Experimental manipulations of soil fauna are a powerful tool for assessing causal relationships between belowground biodiversity and key ecosystem properties. However, preparing soil microcosm treatments without soil fauna for ecological experiments can be problematic. Methods to exclude nematodes, a ubiquitous and functionally important component of terrestrial ecosystems, have been developed ...

pedogenesis and clay mineralogy of soils and rock samples were studied in a transect of calcareous, gypsiferous, saline soils and sediments of bakhtegan lake bank in southern iran. the main objectives of study were to determine the occurrence of clay minerals and factors controlling their distribution pattern and relative abundance in soils and parent materials. the soil parent material is high...

Thar region of Rajasthan, with its varied characteristics in culture, economies, the environment, governance and religion, is home to semi-urban and urban agriculture that seems to have originated in the Fertile Crescent of the homeland of the first farmers. Arid lands and deserts make up a large part of Rajasthan. Two-thirds of the state is desert or dry-lands. Half the state’s population is f...

the purpose of this study was to evaluate the species-environment relationships in arid and semi-arid rangelandsof nodushan, yazd. the plant species cover and the environmental variables were measured at 9 sites. soil sampleswere taken for measurement of 12 attributes in 0-10 cm and 10-80 cm layers. vegetation was classified using twowayindicator species analysis (twinspan). data was analyzed u...

Rangelands are expansive, unimproved lands located in arid or semi–arid regions, spanning a variety of landscapes including savannahs, high and low altitude deserts, mountain meadows, and tundra. Rangelands are generally unsuitable for crop production due to aridity, topography, and extreme temperatures. Rangelands support varying mixtures of native and nonnative grasses, grass–like plants, for...