To determine suitable indices for vegetation cover and production assessment based on remote sensing data, simultaneous digital data with field data belonged to summer rangeland of southern part of Isfahan province were analyzed. During 2 years of monitoring, annuals, grasses, forbs and shrubs vegetation cover and total production data from sixty 1 square meter plots in each site were collected...

according to the unccd definition, “desertification” is land degradation in arid, semi-aridand dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations andhuman activities. it has been recognized as a major economic, social, and environmentalproblem in many countries of the world. the medalus methodology is a practical approachto assess the present status of desertifica...

Visual obstruction as a method to quantify herbaceous biomass in southern African semi-arid savannas Dave Joubert, Larkin A Powell & Walter H Schacht To cite this article: Dave Joubert, Larkin A Powell & Walter H Schacht (2015) Visual obstruction as a method to quantify herbaceous biomass in southern African semi-arid savannas, African Journal of Range & Forage Science, 32:3, 225-230, DOI: 10.2...

Livestock grazing potentially has substantial influence on fuel characteristics in rangelands around the globe. However, information quantifying the impacts of grazing on rangeland fuel characteristics is limited, and the effects of grazing on fuels are important because fuel characteristics are one of the primary factors determining risk, severity, continuity, and size of wildfires. We investi...

The arid zone encompasses land that has an imbalance between precipitation and losses through evaporation. Globally, arid zones comprise large part of many countries in the mid-latitudes in both the Northern and the Southern hemispheres. Both Australia and Iran are countries with a large arid zone. This negative water balance in the arid zone affects the type of land use in these countries. At ...

Salvia verbenaca (wild sage) is a commonly cultivated herbal medicine plant, which is native to the Mediterranean climate regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. However, it has become an invasive species in semi-arid and arid regions of southern Australia. Two varieties are present in this region, var. verbenaca and var. vernalis, each of which can be distinguished by differences ...

abstract earthworms are an important component of soil fauna, and play a crucial role in the improvement of soil properties. however, very little is known of the interactive influence of earthworms and organic materials on soil enzyme activities, particularly in arid and semi-arid soils. the low organic matter content and the significant role of earthworms in stimulating microbiological and bio...