Author: Jurgen Schmandt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108417035
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 305
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Book Description
Interdisciplinary volume considers how nine arid/semi-arid river basins with irrigated agriculture will survive future climate change, siltation, and decreased flow.
Author: T. W. Hoekstra
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252067174
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 298
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Book Description
Offers various directions for both research and management.
Author: David S. G. Thomas
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470975695
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 658
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Book Description
The new edition of Arid Zone Geomorphology aims to encapsulate the advances that have been made in recent years in the investigation and explanation of landforms and geomorphological processes in drylands. Building on the success of the previous two editions, the Third Edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect the latest developments in the field. Whilst this latest edition will remain a comprehensive reference to the subject, the book has been restructured to include regional case studies throughout to enhance student understanding and is clearly defined into five distinct sections; Firstly, the book introduces the reader to Large Scale Controls and Variability in Drylands and then moves on to consider Surface Processes and Characteristics; The Work of Water, The Work of the Wind. The book concludes with a section on Living with Dryland Geomorphology that includes a chapter on geomorphological hazards and the human impact on these environments. Once again, recognised world experts in the field have been invited to contribute chapters in order to present a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of current knowledge about the processes shaping the landscape of deserts and arid regions. In order to broaden the appeal of the Third Edition, the book has been reduced in extent by 100 pages and the Regional chapters have been omitted in favour of the inclusion of key regional case studies throughout the book. The Editor is also considering the inclusion of a supplementary website that could include further images, problems and case studies.
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 356
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Book Description
Author: Diana K. Davis
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262034522
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 302
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Book Description
An argument that the perception of arid lands as wastelands is politically motivated and that these landscapes are variable, biodiverse ecosystems, whose inhabitants must be empowered. Deserts are commonly imagined as barren, defiled, worthless places, wastelands in need of development. This understanding has fueled extensive anti-desertification efforts—a multimillion-dollar global campaign driven by perceptions of a looming crisis. In this book, Diana Davis argues that estimates of desertification have been significantly exaggerated and that deserts and drylands—which constitute about 41% of the earth's landmass—are actually resilient and biodiverse environments in which a great many indigenous people have long lived sustainably. Meanwhile, contemporary arid lands development programs and anti-desertification efforts have met with little success. As Davis explains, these environments are not governed by the equilibrium ecological dynamics that apply in most other regions. Davis shows that our notion of the arid lands as wastelands derives largely from politically motivated Anglo-European colonial assumptions that these regions had been laid waste by “traditional” uses of the land. Unfortunately, such assumptions still frequently inform policy. Drawing on political ecology and environmental history, Davis traces changes in our understanding of deserts, from the benign views of the classical era to Christian associations of the desert with sinful activities to later (neo)colonial assumptions of destruction. She further explains how our thinking about deserts is problematically related to our conceptions of forests and desiccation. Davis concludes that a new understanding of the arid lands as healthy, natural, but variable ecosystems that do not necessarily need improvement or development will facilitate a more sustainable future for the world's magnificent drylands.
Author: Georganne O'Connor
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 236
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Book Description
A thorough and detailed natural history of the Columbia Basin shrub-steppe country.
Author: Nathan F. Sayre
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022608325X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 282
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Book Description
Steeped in US soil, this first global history of rangeland science looks to the origin of rangeland ecology in the late nineteenth-century American West, exploring the larger political and economic forces that - together with scientific study - produced legacies focused on immediate economic success rather than long-term ecological well-being. Neither scientists nor public agencies could escape the influences of bureaucrats and ranchers who demanded results, and the ideas that became scientific orthodoxy - from fire suppression and predator control to fencing and carrying capacities - contained flaws and blind spots that plague public debates to this day. The Politics of Scale identifies the sources of these conflicts and mistakes and helps us to see a more promising path forward, one in which rangeland science is guided less by capital and the state and more by communities working in collaboration with scientists. -- from back cover.
Author: Aharon Horowitz
Publisher: Elsevier Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 578
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Book Description
The main theme of this book is the reconstruction of past arid environments, with the help of palynology. Palynology was for a long time rarely practised in arid lands due to both technical and conceptual difficulties, mainly centered around poverty in pollen grains and different approaches necessary for treating the spectra, as compared with forested regions. However, recent developments in extraction techniques, along with new concepts applied for analysis of data, show the great potential lying in reconstructing past arid environments, along with a variety of ensuing ramifications. The book provides an update of the state of the art in this branch of science. Firstly, it deals with natural agents relevant to palynology in arid lands, from pollen release by parent plants through transportation, deposition and preservation in various types of rocks. Then it describes sampling strategies, various treatments for extracting microfossils from host rocks, identifying, counting and presenting the results. Concepts and ways for interpretations of results are discussed. There are several case studies, to demonstrate prospects and possibilities in reconstructing late Cenozoic vegetation, climate, transport, environments of deposition, structure, stratigraphy, regional paleogeography and human settlement of past arid environments. A discussion of pre-late Cenozoic arid lands palynology is also included, with examples from the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic deserts. Each topic is accompanied by photographs and line-drawings. There is an extensive bibliography and subject and author indexes. The book is intended for students and scientists, mainly in palynology, Quaternary sciences, geology, climatology, environmental sciences, paleoclimatology, evolution, biology, geomorphology of arid lands, botany, anthropology and archeology.
Author: Walter G. Whitford
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0081026552
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 476
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Book Description
Nearly one-third of the land area on our planet is classified as arid or desert. Therefore, an understanding of the dynamics of such arid ecosystems is essential to managing those systems in a way that sustains human populations. This second edition of Ecology of Desert Systems provides a clear, extensive guide to the complex interactions involved in these areas. This book details the relationships between abiotic and biotic environments of desert ecosystems, demonstrating to readers how these interactions drive ecological processes. These include plant growth and animal reproductive success, the spatial and temporal distribution of vegetation and animals, and the influence of invasive species and anthropogenic climate change specific to arid systems. Drawing on the extensive experience of its expert authors, Ecology of Desert Systems is an essential guide to arid ecosystems for students looking for an overview of the field, researchers keen to learn how their work fits in to the overall picture, and those involved with environmental management of desert areas. - Highlights the complexity of global desert systems in a clear, concise way - Reviews the most current issues facing researchers in the field, including the spread of invasive species due to globalized trade, the impact of industrial mining, and climate change - Updated and extended to include information on invasive species management, industrial mining impacts, and the current and future role of climate change in desert systems
Author: Harold E. Dregne
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 9783718601684
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 264
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Book Description
First Published in 1983. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
