Based on soil characteristics, watertable level, mineral composition of plant biomass, morphological/reproductive traits and carbon discrimination values, a new concept for the classification of halophytes was developed. Six main groups of halophytes have been described within the desert flora of Central Asia. Significant changes on chemical contents of ions: Cl⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, HCO₃ ⁻, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺among 23 studied halophytic forage species were revealed.

This study aims to document various community efforts in land rehabilitation and assess their potential. Data were captured using interviews and focus group with 150 community members. A public participation index was used to establish the extent of community efforts in land rehabilitation. The study revealed that in the absence of proper management and dune stabilisation, large areas covered with mobile sand dunes continue to be a threat to grazing lands in northern Kenya. In recognition of this threat, the people of North Horr have launched several initiatives to contain the problem.

Recent increase in atmospheric concentration of CO₂ and decrease in land-based sink capacity are attributed to numerous anthropogenic activities including increase in severity and extent of soil degradation and desertification. There is a strong link between desertification and global warming with positive feedback of mutual reinforcement. The biophysical process is also driven by social, economic, political, and cultural factors such as overgrazing by local Bedouin population.

Soil erosion and contamination are two main desertification indices or land degradation agents in agricultural areas. Global climate change consequence is a priority to predict global environmental change impacts on these degradation risks. This agro-ecological approach can be especially useful when formulating soil specific agricultural practices based on the spatial variability of soils and related resources to reverse environmental degradation.

Launched in 1994, the Alternatives to Slash-and-Burn Programme is a multidisciplinary collaborative research effort aimed at addressing the issue of deforestation. This article analyzes the genesis and the history of this research effort and the causes of its successes and failures. I will show that despite the genuine commitment of the ASB Programme to achieve comprehensive analysis linking the social and the biophysical realms, its conclusions and recommendations were biased in favor of biophysical models whose adoption by farmers remained low.

Charismatic groups of animals and plants often are proposed as sentinels of environmental status and trends. Nevertheless, many claims that a certain taxonomic group can provide more-general information on environmental quality are not evaluated critically. To address several of the many definitions of indicator species, we used butterflies to explore in some detail the attributes that affect implementation of indicators generically.

Natural and anthropogenic processes are causing extensive and rapid ecological, social, and economic changes in arid and semiarid ecosystems worldwide. Nowhere are these changes more evident than in the Great Basin of the western United States, a region of 400,000 km² that largely is managed by federal agencies.

Like many arid and semiarid regions, the Great Basin of the western United States is undergoing major ecological, social, and economic changes that are having widespread detrimental effects on the structure, composition, and function of native ecosystems. The causes of change are highly interactive and include urban, suburban, and exurban growth, past and present land uses, climate change, altered fire regimes, and rapid expansion of invasive species.

Flooding regimes in arid and semi-arid regions are heavily influenced by climate change and water shortage, water regulations, and increased water demands. Wetlands managed as part of regulated water systems in agricultural landscapes often require external water supplies to sustain or support desired properties or services. Therefore, water resource managers must weigh water requirements necessary to support wetland functions alongside other water demands.

Desertification, caused by land degradation as opposed to the immediate creation of classical deserts, is of prime concern in the 21st century. As a result of human activities and climate change, the land loses its proper hydrologic function and biological productivity. Desertification affects 33 % of the earth's surface and over a billion people. Fire-related desertification has a number of environmental, social, and economic consequences. The two key environmental consequences are soil erosion and non-native plant invasions. Erosion after wildland fires can be in the range of

The worldwide phenomenon of shrub encroachment in grass-dominated dryland ecosystems is commonly associated with desertification. Studies of the purported desertification effects associated with shrub encroachment are often restricted to relatively few study areas, and document a narrow range of possible impacts upon biota and ecosystem processes.

Microsatellite loci that were previously developed in the tropical tree Tabebuia aurea were used for the genetic analysis of Tabebuia roseo-alba populations. Nine of 10 simple sequence repeat markers were amplified, and the polymorphism was assessed in 58 individuals sampled from two stands in southeastern Brazil. All loci were polymorphic with Mendelian inheritance. The allele numbers were high, ranging from 5 to 13 in population I and 3 to 7 in population II, with means of 8.9 and 5.5, respectively.