This study presents a global scale analysis of cropping intensity, crop duration and fallow land extent computed by using the global dataset on monthly irrigated and rainfed crop areas MIRCA2000. MIRCA2000 was mainly derived from census data and crop calendars from literature. Global cropland extent was 16 million km around the year 2000 of which 4.4 million km (28%) was fallow, resulting in an...

Retrieval of eco-hydrological variables/parameters from the orld’s cold and arid regions using remote sensing is more chalenging compared to other regions, and less research work on uantitative remote sensing has been carried out in these specific egions. This is because: (1) Cold and arid regions are most likely o be located in theworld’s remote and relatively under-developed reas, where conve...

For the frangible ecological environment, it is very important to reasonably develop and utilize groundwater resources in Northwest China. Shallow groundwater level is an essential factor related to the eco-environmental problems such as oasis degeneration and land salinification. The lack of groundwater dynamic data is a critical concern for water resources management in the arid region. This ...

Stomatal regulation of leaf gas exchange with the atmosphere is a key process in plant adaptation to the environment, particularly in semi-arid regions with high atmospheric evaporative demand. Development of stomata, integrating internal signaling and environmental cues sets the limit for maximum diffusive capacity of stomata, through size and density and is under a complex genetic control, th...

OBJECTIVE Unreclaimed mine tailings sites are a worldwide problem, with thousands of unvegetated, exposed tailings piles presenting a source of contamination for nearby communities. Tailings disposal sites in arid and semiarid environments are especially subject to eolian dispersion and water erosion. Phytostabilization, the use of plants for in situ stabilization of tailings and metal contamin...

R. Liu, J. Wen, X. Wang, L. Wang, H. Tian, T. T. Zhang, X. K. Shi, J. H. Zhang, and SH. N. Lu Laboratory of Climate Environment and Disasters of Western China, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China Received: 25 December 2008 – Accepted: 12 January 2009 – Published: 23 February 2009 Correspondence to: J. ...

CA-AIV-4754 was investigated during the summer of 1997 as part of the City of La Quinta's Adams Street widening project. This well-stratified sand dune deposit was initially an encampment associated with the exploitation of fish during the last stand of ancient Lake Cahuilla. With the desiccation of the lake the site remained in use sporadically and exhibited a change in sUbsistence practices r...

Environmental variation is a potent force affecting phenotypic expression. While freshwater fishes have provided a compelling example of the link between the environment and phenotypic diversity, few studies have been conducted with arid-zone fishes, particularly those that occur in geographically isolated regions where species typically inhabit intermittent and ephemeral creeks. We investigate...

Desalination was for long considered a technology too expensive to adopt in most arid countries except those with large reserves of fossil fuels and affluent economies. Recent advances in desalination technology have abolished this old paradigm and have increased its market share in many arid and semi-arid countries. Nevertheless, the introduction of a desalination plant will inevitably be asso...

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the water balance in a semi-arid environment with limited in situ data using a remote sensing approach. We focus on the Lake Manyara catchment, located within the East African Rift of northern Tanzania. We use a distributed conceptual hydrological model driven by remote sensing data to study the spatial and temporal variability of water balance parameter...