The objective of the present study was to determine factors affecting body condition score (BCS) and its association with productive and reproductive performances in Holstein cows. Mixed model analysis was performed on monthly records of BCS from April 2006 to July 2012 comprising 34666 records from 3134 dairy cows in a large commercial dairy herd under arid climatic conditions of Isfahan in Ir...

The effects of Range Management Plans (RMP) on soil and vegetationcharacteristics were studied in Eshtehard rangelands at Alborz province. The parameters ofyield, canopy cover, range condition and trend, bulk density, Organic Matter (OM%),Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K) were estimated on soil samples in sitesof Ghenzel Cheshmeh as RMP and sanctum of Rahmanyeh village. The data w...

The arid valley is a unique type of ecological fragile landscape in the Hengduan Mountain Area, China. The boundary of the arid valley is one of the response indicators to mountainous climate change. Based on the meteorological data from 1999 to 2013 and the SPOT remote sensing images in 1999 and 2013 this study explored the response characteristics of the arid valley boundary to regional clima...

The Great Basin and Plateau encompass a vast region of western North America bracketed on the west by the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains and the east by the Rocky Mountains (Figure 1). The region is diverse but characterized by ecologically limiting, generally more arid conditions, and higher elevations than other parts of North America. It is also characterized by a type of archaeology th...

The accuracy of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer’s (MODIS) aerosol products is still uncertain in China, due to a lack of validation by long-term and large-scale ground-based observations. In this paper, the MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) product is evaluated using Chinese Sun Hazemeter Network (CSHNET) data as ground truths over different ecological regions in China during ...

The economic activity in arid/semiarid areas of the western United States would seem to be much more influenced by weather than humid/semi humid areas since they are located marginally closer to major drought conditions at any moment in time. This paper reexamines the original “sunspot” theory of business cycles of William Stanley Jevons, the contributions of his son H. S. Jevons, and the furth...

Some enchytraeid species of tropical, subtropical or Mediterranean origin can appear in artificial environments, e.g. green houses due to the worldwide commercial network. Since the used soil from green houses is often disposed outdoors, a question raised that these exotic enchytraeid species could survive under continental climate conditions. In this experiment two of the resettled green house...

Arid ecosystems are liable to undergo sudden discontinuous transitions from a vegetated to a desert state as a result of human pressure and climate change. A predictive framework about the conditions under which such transitions occur is lacking. Here, we derive and analyze a general model describing the spatial dynamics of vegetation in arid ecosystems considering local facilitation as an esse...

Goji (fruits of Lycium barbarum L. and L. chinense Mill.) has been used in China as food and medicine for millennia, and globally has been consumed increasingly as a healthy food. Ningxia, with a semi-arid climate, always had the reputation of producing best goji quality (daodi area). Recently, the increasing market demand pushed the cultivation into new regions with different climates. We ther...