There exists a general consensus that future climate change has the potential to severely impact fragile regions on the planet, especially the semi-arid to arid zones [1]. If adaptation strategies are absent and institutions are not in place for mitigation, economies will suffer and intraand interstate conflicts over the allocation of scarce resources will potentially ensue. These developments,...

This paper analyzes utilization of renewable energy systems and efficient building envelopes in the semi-arid climate. The proposed model evaluates renewable energy systems solutions as well as economic- and energy-efficient construction materials for the net zero-energy buildings (NZEB) in semi-arid climates. The objective of this paper is to optimize total energy cost and environmental impact...

Environmental stress, particularly drought stress can play an important role in reducing plant growth especially during the germination stage in arid and semi-arid regions in Iran. For cultivation of medicinal plants in arid and semi-arid areas, the assessment of their tolerance is very important. In this research, in order to evaluate the effects of salicylic acid pretreatment on enhancement o...

12.2 Biological Crusts of Arid Regions ............................. 346 12.2.1 Characteristic Species ................................................... 346 12.2.2 Taxonomic Problems in Describing Crust Cyanobacteria ...................................................... 347 12.2.3 Environmental Factors .................................................. 348 12.2.3.1 Light .......................

forest canopy rainfall interception loss (i), canopy water storage (s), and the ratio of mean evaporation to mean rainfall intensity () are important components of the water balance in arid and semi-arid climate zones. the goal of this project was to quantify i and s and to evaluate the gash interception model for rainfall interception in a mature semi-arid pinus eldarica medw afforestation pla...