Droughts can have a severe impact on the dynamics of animal populations, particularly in semi-arid and arid environments where herbivore populations are strongly limited by resource availability. Increased drought intensity under projected climate change scenarios can be expected to reduce the viability of such populations, yet this impact has seldom been quantified. In this study, we aim to fi...

This paper evaluates the usefulness of the hyperspectral imager (HSI) onboard Chinese HJ-1-A small satellite in vegetation mapping. Fractional vegetation cover (FVC) is an important surface microclimate parameter for characterizing land surface vegetation cover as well as the most effective indicator for assessing desertification and crop growth condition. The HJ-1/HSI data were used to calcula...

Contamination of soil and water due to the release of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) is a ubiquitous problem. The problem is more severe in arid and semi-arid coastal regions where most of the petroleum production and related refinery industries are located. Biological treatment of these organic contaminated resources is receiving increasing interests and where applicable, can serve a...

BACKGROUND There have been numerous studies on dinosaur biogeographic distribution patterns. However, these distribution data have not yet been applied to ecological questions. Ecological studies of dinosaurs have tended to focus on reconstructing individual taxa, usually through comparisons to modern analogs. Fewer studies have sought to determine if the ecological structure of fossil assembla...

Healthy forests are essential to human life because they provide food, energy, and other benefits including carbon sequestration. The objective of this study was assess the health status in Mediterranean ecosystems, specifically, arid semi-arid. Four forest reserves directed by Royal Society for Conservation Nature, Jordan were evaluated. Plant indicators [(gas exchange (photosynthesis, stomata...

Abstract Ruins of archaeological structures, mainly dating to the Bronze Age till Byzantine period, were investigated in a case study Petra region southern Jordan and northern Negev desert Israel. They are covered by post-abandonment debris sediments which provided parent material initial soils now developed on ruins. Such have so far rarely been studied although they likely contain significant...