abstract. from the perspectives of many environmental and conservative policy makers, improving and diversifying the livelihoods have been found as a mechanism to promote the livelihoods and persuade people to avoid the overexploitation and degradation of natural resources. due to the fragility of the environment and inconsistency of incomes, the alternative income sources may be promised to wa...

[1] To determine the location of the potential dust source regions and to evaluate the dust emission frequencies over the arid and semiarid areas of China and Mongolia (35.5 N–47 N; 73 E–125 E), we established a map of Z0 from the composition of protrusion coefficient (PC) derived from the POLDER-1 bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). Using a =4 =4 resolution Z0 data set, we ...

This manuscript presents the measurement of scattering and absorption properties of dust aerosol from a comprehensive field campaign in a Gobi farmland region of northwest China during spring 2012. Overall, the manuscript could make a good contribution to the scientific research by providing useful scientific knowledge on the interaction among dust aerosol, atmospheric chemistry, and climate ch...

No evidence for differential biomass and mineral content in adult plants grown 1 from dimorphic seeds of Suaeda aralocaspica 2 3 Lei Wang · Chang-Yan Tian · Zhen-Ying Huang 4 5 Lei Wang · Chang-Yan Tian 6 State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and 7 Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China 8 9 Zhen-Ying Huang 10 State Key Laboratory o...

The darkling beetle, Sternoplax souvorowiana (Reitter) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is flightless and lives in the Guerbantonggut desert in northwestern China. Its special eggshell structure, day-active habit, large body size, short life cycle, and ease of rearing under laboratory conditions make it an excellent model for advanced studies on desert adaptation. Determining the sex of this beetle...

The vast expanse of the Gobi desert across the Mongolian plateau features frequent dust storms. In this isolated region remote sensing techniques can provide an effective measurement of dust storms. Brightness temperature channels 4, 5 of AVHRR/NOAA satellite data, emissive bands of MODIS/TERRA satellite data, and meteorological station measurement data were used and tested for dust and sandsto...

In China, species of Atraphaxis (Polygonaceae) primarily inhabit arid zones across temperate steppe and desert regions. The complex geologic history (e.g., expansion of deserts) and extreme climate shifts of the region appear to have played an important role in shaping the phylogeography of Atraphaxis. The present study focuses on species-level phylogeographic patterns of Atraphaxis in China, w...

Drought and soil salinity reduce agricultural output worldwide. Plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can enhance plant growth and augment plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Haloxylon ammodendron, a C4 perennial succulent xerohalophyte shrub with excellent drought and salt tolerance, is naturally distributed in the desert area of northwest China. In our previous work, a bacte...

BACKGROUND Habitat fragmentation, water resources and biological characteristics are important factors that shape the genetic structure and geographical distribution of desert plants. Analysis of the relationships between these factors and population genetic variation should help to determine the evolutionary potential and conservation strategies for genetic resources for desert plant populatio...

This paper gives the dust emission inventory in the Northern China where the climate is very dry and large desert areas exist. Before calculating the distribution of fugitive dust emission factors (emission rates of particles smaller than 0.05 mm in diameter) from natural surfaces with a US EPA formula, Chinese data of pedology and climatology were processed so as to suit requirements of the fo...