Arid desert ecosystems of the western United States are particularly susceptible to climate change and climate variability. Plants and animals in this region live near their physiological limits for water and temperature stress. Slight changes in temperature or precipitation regimes or a change in the frequency and magnitude of extreme climatic events could therefore substantially alter the com...

BACKGROUND Agave, which is well known for tequila and other liquor production in Mexico, has recently gained attention because of its attractive potential to launch sustainable bioenergy feedstock solutions for semi-arid and arid lands. It was previously found that agave cell walls contain low lignin and relatively diverse non-cellulosic polysaccharides, suggesting unique recalcitrant features ...

in order to assess the satellite data for soil investigation, aster digital data 20 june 2006, field study and phisiochemical properties of soil, were analyzed. all landcover classes including soils are classified based onmorphological and physico-chemical characteristics. images were geocorrected and photomorphic units were selected based upon visual interpretation and sampling in study area. ...

Ð This paper introduces a systematic but simple approach to classifying and ordering sources of risk faced by subject populations. By distinguishing between the incidence and severity of subjective risk perceptions, this method enhances understanding of the nature and variation of risks faced within a population. We demonstrate the usefulness of the method as applied to pastoralist communities ...

Kenyan Maasai is a pastoral society that lives in arid and semi-arid lands across the Kenya — Tanzania border. The society has a barracks-like institution called the Murran system where male youths are formally trained in preparation for community life. The study was conducted among the Maasai of Narok District, Kenya. Being a qualitative study, its data was collected through respondent intervi...

Indigenous sheep of Kenya are very important to resource-poor farmers and pastoralists. They have over time adapted to the harsh environmental conditions of the arid and semi-arid lands where they are faced with challenges of persistent droughts, diseases, conflicts and poor nutrition, yet show resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes. In recent years, these indigenous sheep populations have be...

Commercialization, Office of Arid Lands Studies, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, 250 E. Valencia Road, Tucson, Arizona 85706-6800, U.S.A. b Instituto de Quimica, Universidade Estadual Paulista, CP. 335, 14800-900, Araraquara-SP, Brazil c Departmento de Quimica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil d Division of Plant Pathology and Microbi...

COVER False-colored laser confocal fl uorescence photomicrograph of Microcoleus vaginatus PCC9802 (blue) and Microcoleus steenstrupii SON82 (red) (image width: 0.3 millimeters). These two cyanobacterial strains are representative of the most abundant microbes in soil crusts of the arid lands in the western United States. M. vaginatus favors cooler climates, whereas M. steenstrupii prefers warme...

COVER False-colored laser confocal fl uorescence photomicrograph of Microcoleus vaginatus PCC9802 (blue) and Microcoleus steenstrupii SON82 (red) (image width: 0.3 millimeters). These two cyanobacterial strains are representative of the most abundant microbes in soil crusts of the arid lands in the western United States. M. vaginatus favors cooler climates, whereas M. steenstrupii prefers warme...