Genus Salsola, a genus of annual semi-dwarf to dwarf shrubs and woody tree species, is widely distributed across the arid and semi-arid areas of the world. Several features like high fodder value, abundant seed production, tolerance to extreme climatic conditions like high temperature and prolonged drought conditions contributed significantly towards its success as a potential forage species in...

The ionizing-radiation-resistant fractions of two soil bacterial communities were investigated by exposing an arid soil from the Sonoran Desert and a nonarid soil from a Louisiana forest to various doses of ionizing radiation using a (60)Co source. The numbers of surviving bacteria decreased as the dose of gamma radiation to which the soils were exposed increased. Bacterial isolates surviving d...

Land degradation impacts on several critical environmental issues such as food security, diminishing quality and quantity of fresh water resources, preservation of natural resources, loss of biodiversity, and global climate change. Land degradation is responsible for soil erosion and can eventually lead to desertification. The International Convention to Combat Desertification (CCD) defines des...

Biogenic opal produced by vascular plants, diatoms, and siliceous sponges have been found in soils and terrestrial sediments of all continents except Antarctica since the middle of the 19th century. The opal particles range in size from fine silt to fine sand. Almost all soils contain detectable opal up to levels of 2–3%, and a significant number contain values in excess of 5%. Even higher valu...

A large reservoir of bioavailable nitrogen (up to approximately 10(4) kilograms of nitrogen per hectare, as nitrate) has been previously overlooked in studies of global nitrogen distribution. The reservoir has been accumulating in subsoil zones of arid regions throughout the Holocene. Consideration of the subsoil reservoir raises estimates of vadose-zone nitrogen inventories by 14 to 71% for wa...

Contents 1. Introduction 1.1. Arid Ecosystems 1.2. Desertification 2. Degradation of natural resources 3. Frame conditions: The importance of scale 4. Defining compartments for feasible approaches 5. Assessment and monitoring of the problem 6. Approaches to combating degradation in arid systems 6.1. Practical steps within the biophysical system 6.1.1 Water resources 6.1.2. Conservation of soils...

................................................................................................................................................... ii Preface...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Background ..............................................................................

Inland saline wetlands are complex systems undergoing continuous changes in moisture and salinity and are especially vulnerable to human pressures. Remote sensing is helpful to identify vegetation change in semi-arid wetlands and to assess wetland degradation. Remote sensing-based monitoring requires identification of the spectral characteristics of soils and vegetation and their correspondence...

The rapid expansion of deserts in recent decades as a result of human actions combined with climatic changes has highlighted the necessity to understand biological processes in arid environments. Whereas physical processes and the biology of flora and fauna have been relatively well studied in marginally used arid areas, knowledge of desert soil micro-organisms remains fragmentary. The objectiv...