Monitoring of net primary productivity (NPP) is especially important for the fragile ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions. Great interest exists in observing large-scale vegetation dynamics and understanding spatial and temporal patterns of NPP in these areas. In this study we present results of NPP obtained with the model BETHY/DLR for Kazakhstan for 2003-2011 and its spatial and temporal ...

Loss of species richness and reduced abundance have been the main responses to perturbations of smalland medium-sized mammals in arid and semi-arid areas. Nonetheless, some mammal species whose habitat requirements are met in disturbed patches may benefit from structural changes in the environment brought about by perturbations. In desert areas of Argentina different mammal responses are attrib...

Drought is an intermittent disturbance of the water cycle that profoundly affects the terrestrial carbon cycle. However, the response of the coupled water and carbon cycles to drought and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we provide the first global synthesis of the drought effect on ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE = gross primary production (GPP)/evapotranspiration (ET)). Usin...

Stomatal regulation of leaf gas exchange with the atmosphere is a key process in plant adaptation to the environment, particularly in semi-arid regions with high atmospheric evaporative demand. Development of stomata, integrating internal signaling and environmental cues sets the limit for maximum diffusive capacity of stomata, through size and density and is under a complex genetic control, th...

The arid region is spread over 38.7 million hectares mainly in the states of Rajasthan. Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh besides cold arid region situated in Leh, Laddakh and Himachal Pradesh. The region is marked by extreme environmental constraints due to which the cultivation of traditional crops is not economical. In a situation such as this, arid horticulture has ample s...