Recent studies of soil carbon cycle in arid and semi-arid ecosystems demonstrated that there exists an abiotic CO2 absorption by saline-alkali soils (Aa) at desert ecosystems and suggested potential contributions of CO2 dissolution beneath deserts to the terrestrial ecosystems carbon balance. However, the overall importance of such soil CO2 uptake is still undetermined and its implications to t...

Arbuscular mycorrhiza is a mutualistic association between fungi and higher plants, and play a critical role in nutrient cycling and stress tolerance. However, much less is known about the mycorrhiza-mediated enhancement in growth and salinity tolerance of the peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) growing in the arid and semi-arid areas. Therefore, mycorrhizal status of Glomus mosseae in diverse salini...

103103-0707 IJMME-IJENS © June 2010 IJENS I J E N S Abstract— The world is getting modernized and industrialized day by day. As a result vehicles and engines are increasing. But energy sources used in these engines are limited and decreasing gradually. This situation leads to seek an alternative fuel for diesel engine. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for diesel engine. The esters of vegetables...

Phosphorous is going to be plant nutrient that will limit the agricultural production in the next millennium. It is a major growth-limiting nutrient, and unlike the case of nitrogen, there is no large atmospheric source that can be made biologically available (Ezawa et al., 2002). As regards the role of P, it stimulate root development and growth, gives plant rapid and vigorous start leading to...

Primary production is the fundamental source of energy to foodwebs and ecosystems, and is thus an important constraint on soil communities. This coupling is particularly evident in polar terrestrial ecosystems where biological diversity and activity is tightly constrained by edaphic gradients of productivity (e.g., soil moisture, organic carbon availability) and geochemical severity (e.g., pH, ...

Without exogenous rock-derived nutrient sources, terrestrial ecosystems may eventually regress or reach a terminal steady state, but the degree to which exogenous nutrient sources buffer or slow to a theoretical terminal steady state remains unclear. We used strontium isotope ratios (Sr/Sr) as a tracer and measured Sr/Sr values in aeolian dust, soils, and vegetation across a well-constrained 3M...

Iron (Fe) deficiency is one of the most common micronutrient deficiencies limiting crop production globally, especially in arid regions because of decreased availability of iron in alkaline soils. Sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] grows well in arid regions and is tolerant to Fe deficiency. Here, we report that the transcription of type I H+ -pyrophosphatase (H+ -PPase) gene IbVP1 in swe...

Sub-surface irrigation with porous clay pipe can be an efficient, water saving method of irrigation for many less developed arid and semi-arid regions. Maximizing the efficiency of clay pipe irrigation requires guidelines and criteria for system design and operation. In this study, experimental and simulated (with HYDRUS (2D/3D)) soil wetting patterns were investigated for sub-surface pipe syst...

Natural scrublands in semi-arid deserts are increasingly being converted into fields. This results in losses of characteristic flora and fauna, and may also affect microbial diversity. In the present study, the long-term effect (50 years) of such a transition on soil bacterial communities was explored at two sites typical of semi-arid deserts. Comparisons were made between soil samples from alf...

[1] We measured soil nitrogen (N) cycling and fluxes of N2O and NO in three land-use types across the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona. Urbanization increased N2O emissions compared to native landscapes, primarily due to the expansion of fertilized and irrigated lawns. Fluxes of N2O from lawns ranged from 18 to 80 mg N m!2 h!1 and were significantly larger than managed xeric landscapes (2....