Arid - Science topic

Is dragon fruit cultivation in arid and semi-arid regions of India the best option for crop diversification?

In arid regions and deserts, is it possible to improve agriculture through subsurface irrigation, specifically by utilizing the upward movement of groundwater, and can this process be controlled?

Water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions necessitates the development of innovative solutions for water harvesting. Researchers and engineers have been exploring various advanced materials that can efficiently capture and collect water from the atmosphere or other sources. These materials often exhibit unique properties such as high absorbency, durability, and effectiveness in extreme conditions. Examples include hydrogels, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and specialized membranes. This question aims to identify and discuss the best innovative materials that have been developed or are being researched for their potential to address water scarcity challenges in these dry regions.

What role can research institutions play in developing crop varieties suitable for the arid climate of Punjab?

The Nazca Lines, located in Peru's Nazca Desert, are a series of large geoglyphs depicting various shapes, animals, and geometric patterns. These lines, created by the Nazca people between 500 BCE and 500 CE, have intrigued researchers due to their scale and the precision required to create them, particularly since they are best viewed from above, despite the Nazca lacking flight technology.

One theory suggests the lines served as an astronomical calendar. Maria Reiche and other researchers have pointed out that certain lines align with celestial bodies, indicating they might have been used to mark important dates or celestial events, aiding in agricultural planning or religious festivals.

Another prominent theory is that the lines had religious or ceremonial significance. Many designs depict animals associated with water, a crucial resource in the arid region, leading to the belief that the geoglyphs were offerings to deities related to water and fertility. This spiritual aspect might have been central to their creation.

Additional theories propose that the lines functioned as pathways or pilgrimage routes. The geoglyphs could have guided people to ceremonial sites or places of worship, serving as part of processional rituals. This aligns with the idea that the Nazca Lines had multiple uses, including guiding pilgrims and marking important communal activities.

While modern research, including satellite imagery and ground-penetrating radar, has provided valuable insights, the complete mystery of the Nazca Lines remains unsolved. They likely had various purposes, from astronomical and agricultural to religious and ceremonial. This combination of theories offers a comprehensive understanding, yet the full scope of their significance continues to be a subject of fascination and ongoing study.

How can organic farming practices benefit crop diversification efforts in the arid regions of Punjab?

What are the most economically viable alternative crops that farmers in the arid regions of Punjab can consider for diversification?

Due to their low rainfall and high evaporation rates, districts like Fazilka, Ferozepur, Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur, and parts of Ludhiana in Punjab are categorized as arid and semi-arid zones. Therefore, considering these conditions, how could dragon fruit cultivation serve as a viable option for boosting income in these areas?

Due to their low rainfall and high evaporation rates, districts like Fazilka, Ferozepur, Muktsar, Bathinda, Mansa, Sangrur, and parts of Ludhiana in Punjab are categorized as arid and semi-arid zones. Therefore, considering these conditions, how could dragon fruit cultivation serve as a viable option for boosting income in these areas?

The decomposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) is a critical process in the carbon cycle, significantly affecting carbon storage and release in terrestrial ecosystems. In arid and semi-arid regions, soil moisture content is a major limiting factor for microbial activity and SOC decomposition. This question aims to explore the relationship between soil moisture variability and the temperature sensitivity of SOC decomposition in these ecosystems. It seeks to understand how fluctuations in soil moisture, due to natural variability or irrigation practices, impact the rate of SOC decomposition under different temperature regimes. Investigating this interaction can provide insights into the stability of SOC pools in the face of climate change, where both temperature and precipitation patterns are expected to alter. The findings could have important implications for predicting carbon dynamics and developing effective land management strategies to mitigate climate change impacts in arid and semi-arid regions.

Can someone recommend reputable and relevant academic journals for subscription-based publishing of my research article?

Please avoid predatory and fraudulent journals.

Thank you!

#Nature-based solutions, #hydrology #Ponds, #Ecosystem #climatechange #adaptation, #Arid #regions

Goumbook has launched the first regional Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme, that is looking to support students and researchers developing solutions to tackle the MENAT region specific arid agriculture and climate challenges.

The Regenerative Agriculture Venture Programme is a Goumbook initiative In partnership with HSBC and Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), and supported by European Institute of Technology Food (EIT).

The attached flyer and listed videos highlight more information about the programme, including its benefits of registering and applying:

Further information can be found on the programme website, in addition to registration and application details:

What is Regenerative Agriculture?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJD6hM_s0a8

LinkedIn showcase page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/regenerative-agriculture-venture-programme/ - Please follow for news and updates about the programme.

For clarifications, please feel free to reach out to regenagri@goumbook.com.

We look forward to receiving applications from you.

REGISTER AND APPLY - DEADLINE DECEMBER 18, 2023

For more information and to apply: www.RegenerativeAgricultureVenture.com

As part of my current investigation, I am keen to understand the numerical value of the accepted heat threshold for arid climes.

Could you kindly share your expertise on how to attain the numerical value of the accepted heat threshold for arid climates, excluding data sourced from Climate and Meteorological Reports from the National Meteorological Organization of Iran?

Are you aware of any research focused on the Accepted Heat Threshold for arid climates in Iran during the period from 2003 to 2023?

What are some innovative ways to conserve water in agriculture, especially in arid and semi-arid regions?

The Chloride Mass Balance equation for groundwater recharge calculation is used for arid and semi-arid environments frequently, However, there is no such evidence of work for wet atmospheres where rainfall is high throughout. Can I use the same for wet environments? If it can be used what is the calculation and what are the parameters that need to be considered?

Hello everyone,

I am doing LULC of the arid region, I have acquired landsate 8 image data from USGS website and I have done preprocess in qgis using semi-automatic classification plugin using the standard tutorial and I have converted by DN into reflections value for LULC. however, I facing difficulties in assigning classes for built-up area and bare soil as they have high overlap spectral values.

besides this, I have also used SAVI as well as Modified bare soil index though it's not helping in my problem.

Anyone can tell me what to do in that case.

Thank you.

As you know, the clouds seeding in the world is carried out in two ways; the classic method and the new methods like ionization method. The classic method is what's happening in nature, and actually adds substances such as silver iodide to the cloud, resulting in the cloud seeding and precipitation. I think that the World Meteorological Organization and scientific organizations around the world accept the classic method , but artificial ionization production is doubtful, especially as it is said that the ionization method is harmful to the environment and maybe it be a controversy like carcinogenicity Or earthquake increase.

Greetings,

We're working on the cocoa yield estimation based on the SIMPLE crop model ( ). We're looking for a source to estimate the sensitivity of RUE (Radiation use efficiency) to the ARID index (Agricultural Reference Index for Drought) proposed by The original paper called this relationship as S_water.

We truly appreciate your guidance.

Kind regards

Highly motivated to contribute to the co-valorization of local sand in the arid region.

I am doing experimental tests, analytics, and computer simulations in order to study the mechanical behavior of dune sand.

Hello scientists! What is the types of drought-tolerant microorganisms and what enzymes can be detected in arid lands?

The caracal, Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776), is one among the medium-sized carnivore distributed in arid and semiarid tracts of western part of the country. The rapid pace of habitat destruction and ongoing anthropogenic activities in the natural areas of this animal causes severe impact on the population and distribution of caracal. The arid and semi-arid tracts of Gujarat are one of the important natural habitats of this animal where its present status is unknown. It is reflected by the world status of this animal which is data deficient as per IUCN Redlist of threatened animal and a schedule I species under Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. In Gujarat, this animal is less understood about its population and distribution.

what is the future profind Sahelien trees uner climate change impact?

how pearl millet will contribute to clean energy as the world is geared toward Net zero or greenhouse effects free

Dear RG Colleagues,

We have started a reforestation project in an arid region and we want to know the answer to 'is this project successful ?'.

Quite simply, what are the parameters that will judge this success within 2 years?

Best regards Abdenour

📷

The use of environmental tracers that are relevant for groundwater and surface water interactions constitutes a powerful tool for understanding the source, flow and mixing dynamics of water resource systems through their imprint on the system.

I am interested to know importance of dew in crop production and productivity in semi arid of India. How it play important role during tress period.

In general saline ground waters are only available alternative to irrigate the crops and even for drinking purposes in arid parts of the world. For drinking one can go for RO etc., but for irrigation what one should do that too for cheapest rate?

Hi,

Please assist me with an approach or framework for applying time series trend analysis on a river discharge for a very weird river. The river has alternating phases or flowing and zero flows. i.e can flow for 40years, dry for 30years, flow again for 30 years, dry again for 20 (dry I mean literally zero flows.

This is all in annual temporal scales. Do I split the time series into sections when the river was flowing Or trend analysis does not apply to such data if I want to a trend for the complete series?

Thanks

I am working on arid watershed and through my literature review I found MSWEP precipitation dataset( ) a potential candidate to do my drought analysis. My struggling in the method of downloading the data which is requiring download another software and working with command line tool. If you have any experience with this dataset , please leave your comment .

What about if I need to measure soil moisture directly at the field comparing summer and winter reading at arid area in (sandy soil ) in Acacia forests?

what type of instrument is recommended? and what is the simple Methodology for that ?

I am going to study the potential vegetation that could fix the desert soil to lessen the dust emission. The required plants should endure severe drought and high temperature because the west desert of Iraq has a very hot and arid weather most of the time of the year. Mr Craig Carlton Dremann from USA kindly suggested a plant called (Peganum Harmala) because it is not favored by grazing animals. I need to test many types of plants and natural grass in my study.

Any help or suggestion would be appreciated.

Regards

Arid river basins are marked by non-perennial flows with an ephemeral character. Short lived and high intensity rainfall events leads to be flash floods in the such dryland rivers.

Q1. Which parameters can best enhance flash flood susceptible zones in an arid river basin?

Q2. Which modelling techniques (e.g. - AHP/Fuzzy AHP/Decision Tree/ANN etc.) can be the most suitable one for flash flood modelling in such dryland river basins?

The Iraqi geographical area composed of about 60% desert to the west and southeast parts. Also, the desertification is going to be a serious big problem with no solution in the future amid the decrease of the water resources of Euphrates river. Dust storms are among the results of desertification and the emission out of the dried banks of rivers. I have a question that may trigger a useful discussion is: which type of natural plants may lessen the dust emission from the arid and semi arid areas if we grow on the boundaries of the desert?

Today many countries face a severe water scarcity issue due to the climate change, the growing population and the agriculture area extension. Some of them shifted from surface and groundwater management to sea water desalination production assuming very high financial and environmental costs.

What are the brakes to this strategy ? Is there an alternative development model for semi arid and arid countries ?

Hello all! I want to simulate a DSF on a hot arid climate which is consists of interior shades in its cavity, so I need to calculate its effects on thermal comfort. I would greatly appreciate it if you kindly give me some solution or know any honeybee component which helps me on this occasion.

I want to know how the desert vegetation storage water, such as "Bottle Trees"(Cavanillesia-arborela), so scientists can use genetic technology to modify vegetation so that it can store more water in arid regions.

Now trying to find useful literature about it - any literature tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot

In arid lake sediments, there may be salt phase precipitation. But in our new sediment core, we find a 10-cm thick salt layer comprising of gravel-like crystalline particles. They look like semi-transparent with half rounded edges and corners. The surface is uneven. Dark muddy deposits were filled between them. The samle is from arid central Asian. The salt layer is located at top 20-30 cm (Late Holocene). So far this lake is saltwater to saline lake.

How can we quickly identify these crystalline particles? Using the microscope? except for XRD method. We guess they might be gypsum or halite? It does not like calcite.

I am interested in measuring if there has been an improvement in plant health in an arid ecosystem that has been restored by active planting of the dominant species that was over gazed and ultimately removed completely from some areas in the ecosystem. The species was reintroduced by active planting around 10 years ago and has reestablished well, about 1/3 of what I would consider similar to natural density. These planted areas include various additional "remnant" species from the original ecosystem and I would like to compare traits within species across degraded, restored, and natural conditions, but I'm not sure which traits would be the best to explore. What I have off the top of my head is' specific leaf area (SLA), flower/fruit set, stem/leaf water content, but I need more as the difference might be subtle.

Please suggest other traits that I can read up about.

Thanks and best regards,

Nicholas

Quantifying groundwater recharge in arid and semi-arid areas is a very challenging task because recharge amounts are small in comparison with the resolution of the investigation methods. Additionally, it depends on soil characteristics, geology, topography, land cover characteristics and land use, besides being affected by the temporal variability of precipitation and other hydrometeorological variables under arid and semi-arid climates. Several watershed models used to quantify recharge generally provide recharge estimates as a residual term in the water-budget. Which means that the estimation accuracy of recharge is controlled by the measurement accuracy of the various other parameters in the water budget. Moreover, according to the literature, daily time steps are desirable for estimation of recharge because recharge generally becomes a larger component of the water budget at smaller time scales.

How could we minimize the uncertainties accompanying the estimation of groundwater recharge under semi-arid conditions using SWAT model at small scale (around 350 km2 area)? Should the SWAT use be coupled with any other techniques or models (like Hydrus-1D) to get best results? Are you aware of any studies that have used SWAT to estimate groundwater recharge, or the impact of climate change and/or anthropogenic activities on groundwater recharge under arid or semi-arid conditions?

Many research work has proven the use of MF or PGPB in environment like arid zone and other related environments. A region is arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Environments subject to arid climates tend to lack vegetation

Is there a specific hydrological model for simulation sub-catchment area that are including RWH structures in arid regions and how will adapt or deal with the changes of climate (local CC) ?. In other words I need to assess RWH structure for different climate change scenarios.

Generally, hydrological models perform poorly in semi-arid or arid catchments. Can anyone recommend some clumped hydrological models that are suitable for streamflow simulation in semi-arid or arid catchments? Thanks.

I know many researchers studied the soil seed bank of many species (trees, shrubs, perennial or annual plants) grown naturally or planted. my question highlighted the the important of the seed bank studies and how we can evaluate the effect of investing seed bank on restoration and conservation of vegetation and what the main direct decisions to be applied when the study discover low seed capacity in the soil or may scarce seed need for regeneration. some one advice replanting or seed broadcasting during rainy season but these methods may not succeed especially in arid area .

Soil microphology is the study of subtle shapes in soils such as gypsum, carbonates, and clays and how they are combined

The climate change has different aspect, some country became hotter in summer, while other country, be cool, some increased in precipitations , others become more drought (arid) .

Prosopis juliflora is considered a noxious weed but its eradication is very costly inhivitive if no impossible ! We have very strong openion that it's spread could be chacked only if it's pods are crushed with seed to process livestock feed ! Pods/ seeds are very protein , carbohydrates and mneral rich and we have demonstrated through R&D that they are absolutely safe for livstock and human consumption ! Livestock feed processing is very simple ! Our work in this direction could be very helpful , especially for Africa , where countries are facing lot of problems due to this species ! Comments and views from learned researchers are welcome !

Dear friends

I am working on a project in which I have to calculate LST using Landsat imagery. I used different algorithms. However there is a significant difference between LSTs calculated on the imagery and those measured in field. The calculated brightness temperatures are in more accordance with field-measured LSTs. I think that this is because these methods are based on vegetation cover (NDVI) and the study area has a very poor vegetation cover. Is there any other approaches that do not use vegetation indices?

Sincerely Yours

Samples of Nitraria tangutorum, groundwater and soil water were collected in the arid area of Northwest China. Generally, there is no hydrogen and oxygen isotope fractionation when roots absorb water. However, this study found that the isotope fractionation occurs when roots absorb water, and the hydrogen isotope fractionation is more obvious. The vegetation in arid area will redistribute water from the moist soil layer to the roots in the arid soil layer to alleviate the root drought stress caused by too low soil water. The Nitraria tangutorum in this study area absorbed more water molecules containing 1H from groundwater and released them into soil through hydraulic redistribution, resulting in much more negative hydrogen isotope of soil water. Why did Nitraria occur such obvious isotope fractionation? Is the negative isotope of soil water caused by hydraulic redistribution? What does this have to do with the ‘two water worlds’ hypotheses?

A relict species population is a population that currently occurs in a restricted area, but whose original range was far wider during a previous geologic epoch. Threatened plant species with small geographic range and small population size are most at risk of extinction and the highest priority in urgent conservation programs. As for the relict endemic species, which witnessed during the past 50 years a significant decrease in the geographical area and population size, it is one of the most important primary goals of conservation, whether in situ or ex situ. In some cases, ex situ conservation is the only available solution to protect a species from extinction and to ensure the possibility of an attempt to return to the wild after its extinction after the improvement of the surrounding environmental conditions. Unfortunately, some species depend on the range of environmental variables so small that by changing the organism cannot adapt to and it becomes extinct. For example, in the cases of plants that depend on the availability of a constant and continuous water source throughout the year, they are subject to a significant collapse in the absence of that water, especially in desert environments. The question now is, how can we increase the chances of conserving these species through in situ practices, given the weak opportunities for long-term financing?

Some threatened endemic plants, which were more widespread in the cold ages (relict), when the environmental conditions were appropriate, their rehabilitation process is very difficult. These plants are restricted in their survival to the presence of water, as they are spread around springs and wells saturated with water throughout the year. As a result of successive droughts, the plant was confined to the tops of the mountains (which sometimes provides it with a continuous source of water as a result of the snow). In some cases, due to the nature of the confined micro-habitat (steep, water-rich mountain cliffs), it is extremely difficult to use seedlings in the rehabilitation process, and the only opportunity is to grow plants in the wild through previously treated seeds to break dormancy. Although these seeds germinate, their survival rates do not exceed 1%. How can we improve the survival rate of these new plants, taking into account the dry and water-poor desert environment?

As the water scarcity problems is increased in arid and semi arid zones, the rainfall water harvesting is very important technology required to overcome water shortage and food security.

The selection of the best locations of water harvesting was affected by land use/land cover, and the soil infiltration rate. So it is very important to select the best method to find infiltration rate, among many methods like rainfall simulator, double ring device, .... etc.

In arid regions, what environmental factors have a greater effect on the establishment and germination of rangeland plants? Describe the effectiveness of the priority

Especially for arid areas and increasing droughts and diminishing yields.

Due to regional environmental heterogeneity (e.g., the four deserts in the arid northwestern part of China all have different climates), how can the characteristics of dominant species be compared between deserts, and what is the significance of such a comparison?

In order to carry out sustainable agriculture in arid regions, it is necessary to use water efficiently, use water-saving agro-technologies. One of the water-saving agro-technologies in agriculture is mulching. A large amount of water can be saved by setting up a garden using mulching. In arid hilly regions of Uzbekistan (average annual rainfall is 200-300 mm, evaporation is more than 1000 mm) experiments were carried out to establish a garden using mulching. According to the results of the experiment, several fruit trees were harvested without irrigation. It was found that it is more cost-effective to establish a garden of apple, apricot, peach, quince and almond trees using mulching.

In the arid region, the shallow aquifers are mainly recharged by the infiltrated water from the adjacent streams (rivers, canals, drains ..and so on). How can I prove this relationship and what are the suitable methods and techniques should I use to characterize such a recharge process? Open to brainstorming

Best ways to prevent lake water evaporation...

Cactus are of two types one have spines and another does not have spine. But both can be used as fodder. It has unlocking potential under Arid climate where moisture as well soil fertility are major challenges. It produces huge biomass with lesser moisture and fertilizers.It can be used after chopping of their leaves and fed to animal. Lets suggest me with ignited view.

What are the differences between paleohydrological information generated by moss (𝛿D_C23-C25) and higher plants (𝛿D_C29-C33) n-alkane hydrogen isotope values in a tropical high altitude peat bog. Which source (moss or higher plants) is the most sensitive to dry/arid or low rainfall conditions and why?

The pressure on groundwater resources is constantly increasing due to population and industry growth. In arid areas, this situation will worsen, as climate change models predict reductions in precipitation. Since the beginning of the year, the appearance of COVID-19 has generated several changes in our society; one of them is the modification of the production chains and the stop of several industries. With respect to groundwater resources, what changes do you consider COVID-19 indirectly generates?

Strong evaporation of soil water in arid areas, so how to compute the evaporation of soil water according to the hydrogen and oxygen isotopes?

The effect of ENSO on weed populations dynamics is of key importance for better weed management or species conservation purposes.

Hi, any suggestions for what downscaling techniques to use for future climate projections for an arid city. Concentrating on precipitation and temperature extremes (drought and heatwaves).

Good evening, I am looking for colleagues from all over the world, for the writing of research projects, in order to lower resources to propose projects that reduce water scarcity with the use of photovoltaic solar energy, in arid areas such as Sonora, Mexico and Arizona USA.

Do you know the methods to estimate soil evaporation reliably in cold and arid region (especially with shallow groundwater level) other than in-situ experiments during freezing-thawing period? Some researchers used the Penman-Monteith equation to estimate the evapotranspiration during freezing-thawing period. Since there were not any crops in the freezing-thawing period in farmland, things were then concentrated on figuring out how much soil evaporation released. Things would be more complex if there were some land covers (straw, snow, or residues et al) on the farmland. I don't know whether the ET0 calculated by Penman-Monteith equation can represent the soil evaporation scientificly. If not, are there any other recommanded methods ?

Scarcity of water and high evaporation rate is serious constrain in arid zone agriculture. What strategies should be adopted to grow crops in a sustainable manner?

In recent years, over-water pumping of underground aquifers, has led to land subsidence, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. On the other hand, this phenomenon is known as one of the processes of land degradation. I would like to know what is the effects of this phenomena on the land which we know them as the effects of desertification and how to determine the process of subsidence in a period (several years).

I recorded several porcupines throughout the Chihuahuan desert in 2019- specifically in the Querecho Plains. There are few large trees, mainly Western soapberry, ( Sapindus saponaria), found around waterholes, and invasive Salt Cedar, ( Tamarix ramosissima). However, the deciduous Shinnery oak, (Quercus harvardii) is the dominant plant in the landscape, and is said to be the densest forest in the world! Shinnery oak gets its name because it is no taller than your shin.

Photo: Two noisy porcupines mating in a Western soapberry

50% of soil in Uzbekistan has different salination degree. It is significant to enhance the structure of soils through washing the salts saline soils in Arid areas. I hope that the answers and suggestions will be useful for our scientific research in the area of Aral Sea

Although several natural and human factors like climate change, crop diseases and pest attacks, farmland conversion, aridity and deficiency of irrigation water, mismanagement etc. are some of the major threats to future food security, but which single factor can be more threatening and how food security can be ensured. Researchers and concerned experts are expected to put forth convincing answer of the issue.

I need titles of articles on the energetic rehabilitation of the old building in the arid environment

Do climate elements have an impact on traffic accidents in arid areas and what are the most important climatic elements and are there any researches and studies in this area?

I work actually in a research project interested in the estimation of groundwater recharge for alluvial aquifer located in arid area, I need advice on the most accurate methods used in similar areas

Can anyone provide any information and/or good references on how rainfall affects soil pH in the short and long-term?

I'm conducting a microbiome experiment and noticed the soil pH increase slightly over three days of testing in an arid region of the world. There was a period of rainfall in the morning of the first day (prior to testing pH), and I was wondering if this could have influenced the pH in such a short time? Could the rapidity of the change be due to the rainfall in combination with climate and soil type (i.e. rain increases acidity, but speed of evaporation and uptake by plants immediately decreases the acidity)? Or could the rainfall directly cause the increase in alkalinity? Or do these daily fluctuations occur regardless of rainfall?

Thanks