Hot Deserts And Arid Shrublands

Author : Michael Evenari,Imanuel Noy-Meir,David W. Goodall
Publisher : Elsevier Publishing Company
Page : 382 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Gardening
ISBN : STANFORD:36105032312535

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Hot Deserts and Arid Shrublands by Michael Evenari,Imanuel Noy-Meir,David W. Goodall Pdf

This is the second part of a two-volume work which presents an authoritative world-wide view of our knowledge about, and understanding of, hot-desert ecosystems. This includes some semi-arid and arid areas, as well as deserts in the strict sense. The hot deserts are distinguished from the temperate deserts (which form the subject of another volume in the series) by the virtual absence of snowfall, even though frosts may occur. For each major hot-desert region, expert authors have summarized existing knowledge according to a general outline. This includes descriptions of the ecosystem components (climate, soil, flora and fauna), and discussion of interaction between components and overall ecosystem functioning. The information from the regional chapters has been integrated into a world-wide view in the ''synthesis'' chapters. Because of its length, the volume is published in two parts. The first part included the general synthesis chapters, and regional descriptions of the hot deserts of America and Australia. The present volume covers hot deserts of Asia and Africa.

Author : David W. Goodall,Michael Evenari,Imanuel Noy-Meir
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 1977
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 044442282X

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Ecosystems of the World by David W. Goodall,Michael Evenari,Imanuel Noy-Meir Pdf

Author : David W. Goodall,Valentine Jackson Chapman,Michael Evenari,Imanuel Noy-Meir
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 365 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 1977
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 044442282X

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Ecosystems of the World by David W. Goodall,Valentine Jackson Chapman,Michael Evenari,Imanuel Noy-Meir Pdf

Author : Michael A. Mares
Publisher : University of Oklahoma Press
Page : 695 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2017-01-19
Category : Nature
ISBN : 9780806172293

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Encyclopedia of Deserts by Michael A. Mares Pdf

Encyclopedia of Deserts represents a milestone: it is the first comprehensive reference to the first comprehensive reference to deserts and semideserts of the world. Approximately seven hundred entries treat subjects ranging from desert survival to the way deserts are formed. Topics include biology (birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, plants, bacteria, physiology, evolution), geography, climatology, geology, hydrology, anthropology, and history. The thirty-seven contributors, including volume editor Michael A. Mares, have had extensive careers in deserts research, encompassing all of the world’s arid and semiarid regions. The Encyclopedia opens with a subject list by topic, an organizational guide that helps the reader grasp interrelationships and complexities in desert systems. Each entry concludes with cross-references to other entries in the volume, inviting the reader to embark on a personal expedition into fascinating, previously unknown terrain. In addition a list of important readings facilitates in-depth study of each topic. An exhaustive index permits quick access to places, topics, and taxonomic listings of all plants and animals discussed. More than one hundred photographs, drawings, and maps enhance our appreciation of the remarkable life, landforms, history, and challenges of the world’s arid land.

Author : L.R. Walker
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 868 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 1999-12-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 0080550843

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Ecosystems of Disturbed Ground by L.R. Walker Pdf

As the human population inexorably grows, its cumulative impact on the Earth's resources is hard to ignore. The ability of the Earth to support more humans is dependent on the ability of humans to manage natural resources wisely. Because disturbance alters resource levels, effective management requires understanding of the ecology of disturbance. This book is the first to take a global approach to the description of both natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes that physically impact the ground. Natural disturbances such as erosion, volcanoes, wind, herbivory, flooding and drought plus anthropogenic disturbances such as foresty, grazing, mining, urbanization and military actions are considered. Both disturbance impacts and the biotic recovery are addressed as well as the interactions of different types of disturbance. Other chapters cover processes that are important to the understanding of disturbance of all types including soil processes, nutrient cycles, primary productivity, succession, animal behaviour and competition. Humans react to disturbances by avoiding, exacerbating, or restoring them or by passing environmental legislation. All of these issues are covered in this book. Managers need better predictive models and robust data-collections that help determine both site-specfic and generalized responses to disturbance. Multiple disturbances have a complex effect on both physical and biotic processes as they interact. This book provides a wealth of detail about the process of disturbance and recovery as well as a synthesis of the current state of knowledge about disturbance theory, with extensive documentation.

Author : J. Skujins
Publisher : CRC Press
Page : 688 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 1991-04-16
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 0824783883

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Semiarid Lands and Deserts by J. Skujins Pdf

A compendium of current information on arid soils. Provides a comprehensive background of the various soils and biota of arid regions, as well as a detailed account of the current understanding of degradation processes, and includes methodologies for arid land maintenance and rehabilitation and for

Author : Joyce A. Quinn
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2008-12-30
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780313087738

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Desert Biomes by Joyce A. Quinn Pdf

This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Biomes of the World focuses on deserts, the seemingly desolate—but actually quite lively—regions that are home to some of the most interesting and beautiful flora and fauna in the world. Desert Biomes examines three different types of biomes: warm/hot deserts (such as the Mojave and Sahara deserts), cold deserts (such as Patagonia in South America), and the West Coast Fog Desert biomes, which occur on certain regions of the western edge of major continents. The volumes examines how these biomes are unique in terms of their vegetation, geographical distribution, soil, challenges posed by the environment, adaptation of the plants and animals to the environment, and conservation efforts. Maps, photos, diagrams, drawings, and tables accompany the text, as do sidebars that highlight habitats, species, and ecological relationships. The volume includes a bibliography of accessible resources for further research.

Author : A. D. Abrahams,A. Parsons
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 1021 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2013-04-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 9789401582544

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Geomorphology of Desert Environments by A. D. Abrahams,A. Parsons Pdf

Over the last twenty years there has been a major expansion of knowledge in the field of landforms and landforming processes of deserts. This advanced-level book provides a benchmark for the current state of science, and is written by an international team of authors who are acknowledged experts in their fields.

Author : Michael Evenari,Imanuel Noy-Meir,David W. Goodall
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 470 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 1986
Category : Arid regions ecology
ISBN : STANFORD:36105002962723

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Hot Deserts and Arid Shrublands by Michael Evenari,Imanuel Noy-Meir,David W. Goodall Pdf

Author : Arthur C. Gibson
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 223 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642609794

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Structure-Function Relations of Warm Desert Plants by Arthur C. Gibson Pdf

For centuries biologists have been extremely interested in the structure of desert plants as examples of natural selection to harsh environmental conditions. Indeed, desert plants are frequently used as examples in many biology classes and textbooks to illustrate natural selection, but this has led to an unfortunate litany of errors and misconceptions about desert plant adaptations. This new synthesis focuses on plants of lowland tropical and subtropical arid deserts. Readers will be surprised to discover that many features commonly ascribed to desert plants are rareley observed in the most common species. Instead, the typical structural adaptations of nonsucculent warm desert plants are now viewed as ways to maximize photosynthetic rate.

Author : Jean-Baptiste Ramond,Don A. Cowan
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 359 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2022-07-28
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783030984151

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Microbiology of Hot Deserts by Jean-Baptiste Ramond,Don A. Cowan Pdf

This book covers the wider aspects of the microbiology of hot desert soil ecosystems, compiling disparate information from a range of relevant desert soil microbial fields. The reader learns about microbial ecology of the more dominant and possibly most important desert habitats, detailing the phylogenetic and functional diversity of these different habitats as well as their potential role in desert ecosystem ecology. Particular attention is also given to microbial stress adaptation in hot desert soils. Furthermore, it is the first volume in this particular field to cover modern metagenomics technologies that can be applied to studies of all aspects of desert microbial communities. Additionally, the book explores viruses and viral communities, which are among the least studied (and little understood) components of desert soil microbial communities. Particular attention is also given to the roles of desert microbial communities in biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Through this book the reader discovers how desert microbiology has been at the forefront of Astrobiology and how it may be used conceptually in future terraforming strategies. Desert ecosystems are increasingly coming into focus given the impacts of climate change and desertification trends, making this volume particularly timely. Each of the chapters is authored by leading international researchers and is a must-read for microbial ecologists.

Author : W. Richard J. Dean
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2013-06-29
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783662089842

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Nomadic Desert Birds by W. Richard J. Dean Pdf

My interest in the behaviour and movements of birds of arid and semi-arid ecosystems began when my wife, Sue Milton, and I were Roy Siegfried, Director, at that time, of the Percy approached by Prof. FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, to set up a project to investigate granivory in the South African Karoo. Sue and I spent some time finding a suitable study site, setting up accommodations and an automatic weather station at Tierberg, in the southern Karoo near the village of Prince Albert, and planning projects. Among our first projects was a transect where we noted plant phe nology, measured seed densities on the soil surface, counted birds, observed ant activity, measured soil surface temperatures and col lected whatever climate data we could at 40 sites along a 200-km oval route. Along the way, we became interested in the marked presence and absence of birds at certain sites - abundant birds one day, and very few birds at the same site a month later. Subsequent counts along fixed transects through shrublands confirmed that a number of bird species were highly nomadic over short and long distances, locally and regionally, leading to speculation on how widespread these movements were in the arid ecosystems of the world.

Author : Jayne Belnap,Otto L. Lange
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 506 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2013-12-01
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642564758

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Biological Soil Crusts: Structure, Function, and Management by Jayne Belnap,Otto L. Lange Pdf

In arid lands, where vegetation is sparse or absent, the open ground is not bare but generally covered by a community of small, highly specialized organisms. Cyanobacteria, algae, microfungi, lichens, and bryophytes aggregate soil particles to form a coherent skin - the biological soil crust. It stabilizes and protects the soil surface from erosion by wind and water, influences water runoff and infiltration, and contributes nitrogen and carbon to desert soils. Soil surface disturbance, such as heavy livestock grazing, human trampling or off-road vehicles, breaks up the fragile soil crust, thus compromising its stability, structure, and productivity. This book is the first synthesis of the biology of soil crusts and their importance as an ecosystem component. Composition and functioning of different soil-crust types are discussed, and case studies are used to show the impact of crusts on landscape hydrology, soil stability, nutrient cycles, and land management.

Author : Harold Heatwole
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642609237

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Energetics of Desert Invertebrates by Harold Heatwole Pdf

Desert invertebrates live in an environment where resources alternate unpredictably between brief periods of plenty and prolonged scarcity. This book describes the adaptive strategies of desert invertebrates in acquiring energy and sustaining life with such fluctuations. Some cooperate in foraging; others compete for resources. Some are nomadic and migrate to more favorable sites as conditions change. Others conserve energy by going into a deep dormancy until better conditions return. Still others store food during plentiful periods so as to retreat underground during less favorable times. The adaptive modes of economizing on scarce energy resources are diverse and lead to an appreciation of the intricate interactions of animals living close to their environmental limits.

Author : Gary A. Polis
Publisher : University of Arizona Press
Page : 470 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2023-01-17
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780816552450

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The Ecology of Desert Communities by Gary A. Polis Pdf

"Provides interesting and thought-provoking reading and is highly recommended to anyone interested in desert ecosystems or community ecology. The book . . . should serve as an inspiration to many for future research."—Journal of Biogeography "This book is not just about deserts; it is an update of the contributions that research in desert systems is making to community ecology. . . This book will provide a useful reference for desert ecologists, as well as indicate critical directions where progress needs to be made."—Ecology "This important book fills a significant gap in previous syntheses by presenting a detailed series of reviews of current understanding of community patterns and structure in desert environments. . . . Each chapter is thorough and well written and . . . closes with a discussion of suggested future research. . . . [T]hese ideas will do much to focus interest on the importance of desert systems in understanding community. Thus, this book has interest well beyond desert ecologists alone."—BioScience "Valuable reading and reference for ecology students, teachers and researchers."—Quarterly Review of Biology