As a primary limiting factor in arid and semiarid regions, precipitation strongly influences soil microbial properties. However, the patterns and mechanisms of soil microbial responses to precipitation have not been well documented. In this study, changes in soil microorganisms along an experimental precipitation gradient with seven levels of precipitation manipulation (i.e., ambient precipitat...

It has been suggested that climates during the Holocene have varied on timescales of about 1500 years, forced by oscillations of a solar cycle. These climatic changes have been implicated as the cause of changes in geological records from, mostly, marine sediments. If there were such changes, and if they were of great enough amplitude to force changes in marine sedimentation, it would be reason...

Expected changes in precipitation over large regions of the world under global climate change will have profound effects on terrestrial ecosystems in arid and semiarid regions. To explore how changes in the amount of precipitation in the growing season would affect soil nitrogen (N) availability in a semiarid ecosystem, we established rainout shelters and irrigation systems by simulating 30% re...

Eco-geomorphology and vegetation patterns in arid and semi-arid regions P. M. Saco, G R. Willgoose, and G. R. Hancock School of Engineering, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, 2308, Australia School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, New South Wales, 2308, Australia Received: 13 June 2006 – Accepted: 30 June 2006 – Published: 30 Aug...

With a vast area of marginal land, the Loess Plateau of China is a promising region for large-scale production of second-generation energy crops. However, it remains unknown whether such production is sustainable in the long run, especially under climate change. Using a regional climate change model, PRECIS, we analyzed the impact of climate change on Miscanthus production in the Loess Plateau....

Turf grasses are considered an integral part of landscape ecological systems worldwide which provide functional, recreational and aesthetic benefits to society and the environment. In arid and semiarid regions (e.g., Mediterranean region), turf grass is usually grown under harsh and unfavorable growing conditions with low rainfall and high rates of evapotranspiration as well as in soils with nu...

It is often necessary to find a simpler method in different climatic regions to calculate reference crop evapotranspiration (ETo) since the application of the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith method is often restricted due to the unavailability of a comprehensive weather dataset. Seven ETo methods, namely the standard FAO-56 Penman-Monteith, the FAO-24 Radiation, FAO-24 Blaney Criddle, 1985 Hargreaves, P...

BACKGROUND As a key strategy for mitigating global climate change, bioenergy production by reducing CO2 emissions plays an important role in ensuring sustainable development. However, land-use change by converting natural ecosystems into energy crop field could create a carbon debt at the beginning. Thus, the potential carbon debt calculation is necessary for determining a promising bioenergy c...