Few studies have investigated the influence of water availability on plant population spatial patterns. We studied changes in the spatial patterns of Caragana stenophylla along a climatic drought gradient within the Inner Mongolian Plateau, China. We examined spatial patterns, seed density, "nurse effects" of shrubs on seedlings, transpiration rates and water use efficiency (WUE) of C. stenophy...

In the vast Algerian Sahara, the climate is typically desert, characterized by heat and dryness all year, which contributes to a very pronounced aridity. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of this arid environment on automotive paints. Four paint samples with different durations of use were tested. Initially, a visualization of the surface condition by optical microscopy and...

Herbivores are major drivers of ecosystem structure, diversity, and function. Resilient ecosystems therefore require viable herbivore populations in a sustainable balance with environmental resource availability. This balance is becoming harder to achieve, with increasingly threatened species reliant on small protected areas in increasingly harsh and unpredictable environments. Arid environment...

The dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius, one-humped camel) is an important livestock species adapted to hot and arid environments. It is most abundant in the arid lowlands of Africa, the Middle East and Western Asia. The economic importance of this multipurpose animal is evident from the numerous benefits provided by camel products (meat, milk, wool). Moreover, the camel serves for riding, as ...

Surface disposal of human waste by the smear method, a suggested but heretofore unexamined technique, was tested in three environments and examined for reductions in fecal mass and fecal indicator bacteria. Substantial reduction in fecal mass was observed after six and fourteen weeks of exposure in all environments, but extensive reduction in fecal indicator bacteria was observed in only the ar...

The Mediterranean regions are submitted to a large variety of climates. In general, the environments are arid and semi-arid with summers characterised by high temperatures and small precipitation. Due to the scarcity of water resources, the correct evaluation of water losses by the crops as evapotranspiration (ET) is very important in these regions. In this paper, we initially present the most ...

Cicer arietinum L. (chickpea) is the world's fourth most widely grown pulse. Chickpea seeds are a primary source of dietary protein for humans, and chickpea cultivation contributes to biological nitrogen fixation in the soil, given its symbiotic relationship with rhizobia. Therefore, chickpea cultivation plays a pivotal role in innovative sustainable models of agro-ecosystems inserted in crop r...

Mammalian bipedalism has long been thought to have arisen in response to arid and open environments. Here, we tested whether bipedalism coevolved with environmental changes using molecular and paleontological data from the rodent superfamily Dipodoidea and statistical methods for reconstructing ancestral characteristics and past climates. Our results show that the post-Late Miocene aridificatio...

OBJECTIVE Unreclaimed mine tailings sites are a worldwide problem, with thousands of unvegetated, exposed tailings piles presenting a source of contamination for nearby communities. Tailings disposal sites in arid and semiarid environments are especially subject to eolian dispersion and water erosion. Phytostabilization, the use of plants for in situ stabilization of tailings and metal contamin...