We examined the influences of selected environmental variables on stomatal behavior and regulation of transpiration in 26-month-old Acacia koa Gray (koa) stands planted at spacings of 1 x 1 m or 2.5 x 2.5 m and grown without irrigation. Field measurements were made during recovery from an extended 60-day dry period with only 38 mm of precipitation. Biomass and leaf area were also measured at 3-...

To elucidate the mechanisms of thermal adaptation and acclimation in ectothermic aquatic organisms from differing climates, we used a common-garden experiment for thermal stress to investigate the heat shock response of redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdneri) from desert and montane populations. Evidence for adaptation was observed as expression of heat shock genes in fish from the desert...

We report here on two complementary experiments examining the effect of climate on morphological and life-history traits of antlion adults. We first examined whether body size and wing loading of emerging adults are plastic by raising larvae, collected from five antlion populations along Israel's sharp climatic gradient, in two environmental chambers simulating temperature and humidity of deser...

The performance of many desert plant species in North America may decline with the warmer and drier conditions predicted by climate change models, thereby accelerating land degradation and reducing ecosystem productivity. We paired repeat measurements of plant canopy cover with climate at multiple sites across the Chihuahuan Desert over the last century to determine which plant species and func...

Traffic surveillance systems are interesting to many researchers to improve the traffic control and reduce the risk caused by accidents. In this area, many published works are only concerned about vehicle detection in normal conditions. The camera may vibrate due to wind or bridge movement. Detection and tracking of vehicles is a very difficult task when we have bad weather conditions in winter...

Caper (Capparis spinosa L.) is a xerophytic shrub with a remarkable adaptability to harsh environments. This plant species is of great interest for its medicinal/pharmacological properties and its culinary uses. Its phytochemical importance relies on many bioactive components present in different organs and its cultivation can be of considerable economic value. Moreover, taxonomic identificatio...

Understanding how desertification takes place in different ecosystems is an important step in attempting to forecast and prevent such transitions. Dryland ecosystems often exhibit patchy vegetation, which has been shown to be an important factor on the possible regime shifts that occur in arid regions in several model studies. In particular, both gradual shifts that occur by front propagation, ...

Understanding the response mechanisms of litter respiration to soil moisture in water-limited semi-arid regions is of vital importance to better understanding the interplay between ecological processes and the local carbon cycle. In situ soil respiration was monitored during 2010-2012 under various conditions (normal litter, no litter, and double litter treatments) in a 30-year-old artificial b...

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 ...

Human selection for high crop yield under water-limited conditions should have led modern cereal cultivars to invest less in root biomass, be it unconsciously. To test this hypothesis we conducted a pot experiment with two spring wheat cultivars, one old and one modern, both widely grown in the semi-arid regions of China. Using the replacement series method introduced by de Wit, we showed that ...