Ecology of Desert Systems

Ecology of Desert Systems PDF 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

Ecology of Desert Systems

Ecology of Desert Systems PDF Author: Walter G. Whitford
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0081026552
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 476

Get Book Here

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

Evolution of Desert Biota

Evolution of Desert Biota PDF Author: David W. Goodall
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292740999
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Written by specialists in the field, the papers in this volume explore evolution of animals and plants on the deserts of North America, South America, and Australia. Together, the articles constitute a complete survey of the geological history of the deserts of three continents, the evolution of the animals and plants of those deserts, and their adaptations to the environments in which they live. The first paper, by Otto T. Solbrig, discusses the flora of the South American temperate and semidesert regions, citing numerous genera and reasons that they are found in the different areas. John S. Beard uses the same approach in his discussion of the evolution of Australian desert plants and focuses on western Australian areas. Guillermo Sarmiento appraises the evolution of arid vegetation in tropical America, including the Lesser Antilles and the Coast Range of Venezuela and Colombia. A. R. Main surveys the adaptation of Australian vertebrates to desert conditions and gives examples of how various species of birds, reptiles, and amphibians adapt to their environment in order for the greatest number to survive. James A. MacMahon designates specific communities in the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts and discusses the similarity of species of the North American desert mammal faunas found there, while Bobbi S. Low focuses on the evolution of amphibian life histories in the desert and compiles a lengthy table of amphibia comparing egg size, habitat, number of eggs per clutch, and so forth. Finally, W. Frank Blair treats adaptation of anurans to equivalent desert scrub of North and South America and cites various species of frogs and toads that are found in similar areas. The volume also includes an introduction by the editor and an index. Evolution of Desert Biota is the result of a symposium held during the First International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary Biology in Boulder, Colorado; in August 1973.

Ecology of Sonoran Desert Plants and Plant Communities

Ecology of Sonoran Desert Plants and Plant Communities PDF Author: Robert H. Robichaux
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
This book offers an accessible introduction to Sonoran Desert ecology. Eight original essays by Sonoran Desert specialists provide an overview of the practice of ecology at landscape, community, and organism levels. The essays explore the rich diversity of plant life in the Sonoran Desert and the ecological patterns and processes that underlie it. They also reveal the history and scientific legacy of the Desert Laboratory in Tucson, which has conducted research on the Sonoran Desert since 1903.

Desert Geomorphology

Desert Geomorphology PDF Author: Ronald U. Cooke
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9780203020593
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 540

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Book Description
Including recent research findings from terrestrial satellite imagery, the study of planetary landscapes, and advances in laboratory work, this also covers the environmental processes involved in desertification and the solution of planning and

The Desert Bones

The Desert Bones PDF Author: Jamale Ijouiher
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253063337
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
An essential introduction to the age of dinosaurs in Africa. Once Africa was referred to as the ''Lost World of the dinosaur era,'' so poorly known were its ancient flora and fauna. Worse still, many priceless fossil specimens from the Sahara Desert were destroyed during the Second World War. Fortunately, in the twentieth-first century, more researchers are now working in north Africa than ever before and making fascinating discoveries such as the dinosaur Spinosaurus. Based on a decade of study, The Desert Bones brings the world of African dinosaurs fully into the light. Jamale Ijouiher skillfully draws on the latest research and knowledge about paleoecology to paint a compelling and comprehensive portrait of the mid-Cretaceous in North Africa.

Climate Change in Deserts

Climate Change in Deserts PDF Author: Martin Williams
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107016916
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 653

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Book Description
A synthesis of the environmental and climatic history of every major desert and desert margin, for researchers and advanced students.

Global Deserts Outlook

Global Deserts Outlook PDF Author: Exequiel Ezcurra
Publisher: UNEP/Earthprint
ISBN: 9280727222
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Book Description
Namibia Business Intelligence Report - Practical Information, Opportunities, Contacts

The California Deserts

The California Deserts PDF Author: Bruce M Pavlik
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520940789
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
This highly readable, spectacularly illustrated compendium is an ecological journey into a wondrous land of extremes. The California Deserts explores the remarkable diversity of life in this harsh yet fragile quarter of the Golden State. In a rich narrative, it illuminates how that diversity, created by drought and heat, has evolved with climate change since the Ice Ages. Along the way, we find there is much to learn from each desert species-- whether it is a cactus, pupfish, tortoise, or bighorn sheep--about adaptation to a warming, arid world. The book tells of human adaptation as well, and is underscored by a deep appreciation for the intimate knowledge acquired by native people during their 12,000-year desert experience. In this sense, the book is a journey of rediscovery, as it reflects on the ways that knowledge has been reclaimed and amplified by new discoveries. The book also takes the measure of the ecological condition of these deserts today, presenting issues of conservation, management, and restoration. With its many sidebars, photographs, and featured topics, The California Deserts provides a unique introduction to places of remarkable and often unexpected beauty.

The Biology of Deserts

The Biology of Deserts PDF Author: David Ward
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198732759
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
A revised and thoroughly updated edition of this concise but comprehensive introduction to desert ecology.

Nomadic Desert Birds

Nomadic Desert Birds PDF Author: W. Richard J. Dean
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 366208984X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
My interest in the behaviour and movements of birds of arid and semi-arid ecosystems began when my wife, Sue Milton, and I were Roy Siegfried, Director, at that time, of the Percy approached by Prof. FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, to set up a project to investigate granivory in the South African Karoo. Sue and I spent some time finding a suitable study site, setting up accommodations and an automatic weather station at Tierberg, in the southern Karoo near the village of Prince Albert, and planning projects. Among our first projects was a transect where we noted plant phe nology, measured seed densities on the soil surface, counted birds, observed ant activity, measured soil surface temperatures and col lected whatever climate data we could at 40 sites along a 200-km oval route. Along the way, we became interested in the marked presence and absence of birds at certain sites - abundant birds one day, and very few birds at the same site a month later. Subsequent counts along fixed transects through shrublands confirmed that a number of bird species were highly nomadic over short and long distances, locally and regionally, leading to speculation on how widespread these movements were in the arid ecosystems of the world.