in this study argillic horizons in calcareous soils of a semiarid region, with xeric and mesic soil moisture and temperature regimes, in the west of urmia lake were studied. thus, a toposequence in different physiographic positions including piedmont plains, plateau, hills and mountains was investigated. in each land type, three soil profiles were dug and described and their morphological prope...

Assessments of adaptation options generally focus on incremental, homogeneous ecosystem responses to climate even though climate change impacts can be big, fast, and patchy across a region. Regional drought-induced tree die-off in semiarid woodlands highlights how an ecosystem crash fundamentally alters most ecosystem services and poses management challenges. Building on previous research showi...

The South American Altiplano in the Andes is, aside from Tibet, the most extensive high plateau on Earth. This semiarid area represents important water resources storages, including the Lakes Titicaca and Poopó located in the northern and central Altiplano, respectively. The two lake basins and the southern saltpans constitute a large watershed, called the Lake Titicaca, Desaguadero River, Lake...

Few microhabitats have been previously identified as natural breeding places for phlebotomine sand flies so far, and little is known about the influence of climate variables in their density. The present study was conducted in a dry region with a semiarid climate, where visceral leishmaniasis occurs in humans and dogs. The occurrence of breeding places in specific microhabitats was investigated...

There is a great deal of interest in constructing Double Skin Facade (DSF) structures which are considered as modern movement in field of Energy Conservation, renewable energies, and Architecture design. This trend provides many conclusive alternatives which are frequently associated with sustainable building. In this paper a building with Double Skin Facade is considered in the semiarid climat...

In arid and semiarid regions most of the solar radiation penetrates through the canopy and reaches the ground, and hence the turbulent exchange coefficient under canopy Cs becomes important. The use of a constant Cs that is only appropriate for thick canopies is found to be primarily responsible for the excessive warm bias of around 10 K in monthly mean ground temperature over these regions in ...

Climatological background Life in the semiarid Sahel belt of tropical North Africa strongly depends on the availability of water and has been repeatedly affected by shifts to more arid climate. The most recent drought occurred in the early 1970’s and 1980’s, with partial recovery during the late 1990’s. High resolution fluvial sediments off Senegal offer the opportunity to study the history of ...

Farmers in semi-arid Zimbabwe prioritise climate variability as their major agricultural productivity-reducing problem. This paper raises the importance of considering local farmers’ perceptions on climate risk, as this greatly influences on-farm investments and decision-making in agricultural management and production in semiarid Zimbabwe. A study was conducted in two districts of semi-arid Zi...

There is currently no consensus on the importance of climate change in Mesoamerican prehistory. Some invoke drought as a causal factor in major cultural transitions, including the abandonment of many sites at 900 CE, while others conclude that cultural factors were more important. This lack of agreement reflects the fact that the history of climate change in many regions of Mesoamerica is poorl...

Soil moisture scarcity has become the major limiting factor of vegetation restoration in the Loess Plateau of China. The aim of this study is: (i) to compare the spatial distribution of deep (up to 5 m) soil moisture content (SMC) beneath the introduced shrub Caragana korshinskii Kom. under different precipitation zones in the Loess Plateau and (ii) to investigate the impacts of environmental f...