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Land, water and energy: The crossing of governance J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-17 Carlos San Juan Mesonada; Julia I. Armario Benítez
The paper focusses on the impact on dryland ecosystems of conflicting governance in the regulations of land use, water for irrigation and electric energy from photovoltaic installations (PV). The research uses the empirical results of a panel data model based on long time series that enable sensitivity of the main crops to energy cost and the viability of the solar panel system connected to the grid
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Contrasting hydrological regimes in two adjoining semi-arid areas, with low rain intensities J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-16 Aaron Yair
The present study deals with the hydrology of two adjoining watersheds, located in an area where average annual rainfall is ~280 mm. One watershed is located in a loess covered area, and the second in a rocky area. Hydrological data collected in the loess area point to a very high frequency of channel flow. However, even in extreme rain events, peak discharges are extremely low, pointing to a limited
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Activity patterns of leopards (Panthera pardus) and temporal overlap with their prey in an arid depredation hotspot of southern Africa J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Sam Puls; Kristine J. Teichman; Corlé Jansen; M. Justin O'Riain; Bogdan Cristescu
The ecology of wildlife in remote arid regions with free-range livestock farming activities remains largely unexplored. We studied the temporal activity patterns of African leopards (Panthera pardus) in relation to prey in Namaqualand, South Africa, a semi-desert ecosystem with extensive livestock farming and a protected area. Camera trapping in winter and summer 2014–2015 (n = 95 stations) showed
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First anthrachological studies at the eastern Pampa-Patagonia transition (Argentina). Hunter-gatherers management of woody material and Initial Late Holocene vegetal communities inferred from the Zoko Andi 1 archaeological site J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Gustavo Martínez; Mariana Brea; Gustavo A. Martínez; Alejandro F. Zucol
In the lower basin of the Colorado River (Buenos Aires province, Argentina) the Zoko Andi 1 archaeological site was occupied by hunter-gatherer groups during the Late Holocene (ca. 1500–400 14C years BP). The site is the only one in the entire study area that has an important presence of charcoals in a stratigraphic context, particularly related to the Lower Component, dated at ca. 1500–1300 14C years
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Climate change effects on waterhole persistence in rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin, Australia J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Bernie Cockayne
The episodic, seasonal hydrology of Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) rivers produce a series of waterholes which provide critical aquatic refugia and essential water supply during predominantly dry periods. This study used direct measures of water loss, regional meteorological data, and waterhole bathymetry to develop calibrated waterhole persistence models in a range of waterhole types throughout the Queensland
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Shrubs facilitate perennial bunchgrass recruitment in drylands under experimental precipitation change J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-15 Elizabeth K. Swanson; Roger L. Sheley; Jeremy J. James
Increasing extremes in climate related weather events pose a major threat to plant recruitment in drylands. Research has shown facilitation effects by shrubs to improve recruitment in arid regions, however it remains unclear if these effects vary between soil types, early life stages and in both severe precipitation and drought events. We test if shrubs facilitate abundance of both seedlings and juveniles
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An assessment of seed head and flag leaf contributions to reproductive effort in sagebrush steppe bunchgrasses J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-14 Erik P. Hamerlynck; Rory C. O'Connor
North American sagebrush-steppe bunchgrasses primarily establish from seed; however, the importance of parental plant carbon from flag leaves or within the seed head itself to reproduction in perennial bunchgrasses is unknown. To address this, we experimentally removed flag leaves and shaded seed heads to assess their importance to reproduction in the exotic bunchgrass crested wheatgrass (Agropyron
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Persistent adventitious and basal root development during salt stress tolerance in Echinocactus platyacanthus (Cactaceae) seedlings J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-12 Ulises Rosas; José Antonio Lara-González; Alejandro De-la-Rosa-Tilapa; Teresa Terrazas
Echinocactus platycanthus is a remarkable globular cacti that can reach sizes up to 2 m in diameter, and is known for its high tolerance to salt stress, as they inhabit arid environments where salinity is prominent. Understanding the early developmental events of salt tolerance and stress responses will help understand how seedlings establish in arid environments. Thus, we asked how E. platyacanthus
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Applications of bio-cementation and bio-polymerization for aeolian erosion control J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-09 Rituraj Devrani; Anant Aishwarya Dubey; K. Ravi; Lingaraj Sahoo
This study investigates soil stabilization through two soil strengthening techniques, specifically; Bio-cementation through Microbial induced calcite precipitation (MICP) and Bio-polymerization using Xanthan gum for aeolian erosion control applications. The performances of these techniques were evaluated in terms of improvement in Threshold friction velocity (TFV), soil mass loss (%), and soil crust
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Rapid increase of potential evapotranspiration weakens the effect of precipitation on aridity in global drylands J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2021-01-04 Ning Pan; Shuai Wang; Yanxu Liu; Yan Li; Feng Xue; Fangli Wei; Haipeng Yu; Bojie Fu
Drylands are of great significance on terrestrial ecosystems and economic development, while being sensitive to climate changes and human activities. How global drylands extent and climate changed is not clear, and the dominant factor is the dispute over enhanced air evaporative demand and insufficient precipitation. This study attempted to fill this gap by exploring the trends in dryland areas, aridity
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Functional performance of biocrusts across Europe and its implications for drylands J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-31 Jose Raggio; Allan Green; Ana Pintado; Leopoldo G. Sancho; Burkhard Büdel
The Soil Crust International (SCIN) project was a multidisciplinary attempt to obtain a complete understanding of biocrusts communities across Europe, including among the monitored locations the Tabernas badlands in Spain, the driest habitat in the whole continent. Here we provide an overview in a Mini-Review format of our research about the functional performance of the more relevant biocrust forming
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Hypolithic refuges: Influence of habitat availability, microclimate, and predation on hypolithic invertebrates in the eastern karoo, South Africa J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-31 Tara van der Westhuizen; Marietjie Landman; Graham I.H. Kerley
Invertebrate communities occupying hypolithic habitats at the rock-soil interface are diverse and can contribute significantly to ecosystem functioning, especially in arid environments. However, these communities are poorly understood. We tested three hypotheses of processes that may structure these communities, these reflecting species-area relationships, microclimate refuges and the effects of predation
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The contribution of frankincense to the agro-pastoral household economy and its potential for commercialization - A case from Borana, southern Ethiopia J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-29 Yonas Berhanu; Pål Vedeld; Ayana Angassa; Jens B. Aune
Frankincense, gum arabic and myrrh are among the most valuable commercial non-timber forest products in the drylands of eastern Africa. This study examines the frankincense value chain and its contribution to the household economy in southern Ethiopia. The study applied a combination of sustainable livelihood and value chain framework to assess the values and the contribution of frankincense to household
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Past, present and future distribution of Bouteloua gracilis, a key species of North American grasslands, changes related to climate change J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-29 Marcela Avendaño-González; María Elena Siqueiros-Delgado
The emergence of North American grasslands occurred no earlier than the postglacial period. As a key species, Bouteloua gracilis has been widely studied, and authors have suggested a northward migration from Mexico towards the United States. B. gracilis is extremely vulnerable to present global climate change and distribution modeling at different times (Last Glacial Maximum-LGM, mid-Holocene, Present
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Diet selected by goats on xerophytic shrubland with different milk yield potential J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-26 S. García-Monjaras; R.E. Santos-Díaz; M.J. Flores-Najera; V. Cuevas-Reyes; C.A. Meza-Herrera; M. Mellado; A.J. Chay-Canul; C.A. Rosales-Nieto
We hypothesized that diet choice of mixed-breed goats on xerophytic shrubland of northern Mexico depends on their milk yield potential. During winter and spring (dry season), milk yield was recorded and forage samples were collected weekly. Goats were separated into a medium (MP; n = 20) or low-milk yielding groups (LP; n = 20). Total milk yield for 105 d lactation was 45.2 ± 12.5 and 20.7 ± 5.2 L
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Physical protection of soil organic carbon through aggregates in different land use systems in the semi-arid region of Brazil J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-26 Paulo Henrique Marques Monroe; Patrícia Anjos Bittencourt Barreto-Garcia; Welluma Teixeira Barros; Francisco Garcia Romeiro Barbosa de Oliveira; Marcos Gervasio Pereira
The objectives of this work were to quantify the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock and to evaluate the distribution of soil aggregates and their respective SOC and labile carbon (LC) present inside the aggregates in different perennial land use systems in the semi-arid region of Brazil. Soil samples were collected in four land use systems: two forage palm cultivation systems of different ages, a mango
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Can spineless forage cactus be the queen of forage crops in dryland areas? J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-25 Rubem Ramos Rocha Filho; Djalma Cordeiro Santos; Antonia Sherlânea Chaves Véras; Michelle Christina Bernardo Siqueira; Luciano Patto Novaes; Robert Mora-Luna; Carolina Corrêa Figueiredo Monteiro; Marcelo Andrade Ferreira
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of five forage cactus genotypes (“Gigante,” “Miúda," “IPA Sertânia," “Orelha de Elefante Mexicana” [OCP], and “Orelha de Elefante Africana” [ACP]) in sheep. The goal was also to show the importance of energy content compared with other forages produced in dryland conditions. Five male sheep cannulated were randomized in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. The experimental
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Fire changes the spatial pattern and dynamics of soil nitrogen (N) and δ15N at a grassland-shrubland ecotone J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-25 Guan Wang; Junran Li; Sujith Ravi; Bethany Theiling; William Burger
Fire disturbance represents a major driver of soil nitrogen (N) distribution in many arid and semiarid grasslands. The spatial patterns of soil N and δ 15 N at microsite scale following fires, however, are rarely studied. Here we investigated the spatial distribution of soil N and soil δ 15 N before and within three years after a prescribed fire in a grassland-shrubland ecotone in the northern Chihuahuan
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Hydrothermal modulation of NDVI in the high-altitude semiarid Andes of Chile (30–34°S) J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-24 Valeria M. Rudloff; José A. Rutllant; Alejandra Martel-Cea; Antonio Maldonado
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Prediction of habitat suitability for the desert monitor (Varanus griseus caspius) under the influence of future climate change J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-24 Shabnam Shadloo; Shirin Mahmoodi; Mahboubeh Sadat Hosseinzadeh; Seyed Mahdi Kazemi
Varanus griseus caspius (desert monitor) is a predator included appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species; therefore, it is crucial to plan for its conservation. In this study, the suitable habitats of the desert monitor, Varanus griseus caspius, were evaluated in Iran, considering 10 environmental factors, for three periods of time: mid-Holocene, current, and years 2041–2060
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Population density and use of space by Kerodon rupestris: An endemic and threatened rodent in the semiarid areas of Brazil J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-24 Anderson Mendonça Conceição; Adriana Bocchiglieri
Population density and use of space by the rodent, Kerodon rupestris, were investigated in a semiarid area in Brazil. Distance sampling was used along line transects to estimate population density. Observations of K. rupestris were recorded on rocks, open ground, and in vegetation. The air temperature and the height of the vegetation were recorded for each observation. The frequencies of these observations
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Variation in leaf xeromorphism in the desert palm genus Washingtonia (Arecaceae) J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-19 Vanessa Pérez; Andrea Arévalo; Lorena Villanueva-Almanza; Exequiel Ezcurra
Washingtonia palms occur scattered in oases and canyons of the larger Sonoran Desert from lat. 24° to lat. 34° N. Northern oases have an arid temperate climate while those in the south experience seasonally dry, tropical conditions. A marked latitudinal cline in morphological characters has been described within the genus. We hypothesized that aridity-adapted leaf traits in Washingtonia palms, such
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Eco-geomorphological connectivity and coupling interactions at hillslope scale in drylands: Concepts and critical examples J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-19 A. Calvo-Cases; E. Arnau-Rosalén; C. Boix-Fayos; J. Estrany; M.J. Roxo; E. Symeonakis
The diagnosis of land degradation requires a deep understanding of ecosystem functioning and evolution. In dryland systems, in particular, research efforts must address the redistribution of scarce resources for vegetation, in a context of high spatial heterogeneity and non-linear response. This fact explains the prevalence of eco-hydrological perspectives interested in runoff processes and, the more
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Examining the reversal of soil erosion decline in the hotspots of sandstorms: A non-linear ecosystem dynamic perspective J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-19 Chong Jiang; Zhiyuan Yang; Xinchi Wang; Xinling Dong; Zhouyuan Li; Congying Li
Land degradation neutrality (LDN) has been widely recognized as an important target to achieve goals for global sustainable development. Ecological restoration projects (ERPs) are considered a traditional approach to mitigate wind erosion by altering the structures and functions of the ecosystem. Thus, the efficiency of China's historical large-scale ERPs for wind erosion mitigation should be examined
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The human hunter as predator: A new role under a food web restoration scenario J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-17 Jorge Cassinello
Pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer populations were fully integrated in natural systems, they played an ecological role as top predators affecting food web dynamics according to predator-prey models, through which they maintained and controlled prey species numbers. However, human abilities to adapt to changing environments and different habitats as well as their capacity to expand, allowed them to occupy
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Determining the potential impacts of fire and different land uses on splash erosion J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-17 María Fernández-Raga; Estefanía García Gutiérrez; Saskia D. Keesstra; Reyes Tárrega; João P. Nunes; Elena Marcos; Jesús Rodrigo-Comino
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Collaborative foundations of herding: The formation of cooperative groups among Tibetan pastoralists J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-16 Marius Warg Næss
The pastoral literature place little emphasis on the cooperative aspect of being a pastoralist. Part of the neglect stems from conflating the livestock owning unit, i.e. the household, with the herding group. Among Tibetan pastoralists, the herding group consist of people and animals from one or several households. They herd in groups because there is an optimal size of the herd concerning daily herding:
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Tell me where you live and I'll tell you who you are: Spatial segregation of southern species of Eligmodontia Cuvier in Patagonia, Argentina J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-15 Trinidad Ruiz Barlett; Gabriel Martin; María Fabiana Laguna; Guillermo Abramson; Adrián Monjeau
Eligmodontia morgani and E. typus are two small (<25 g) sigmodontine rodents that live in dry areas of southern Argentina. The species are very difficult to distinguish in the field, so their geographical delimitation has always been the subject of controversy. In this work we used sampling sites where each species has been previously identified by its karyotypes and mtDNA, and modeled their potential
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Quantifying the influences of land surface parameters on LST variations based on GeoDetector model in Syr Darya Basin, Central Asia J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-09 Wei Wang; Alim Samat; Jilili Abuduwaili; Yongxiao Ge
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Habitat heterogeneity shapes and shifts scorpion assemblages in a Brazilian seasonal dry tropical forest J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-08 André F.A. Lira; Jonathas C. Araujo; Felipe N.A.A. Rego; Stênio I.A. Foerster; Cleide M.R. Albuquerque
Previous observations support predictions that habitat structure plays a major role in the distribution of species in several tropical regions. In such environments, arthropods are a key component of ecosystems because they are predators that may directly influence the energy flow dynamics in the ecosystem. As such, we investigated the effects of environmental structure on scorpion diversity in the
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Simulations of spatial patterns and species distributions in sandy land using unmanned aerial vehicle images J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-06 Yin Wu; Jing Zhang; Feng Wang; Yongyu Song; Jie Ji
The spatial distribution of vegetation in sandy lands is closely related to micro-topography. Point pattern analysis of vegetation distribution from ground surveys and satellite images is a commonly used method but does not capture the influence of spatial heterogeneity at small scales. This study examined long-term ecological observation sites of elm (Ulmus pumila) sparse forest in the Otindag Sandy
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Balance of water supply and consumption during ecological restoration in arid regions of Inner Mongolia, China J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-06 Xiaoyu Zhang; Duanyang Xu; Ziyu Wang; Yue Zhang
Water shortage is a critical obstacle to socioeconomic development and ecological restoration in arid regions. In this study, soil-vegetation water use was calculated, and a system dynamic model that coupled economic, societal, and ecological factors was developed to simulate the water-use structure in the Alxa League of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The results showed that the soil–vegetation
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Effects of early irrigation and compost addition on soil and vegetation of a restored semiarid limestone quarry are undetectable after 13 years J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-04 Santiago Soliveres; Elizabeth Gutiérrez-Acevedo; Aymen Moghli; Jordi Cortina-Segarra
Semi-arid environments are strongly limited by water and nutrients, which hinders their recovery after anthropogenic disturbances. Application of compost and irrigation can improve soil fertility and enhance vegetation growth during the restoration of these environments. However, these restoration techniques may also favor the establishment of opportunistic communities and arrest natural succession
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Plant traits interplay to balance pollen limitation in the Brazilian seasonal dry forest: A meta-analysis J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-04 Thiago Amorim; André Maurício Melo Santos; Natan Messias Almeida; Reinaldo Rodrigo Novo; Ana Virgínia de Lima Leite; Cibele Cardoso Castro
Animal pollination is one of the most important ecosystem services that benefit both natural plant communities and plant crops. A failure in pollination service can result in pollen limitation of fruit and seed set. This scenario can be even worse in endangered ecosystems such as tropical dry forests. Pollen limitation is a way of measuring the reproductive performance of plants by comparing the output
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Soil carbon release enhanced by increased litter input in a degraded semi-arid forest soil J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-01 María Betania Naldini; Natalia Pérez Harguindeguy; Esteban Kowaljow
Land use change may modify litter inputs to soil, with important consequences for belowground processes such as organic carbon (C) mineralization. In this study, we experimentally tested the effects of changes on litter quantity and quality on CO2 release in intensively used soils from the Chaco Forest. We applied leaf litter of two species (representing the highest and lowest litter C:N ratio of dominant
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Landscape changes and land degradation in the subalpine belt of the Central Spanish Pyrenees J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-12-01 José M. García-Ruiz; José Arnáez; Yasmina Sanjuán; Juan I. López-Moreno; Estela Nadal-Romero; Santiago Beguería
As with other mountain areas in Europe, the subalpine belt of the Central Spanish Pyrenees (approximately 1600–2200 m a.s.l.) has undergone constant deforestation since the Neolithic era and particularly during the Late Middle Ages, in favour of livestock management and grazing in summer. This furthered the rise of transhumance between the lowlands and the highlands. The abrupt change in land cover
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Salt-tolerant Bacillus species as a promising strategy to mitigate the salinity stress in wheat (Triticum turgidum subsp. durum) J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-26 Arlett L. Ibarra-Villarreal; Azucena Gándara-Ledezma; América Dafne Godoy-Flores; Angélica Herrera-Sepúlveda; Alondra María Díaz-Rodríguez; Fannie Isela Parra-Cota; Sergio de los Santos-Villalobos
Salinity negatively impacts the bacterial diversity associated with crops in commercial fields; however, Bacillus species -due to their great metabolic/genomic background and spore formation-have shown high resilience to this abiotic stress enhancing the tolerance of plants to saline soils. This work aimed to assess the diversity of cultivable salt-tolerant Bacillus species associated with wheat commercial
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Multiple perspectives on a biocultural environment: Landscape ethnoecology in the Brazilian dry forest J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-23 Janay Menezes; Cristina Baldauf
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A review of farming challenges and resilience management in the Sudano-Sahelian drylands of Nigeria in an era of climate change J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-23 Nugun P. Jellason; John S. Conway; Richard N. Baines; Chukwuma C. Ogbaga
Dryland smallholders are faced with the challenges of achieving resilience and agricultural sustainability. This is in addition to constraints such as lack of capital, inputs, and often poor extension services. The risk of extreme weather events poses a great challenge to food security in drylands as the impacts of climate change increases. This paper examines the challenges faced by smallholders and
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Rocks are safe sites for establishment of Bursera seedlings in a seasonally dry tropical forest of Mexico J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-20 Rivera-Ríos Ángel; López-Mata Lauro; Cruz-Rodríguez Juan Antonio
We analyze the effects on seedling survival of Bursera bipinnata, B. copallifera and B. glabrifolia caused by their association with rocks, nurse plants, and in open areas. We hypothesize that the seedling-rock association is the safest for the establishment of all three seedling species. The objective was to investigate the suitability of the associations for seedling establishment and to compare
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Determination of ecological networks for vegetation connectivity using GIS & AHP technique in the Mediterranean degraded karst ecosystems J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-19 Turgay Dindaroglu
Full-scale intensive silvicultural activities, such as afforestation and rehabilitation, can deteriorate the fragile structural features and functions of karst ecosystems. Within these ecosystems, degraded and fragmented habitats can only be connected to each other through a landscape network that poses a positive umbrella effect over these areas. The aim of this research was to determine suitable
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Diets of mammalian carnivores in the deserts of north-eastern South Australia J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-10 Karl Vernes; Stephen M. Jackson; Todd F. Elliott; Max Tischler; Andrew Harper
We studied diets of feral cats (Felis catus), dingoes (Canis familiaris) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in desert environments in north-eastern South Australia by analysing prey remains in opportunistically-collected scats. Four major landscapes were sampled (Simpson Desert, Sturt Stony Desert, Strzelecki Desert – Cooper Creek and Diamantina River) which yielded 238 cat scats, 298 dingo scats and ten
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Shrub-dwelling arthropod assemblages respond differently to grazing disturbance in the southern Monte, Argentina J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-10 Fernando J. Martínez; Pablo M. Dellapé; Alejandro J. Bisigato; Facundo T. Zaffaroni; Germán H. Cheli
Grazing disturbance affects an extensive area of the Monte desert (Argentina). Arthropods are the main faunistic component of the Monte and play key roles in ecosystem processes. The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of grazing on the canopy arthropod assemblages that inhabit three representative shrub species of the southern Monte (Chuquiraga avellanedae, Schinus johnstonii and Larrea divaricata)
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An open-source approach to characterizing Chihuahuan Desert vegetation communities using object-based image analysis J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-07 Andrew R. Bankert; Erin H. Strasser; Cristy G. Burch; Maureen D. Correll
Methods for quantifying vegetative cover across landscapes have, until recently, been limited to ground-based surveys or remote sensing via satellites or aircraft, both of which can limit the spatial scale of resulting data. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) can efficiently collect high-resolution sub-decimeter imagery of landscapes; geographic, object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) of the collected imagery
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Effects of long-term seed storage on germination of 13 cactus species from central Argentina J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-04 Diego E. Gurvich; Marina A. Lorenzati; María Sosa-Pivatto; Karen Bauk; F. Lihuén Barroso
Understanding the effects of long-term seed storage on germination is important to elucidate both soil seed bank dynamics and capacity of seeds to be preserved in ex situ conservation programs. We collected seeds 13 cactus species from central Argentina and conducted the following experiments: germination of freshly collected seeds (2011) and germination of seeds stored for 3 (2014) and 7 years (2018)
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An adaptation capacity model in the face of climate change: A qualitative content analysis J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-01 Maryam Shariatzadeh; Masoud Bijani; Enayat Abbasi; Saeed Morid
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Prescribed fires cause minimal damage to a threatened cactus (Tobusch fishhook cactus, Sclerocactus brevihamatus ssp. tobuschii, Texas, USA) J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-01 Charlotte M. Reemts; Jacqueline R. Ferrato
The effects of fire on cacti depend on individual plant characteristics, fire intensity, and local conditions. Tobusch fishhook cactus (Sclerocactus brevihamatus ssp. tobuschii) is a small (<~7 cm diameter), globose cactus endemic to the Edwards Plateau of central Texas. This species grows in open sites with shallow, rocky soils, surrounded by oak-juniper woodlands and shrublands. Fire is thought to
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Leaf morphophysiological changes induced by long-term drought in Jatropha curcas plants explain the resilience to extreme drought J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-01 Felipe Della Torre; Bruno G. Ferreira; Joni E. Lima; José P. Lemos-Filho; Roberto O.P. Rossiello; Marcel G.C. França
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Actual precipitation, predicted precipitation, and large herbivore condition in arid and semi-arid southern New Mexico J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-11-01 Louis C. Bender; Octavio C. Rosas-Rosas
Precipitation affects large herbivore performance, but data is often available from only a limited number of weather stations that may not correspond with home ranges. Remotely-sensed estimates could potentially address this by providing estimates of precipitation at any point on the landscape. We tested whether 4-km resolution precipitation estimates derived from the Parameter-elevation Relationships
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Rehabilitation of degraded rangelands in Jordan: The effects of mechanized micro water harvesting on hill-slope scale soil water and vegetation dynamics J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-18 S. Strohmeier; S. Fukai; M. Haddad; M. AlNsour; M. Mudabber; K. Akimoto; S. Yamamoto; S. Evett; T. Oweis
Overexploitation and climate change accelerate the degradation of Jordan's arid rangelands. Uncovered and crusted soils increase runoff and erosion and hinder the emergence of the native vegetation. Micro water harvesting combined with shrub-seedling plantation have been widely applied to reverse land degradation trends. However, consequential soil water and vegetation dynamics have been rarely assessed
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The effect of domestic sewage effluent and planting density on growth and yield of prickly pear cactus in the semiarid region of Brazil J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-24 Marcírio de Lemos; Miguel Ferreira-Neto; Cleyton dos Santos Fernandes; Yuri Bezerra de Lima; Nildo Da Silva Dias; José Francismar de Medeiros; Raimundo Fernandes de Brito; Francisco Vanies da Silva Sá
Agricultural and livestock productivity in the semiarid region depend on the occurrence of rainfall, soil fertility and forage supply. The use of domestic sewage effluent can be used as an alternative source of water and nutrients for crops growth in the semiarid region. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of irrigation with treated domestic sewage effluent on the growth and biomass production
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Contributions of water harvesting technologies intervention in arid and semi-arid regions of Ethiopia, in ensuring households’ food security, Tigray in focus J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-24 Tesfay Asgele Gebru; Grmay Kassa Brhane; Yohannes Gerezihier Gebremedhin
Interventions of water harvesting technologies (WHTs) in drought-prone areas like the Tigray region (northern Ethiopia) is an option less strategy to alleviate food insecurity issues emanating from water scarcity. Hence, wide spectrums of WHTs were applied in Tigray Region in the last three decades. Thus, this study aimed to assess the WHTs and the subsequent contributions in ensuring households’ food
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The plight of camels eating plastic waste J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-23 Marcus Eriksen; Amy Lusher; Mia Nixon; Ulrich Wernery
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Climate change and variability perceptions and adaptations of pastoralists’ communities in the Maasai Steppe, Tanzania J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-26 Happiness J. Nnko; Paul S. Gwakisa; Anibariki Ngonyoka; Anna Estes
Designing adaptation strategies to climate change and variability impacts requires an understanding of people's perception of climate change. Despite Maasai of the Maasai Steppe being vulnerable to climate change, how communities understood and interpret climate change have received little attention. A cross-sectional study of community's perceptions of climate change and adaptation was conducted.
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Assessing land degradation induced by recreational activities in the Algodones Dunes, California using MODIS satellite imagery J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-30 Suet-Yi Cheung; Ian J. Walker; Soe W. Myint; Ronald I. Dorn
This research investigated spatial and temporal environmental changes associated with climatic variability and off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity in the Algodones Dunes, California, using time-series analysis of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer imagery from 2001 to 2016. We compared changes in land cover, surface albedo, and surface temperatures between the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation
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The occurrence and distribution of bats in Qatar J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-29 Maktom Abdulrahman; Andrew Gardner; Nobuyuki Yamaguchi
The distributions of bat species in Qatar have not previously been recorded. We conducted the first nation-wide survey of bats in Qatar. Based on sonogram analysis, we identified Asellia tridens, Otonycteris hemprichii, and Pipistrellus kuhlii. The most commonly recorded species was Asellia tridens, the only species recorded in the northern half of the country. Contrary to our prediction, the likelihood
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Evolutionary success in arid habitats: Morpho-anatomy of succulent leaves of Crassula species from southern Africa J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-16 Marc Fradera-Soler; Paula J. Rudall; Christina J. Prychid; Olwen M. Grace
Succulence is widely interpreted as an adaptation to drought, usually associated with CAM and xeromorphic features among arid-adapted plants. However, this syndrome can also be observed in species typical of mesic and even hydric environments. The leaf-succulent genus Crassula (Crassulaceae) occurs in contrasting habitats in all nine biomes of southern Africa. This study represents the first to compare
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Migration under economic transition and changing climate in Mongolia J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-17 Yecheng Xu; Yaoqi Zhang; Jiquan Chen
Migration has become an adaptation strategy in response to economic transition and changing climate in the arid Mongolia. This paper reviews migration in Mongolia in the past few decades, particularly from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s using the data during 2001–2014 of the Mongolia National Labor Survey. Urbanization accounted for over 80% of all migration, mostly into the capital city Ulaanbaatar
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Evaluation of a composite drought index to identify seasonal drought and its associated atmospheric dynamics in Northern Punjab, Pakistan J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-15 Ghazala Qaiser; Shahina Tariq; Shahzada Adnan; Muhammad Latif
Drought is one of the most devastating climate extremes in terms of its spatial extent and intensity. Rainfed areas are extremely vulnerable to drought, but effective monitoring may lessen the impact of such events. This study developed a composite drought index (CDI) for monitoring and assessing seasonal droughts in rainfed areas of the Potwar Plateau of Pakistan, using remotely sensed and observed
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Assessing long-term spatio-temporal variability in humidity and drought in Iran using Pedj Drought Index (PDI) J. Arid Environ. (IF 1.83) Pub Date : 2020-10-15 Azam Lashkari; Masoud Irannezhad; Hossein Zare; Lev Labzovskii
Although drought is a normal feature of climate, there is confusion about its characteristics in both arid and semi-arid regions. This study investigated the effects of changes in precipitation and temperature on spatio-temporal drought and humidity variations throughout the diverse (principally arid- and semi-arid) climates of Iran during recent decades using the Pedj Drought Index (PDI). The standardized
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