1. The International context 1.1. Potential and Actual Carbon Storage Densities of the Drylands 1.2. Rationale for Sequestering Carbon in Drylands 1.3. Dryland Soils as a Carbon Sink 1.4. Creating an Economic Linkage between Dryland Restoration and Carbon Sequestration 1.5. Carbon Offsets: What are They and How do They Help? 1.6. Validation and Verification of Carbon Stores 2. Increasing Carbon...

soil organic carbon is a key factor in productivity and quality of soil and environment particularly in semi arid regions. in this article, the role of farm soil organic matter management in soil and in land is discussed. the variability of soil organic carbon in drylands is mainly controlled by tillage and crop residue management. results of this study indicated that usage of correct tillage m...

Soil ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) are responsible for nitrification in terrestrial ecosystems, and play important roles in ecosystem functioning by modulating the rates of N losses to ground water and the atmosphere. Vascular plants have been shown to modulate the abundance of AOA and AOB in drylands, the largest biome on Earth. Like plants, biotic and abiotic features suc...

a r t i c l e i n f o Land degradation in drylands is one of the major environmental issues of the 21st century particularly due to its impact on world food security and environmental quality. Climate change, shifts in vegetation composition, accelerated soil erosion processes, and disturbances have rendered these landscapes susceptible to rapid degradation that has important feedbacks on regio...

Any views expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of CIFOR, the authors' institutions or the financial sponsors of this publication. Contents Abbreviations vi Acknowledgements vii Foreword viii 1 Challenges and forest-based opportunities in the drylands of Ethiopia 1 1.1 Drylands of Ethiopia 1 1.2 Challenges facing the drylands of Ethi...

Dryland ecosystems account for ca. 27% of global soil organic carbon (C) reserves, yet it is largely unknown how climate change will impact C cycling and storage in these areas. In drylands, soil C concentrates at the surface, making it particularly sensitive to the activity of organisms inhabiting the soil uppermost levels, such as communities dominated by lichens, mosses, bacteria and fungi (...

Drylands cover about 40 % of the terrestrial land surface and account for approximately 40 % of global net primary productivity. Water is fundamental to the biophysical processes that sustain ecosystem function and food production, particularly in drylands where a tight coupling exists between ecosystem productivity, surface energy balance, biogeochemical cycles, and water resource availability...

14 The drylands are on the front line of climate change, and they include the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. We are already seeing in them the harrowing effects of climate change on poverty, survival, health, hunger, human well-being — and on peace itself, because the heavily impacted drylands are among the most unstable parts of the world. The stretch from Senegal through to Afgha...

The Global Drylands Observing System proposed in this issue should reduce the huge uncertainty about the extent of desertification and the rate at which it is changing, and provide valuable information to scientists, planners and policy-makers. However, it needs careful design if information outputs are to be scientifically credible and salient to the needs of people living in dry areas. Its de...