationship to the physical environment, vegetation, hydrology, and inhabitants. Packed with photographs and an extensive review of the primary literature, this is a unique interdisciplinary resource for researchers, environmental professionals and advanced students in fields from climatology to geomorphology.
Download or read book Operationalizing the Concepts of Resilience and Resistance for Managing Ecosystems and Species at Risk written by Jeanne C. Chambers and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2020-07-17 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Tree Based Production Systems for Africa s Drylands written by Frank Place and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2016-08-24 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tree-based production systems have enormous potential to reduce vulnerability and increase the resilience of households living in dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Trees are key providers of biomass, which is critical for many livelihood needs. Wood from trees is the leading source of energy in many dryland countries and is an important construction material. Foliage and pods from trees and shrubs are the most important source of feed for camels and goats, which are the dominant livestock species in the more arid parts of the drylands. Trees and shrubs offer enhanced sources of the organic matter needed to improve the structure and raise the fertility of soils used for agriculture. Many parts of trees provide different medicinal products for people. And fruits and vegetable foliage harvested from trees are important seasonal food sources for people living in drylands, and for sale. The benefi ts from trees take on added value when one considers that they are relatively impervious to many of the shocks that affect other production systems, especially livestock keeping and agriculture. Trees, with their deep rooting systems, maintain their standing value and offer some production even in drought years. They are therefore a good buffer against climatic risk and are a critical element in a diversifi cation strategy designed to maintain levels of consumption and income in good times and bad. In addition, their value can be tapped when it is most needed: wood from trees can be harvested throughout the year, and many annual tree products are harvested at times different from the times when annual crops are harvested. Tree-Based Production Systems for Africa’s Drylands identifi es some of the most promising investment opportunities at the level of tree-based systems, species (products), and well-defi ned management practices for accelerating rural economic growth in the drylands.
Download or read book The Future of Drylands written by Cathy Lee and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-10-29 with total page 816 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drylands have been cradles to some of the world’s greatest civilizations, and contemporary dryland communities feature rich and unique cultures. Dryland ecosystems support a surprising amount of biodiversity. Desertification, however, is a significant land degradation problem in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the world’s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The situation is likely to worsen with high population growth rates and accompanying land-use conflicts. The contributions to The Future of Drylands – an international scientific conference held under the leadership of UNESCO – address these issues and offer practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface. This volume documents how our improved understanding of drylands provides insight into the health and future prospects of these precious ecosystems that should help ensure that dryland communities enjoy a sustainable future.
Download or read book Aromatic and Medicinal Plants of Drylands and Deserts written by David Ramiro Aguillón-Gutiérrez and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2023-05-09 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The description and analysis of the Mexican and other countries desertic plants from the point of view of their use in traditional medicine and their potential use in integrative medicine is the overall theme of this book. Aromatic and Medicinal Plants of Drylands and Deserts: Ecology, Ethnobiology and Potential Uses describes the historic use of drylands plants, botanical and geological classification, also describes the endemic plants used in traditional medicine, going through the most relevant aspects of biomedicine and integrative medicine. The chemical and bioactive compounds from desertic medicinal and aromatic plants and the analytic techniques to determine chemical and bioactive compounds from the medicinal and aromatic plants are reviewed. Ethnobiology is detailed in the present book as well as the importance of the integrative medicine for the ancient and actual cultures. The book represents an effort to keep the ethnobiological knowledge of communities for the use of traditional desertic plants with the actual analytical techniques to unveil the chemical molecules responsible of the biological or biomedical applications. Features: • Describes the endemic plants used in traditional medicine • Includes the chemical and bioactive compounds from desertic medicinal plants • Addresses the analytic techniques to determine chemical and bioactive compounds • Represents an effort to keep the ethnobiological knowledge of communities To execute this book, there are collaborations by authors from different institutions in northern Mexico, which is where the arid and semi-arid ecosystems of the country are found. Although the subject of medicinal plants has been treated from different angles, this book offers a holistic and comprehensive vision of these important organisms of the Mexican desert, thus resulting in an updated work for specialized readers and for those who are beginning in this exciting theme.
Download or read book Palaeoecology of Quaternary Drylands written by Werner Smykatz-Kloss and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2004-02-20 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twelve contributions in this volume represent the results of a ten year interdisciplinary workshop on "desert margins" - concerned with the geomorphological, geochemica, mineralogical, sedimentological, soil scientific characterisation of (semi-) deserts in Spain, Africa, Arabia and China. Desert sediments and soils as well as processes and characteristics of their formation are regarded from different geoscientific perspectives. The subjects of research include the development of desert soils and landscapes, the formation of (alluvial) loess, swamp ores, fulgurites and floodout sediments and focus on the reconstruction of palaeoecological events and changes. A critical study of dating methods rounds off the book.
Download or read book Trees forests and land use in drylands the first global assessment written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-11-29 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drylands cover 41 percent of the Earth's land surface. This publication presents the results of the first global assessment of trees, forests and land use in these lands. The assessment breaks new methodological ground: it relies on the visual interpreation of freely available satellite images, carried out by more than 200 experts in a series of regional workshops. Using a tool called Open Foris ollect Earth, developed by FAO in collaboration with Google, participants gathered and analysed information for mrore than 200 000 sample plots worldwide. For each region, the report summarizes the distribution of forests, other wooded land and other land uses including grasslands, croplands, built-up areas and barren land, across all drylands and by aridity zone. It also estimates tree canopy cover, shrub cover, forest type and presence of trees outside forest. Indicatng that the global drylands contain more than one-quarter of the world's forest area, and that trees are present on 31 percent of the world's dryland area, the report provides a baseline for future monitoring and will support countries in their efforts to identify appropriate investments for the restoration and sustainable management of drylands.
