Plants can respond to soil conditions in ways that can not readily be explained in terms of the ability of the roots to take up water and nutrients. Roots may sense difficult conditions in the soil and thence send inhibitory signals to the shoots which harden the plants against the consequences of a deteriorating or restrictive environment, especially if the plants' water supply is at risk. Gen...

Aquaporins are believed to be involved in homeosmotic mechanisms of marine teleosts. Increasing data suggest that these molecular water channels play critical roles associated with the adaptation of gametes and early embryos to the external spawning environment. In this mini-review, we discuss recent studies suggesting the function of aquaporin-mediated fluid homeostasis during spermatozoa acti...

water is being left in rivers to sustain the valuable environmental services that they provide to society. This is jeopardizing species that depend on fresh water—as well as the livelihoods of farmers, fishers, and downstream communities and water users. Tools have now been developed to help planners establish the water needs of specific environments, even when little data is available. But pol...

Kabul, the capital and largest city in Afghanistan has been experiencing a massive population expansion and fast economic development in last decade, in which urban land has increasingly expanded and formed a high informal development territory in the city. This paper investigates the urban land development direction based on the integrated urbanization trends in Kabul city since the last and t...

The state of knowledge and outstanding challenges and opportunities in global water cycle observations, research and modeling are briefly reviewed to set the stage for the reasons behind the new thrusts promoted by the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) as Grand Challenges to be addressed on a 5to 10-year time frame. Those focused on water are led by the GEWEX (Global Energy and Water Exch...

Water quantity and quality joint operation is a new mode in the present dams' operation research. It has become a hot topic in governmental efforts toward integrated basin improvement. This paper coupled a water quantity and quality joint operation model (QCmode) and genetic algorithm with Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Together, these tools were used to explore a reasonable operation o...