Research on desert water management and desert control

Desert Transformation or D‌esertification Control?

The UNCCD has been ratified by over 190 countries. It is the attempt by nations, both rich and poor to control the scourge of desertification. The definition of which is “land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. It is now widely accepted that desertification is not the relentless advance of des...

Desert Dermatoses (Thar Desert, India)

Desert dermatology describes the cutaneous changes and the diseases affecting those living in the desert. Diurnal variation in temperature is high and is characteristic of the deserts. The lack of water affects daily activities and impacts dermatological conditions. Adaptation to the desert is, therefore, important to survival. Infections are the most common conditions seen among this populatio...

Management of Dryland and Desert Areas

Urban Ethnohydrology: Cultural Knowledge of Water Quality and Water Management in a Desert City

Popular concern over water quality has important implications for public water management because it can both empower water utilities to improve service but also limit their ability to make changes. In the desert city of Phoenix, Arizona, obtaining sufficient high-quality water resources for a growing urban population poses a major challenge. Decision makers and urban hydrologists are aware of ...

Surface control of desert pavement pedologic process and landscape function, Cima Volcanic field, Mojave Desert, California

Desert pavement is a distinctive feature widespread across arid lands of the world. It plays a dynamic role in geomorphic, hydrologic, and ecologic processes. Where desert pavement predominates, infiltration is limited and rainfall is delivered as runoff to nearby bare ground areas where shrubs cluster. Desert pavement surfaces may appear monotonously flat and barren, but we have found, instead...