Sustainable Land Use in Deserts


Book Description

Changing desert areas for land use implies a lot of ecological problems. These and related ones are dealt with in this book covering various interdisciplinary and international aspects. Large areas in arid and semi-arid regions are already polluted in various ways. One of the biggest problems is the anthropogenic salinization by inadequate means of agriculture and irrigation. Additionally, most arid areas in the world are dramatically overgrazed. Methods and practices of a sustainable land use in deserts are urgently needed in many arid regions. This book gives a broad survey on some of the affected regions of the world as well as some case studies from elsewhere (Aral Sea, Negev desert, Namib desert etc.). Thus, basic and applied sciences are brought together. Water management in deserts, grazing systems or reclamation of desertified areas are among the topics of this book, as well as social and economic aspects.







Design with the Desert


Book Description

Typical development in the American Southwest often resulted in scraping the desert lands of the ancient living landscape, to be replaced with one that is human-made and dependent on a large consumption of energy and natural resources. This transdisciplinary book explores the natural and built environment of this desert region and introduces development tools for shaping its future in a more sustainable way. It offers valuable insights to help promote ecological balance between nature and the built environment in the American Southwest-and in other ecologically fragile regions around the world.




Desert, Drought & Development


Book Description

Summary: Contributed articles presented at various seminars and conferences.




Sustainable Land Management in Greater Central Asia


Book Description

Greater Central Asia encompasses a vast area that includes deserts, natural grasslands, steppes, shrublands and alpine regions. Many of these land types are degraded and productivity is falling at a time when human populations and livestock inventories are on the rise. Ecosystem stability and biodiversity are under threat and there is an urgent need to develop more sustainable land management regimes. This book uses an integrated regional approach to provide a comprehensive exploration of sustainable land development in Central Asia. An interdisciplinary team of experts analyses the economic, ecological, sociological, technological and political factors surrounding sustainable land and water management in the region, sharing potential problems and solutions. As international concern about desertification grows, the book concludes by asking how the region is likely to develop in the future. This book will be of value to scholars, students, policy makers and NGOs with an interest in sustainable development in Central Asia.




Deserts and Desertification


Book Description

A desert is an ecosystem in an arid zone in which sand dunes cover the land and sandstorms often occur. Although desert vegetation is sparse, it plays an important role in ecosystem structure and function. Desertification is one of the most severe environmental problems today. Land desertification can be controlled through many measures, such as eco-villages, eco-agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and the combination of engineering and biology. This edited volume provides new insights into the pattern of desert ecosystems and the progress of desertification control. It is a useful resource for researchers in ecology, forestry, and land desertification control.




The Aral Sea Basin


Book Description

The Aral Sea Basin, which is located in the central Asian part of the former Soviet Union, is undergoing dramatically rapid and intense environmental change. Pervasive human misuse and overuse of its water, land, and other critical natural resources have led to severe degradation of key ecological systems. This book analyses the environmental, human and economic problems that have arisen and presents recommendations for future research needs. Primary focus is on the drying of the Aral Sea, but related issues of diminished river flow, land and water pollution, and degradation, ecosystem deterioration, and adverse effects on humans are also examined.




Desert Problems and Desertification in Central Asia


Book Description

Since 1962 the Desert Institute of the former Academy of Science of the USSR has been conducting research work in the arid and semi-arid zones of central Asia. This outstanding experience in desert and desertification problems, and the possibilities of sustainable land use under difficult environmental conditions is summarized here. The book also gives an overview of the Institute's consulting work within the framework of international projects. This is the first publication allowing readers outside the Russian-speaking world to obtain concise information about the specific constraints and development possibilities of central Asian drylands.




Integrated land use management systems in Uzbekistan – Part 1


Book Description

This is a literature review on land use and integrated land use management systems in Uzbekistan. The review aims to synthesize and examine the state of knowledge and the scope for establishing various integrated resource and land use management strategies such as types of agroforestry systems and integrated pastoral management for the sustainable management of forest and agricultural resources in Uzbekistan. The review also aims to explore land use governance in Uzbekistan, delving into the governance structures, formal and informal institutions, their transformations, and path dependencies that shape the post-socialist realities for Uzbekistan. The report reflects upon the land use governance and management practiсes in Uzbekistan against the key principles and suggestions made in the international academic literature on integrated land use systems and governance in semi-arid regions. Drawing on the experiences made in two pilot sites in Uzbekistan (Bukhara and Navoi) with co-management regimes around livestock herding and agricultural use in forest areas, the report seeks to elaborate governance guidelines and recommendations tailored to the specificities and socioeconomic and ecological challenges of the two pilot regions.




Community and Global Ecology of Deserts


Book Description

The aim and purpose of our book, Community and Global Ecology of Deserts, is to give an overview and report from the frontiers of desert ecological research. The ecology of deserts as a scientific discipline plays a key role in solving many of global problems due to collective adaptation methods and approaches of lifeforms living in extreme environments. If ecologists or environmental scientists are talking about desert ecological research, then almost everyone is thinking about specific desert flora, fauna, or desertification itself as a consequence of climate change, or sand dune-triggered disasters. In fact, the importance of ecological research in deserts is far more general and broader. We hope that our book will be interesting and useful for researchers, lecturers, students and anybody interested in this field.