The temporal dynamics of dew formation in cold desert-shrub ecosystems are still poorly understood. We examined dew and its abiotic controls in a shrubland in northwestern China with continuous eddy-covariance measurements of latent heat fluxes gathered over the growing-season of 2012. The dew amount was larger in mid-summer than in spring and autumn, but the dew duration was shorter in summer ...

It is generally considered that desert ecosystems release CO2 to the atmosphere, but recent studies in drylands have shown that the soil can absorb CO2 abiotically. However, the mechanisms and exact location of abiotic carbon absorption remain unclear. Here, we used soil sterilization, (13)CO2 addition, and detection methods to trace (13)C in the soil of the Mu Us Desert, northern China. After ...

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...

BACKGROUND Climate change scenarios that include precipitation shifts and nitrogen (N) deposition are impacting carbon (C) budgets in arid ecosystems. Roots constitute an important part of the C cycle, but it is still unclear which factors control root mass loss and nutrient release in arid lands. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Litterbags were used to investigate the decomposition rate and nu...

A variety of microfauna inhabit the biological soil crusts (biocrusts) of arid soils from all parts of the globe, including the southwestern USA (Bamforth 2004, 2008; Darby et al. 2006, 2007a, b; Neher et al. 2009), the Negev Desert of Israel (Jones and Shachak 1990; Pen-Mouratov et al. 2011), the Tengger Desert of northern China (Liu et al. 2011; Li et al. 2011), Australia (Robinson et al. 200...

The wax blooming beetles Colposcelis microderoides microderoides Reitter and Anatolica polita borealis Kaszab (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) are small, flightless beetles living in the Guerbantonggut desert in the northwestern region of China. These beetles were recently found to have wax blooms, and their short life cycle and ease of rearing under laboratory conditions make them excellent models ...

BACKGROUND Biological soil crusts are common components of desert ecosystem; they cover ground surface and interact with topsoil that contribute to desertification control and degraded land restoration in arid and semiarid regions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To distinguish the changes in topsoil affected by biological soil crusts, we compared topsoil properties across three types of succe...

In this study, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and the multiple linear regression model were used to estimate distribution of biomass resources in 2010. The establishment of models, developed using different vegetation biomass sample data, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), leaf area index (LAI), meteorological data, coordinates, terrain data, and statisti...

Climatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene are usually considered as a significant factor in shaping intraspecific genetic variation and influencing demographic histories. To well-understand these processes in desert northwest China, we selected arid adapted Atraphaxis frutescens as the study species. Two cpDNA regions (psbK-psbI, psbB-psbH) were sequenced in 272 individuals from 33 natural p...

The desert monitor, Varanus griseus, is a species of desert monitor lizard found in North-Western India. They are believed to be non-poisonous. We report a case of Indian desert monitor bite leading to acute renal failure following rhabdomyolysis and severe sepsis. Prompt diagnosis and treatment resulted in the favourable outcome. This is author's intent to highlight the complication that may o...