Salinity Problems in the Arid Zones. Arid Zone Research, Vol. XIV

AbstractArid zones are characterized by high evaporation, low and uneven rainfall, undulated topography, presence of salt layers at shallow depth in the soil and poor-quality ground water. Under these conditions an innovative farmer in the district of Pali in the state of Rajasthan, India explored options for farm diversification under hot-arid conditions at his farm. His motivation brought him to the ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) where he was trained in various basic aspects of rain water harvesting. KVK, Pali studied the methods and innovative ideas utilized by the farmers and the subsequent gain in yield and income by adoption of rainwater harvesting at his farm on a yearly basis. Initially he constructed a small rainwater harvesting structure by which he was able to store substantial quantities of water for longer duration. As a result of constant motivation, he constructed a concrete rainwater storage structure (40M x 40M x 3.5M) and explored further options to increase production at his farm. Also, development of goat farming, intercropping, raising fodder crops and grasses, and developing a fishery, all from the gains of water harvested from rains, gave him confidence and added to the prosperity of his farm. Presently, on farm productive activities, family labour mobilization and diversification provide him with a stable income. This experiential learning also led to new knowledge emerging from interactions among a hitherto powerful scientific hierarchy and served as role model for other farmers’ adoption of innovative techniques.

Download Full-text

Short-Beaked Echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) Home Range at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, NSW

10.1101/2020.11.02.364687 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Georgia J. Badgery ◽

Jasmin C. Lawes ◽

Keith E.A. Leggett

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Arid Zone ◽

New South ◽

Radio Telemetry ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Arid Zones ◽

Research Station ◽

South Wales ◽

Arid Zone Research ◽

Tachyglossus Aculeatus

ABSTRACTEchidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) are found Australian-wide and appear to be remarkably well-adapted to arid zones, yet, nearly all echidna research has been conducted in temperate, tropical and alpine zones. This study investigated the home range and movement of echidnas in western New South Wales. Radio telemetry tracking was used to locate the echidnas daily during the study period (March-May 2019 and August 2019); the home range was 1.47± 1.21 km2. This is over twice the reported home range of temperate environments (>0.65 km2) suggesting that echidnas exhibit larger home ranges in arid zones. This study provides insight into the movement and home range of echidnas in arid zones, revealing that desert echidnas have large home ranges, dependent on the availability of resources.

Download Full-text

Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) home range at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, NSW

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0242298 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (4) ◽

pp. e0242298

Author(s):

Georgia J. Badgery ◽

Jasmin C. Lawes ◽

Keith E. A. Leggett

Keyword(s):

Home Range ◽

Arid Zone ◽

Radio Telemetry ◽

Small Degree ◽

Home Ranges ◽

Arid Zones ◽

Research Station ◽

Severe Drought ◽

Arid Zone Research ◽

Tachyglossus Aculeatus

Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) are found Australia-wide and appear to be remarkably well-adapted to the arid zone, yet nearly all echidna research has been conducted in temperate, tropical and alpine zones. This study investigated the home range and movement of echidnas in western New South Wales. Radio telemetry tracking was used to locate the echidnas daily during the study period (March-May 2018, November 2018, March-May 2019 and August 2019); the observed home range was 1.47± 1.21km2. This is over twice the reported home range of temperate environments (<0.65km2), suggesting that echidnas exhibit larger home ranges in arid zones. The home range of individual echidnas ranged from 0.02km2 to 3.56km2. Echidnas exhibited a small degree of overlap (6.6%± 19.8%) but this varied considerably between individuals (between 0 to 84.2% overlap.) Four out of the thirteen echidnas died during this study, likely due to the severe drought that occurred during the study. This study provides insight into the movement and home range of echidnas in arid zones, revealing that desert echidnas have large home ranges, probably dependent on the availability of resources.

Download Full-text

The demography of desert Australia

The Rangeland Journal ◽

10.1071/rj07043 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 30 (1) ◽

pp. 29 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Dominic Brown ◽

John Taylor ◽

Martin Bell

Keyword(s):

Economic Policy ◽

Arid Zone ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Population Projections ◽

Research Centre ◽

Arid Zones ◽

Demographic Information ◽

The Impact ◽

First Time ◽

Semi Arid

In recent years, with the formation of organisations such as the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, social science interest in the Australian desert has re-surfaced with a research emphasis that is focused on creating sustainable futures for the region. One consequence of this is a demand for detailed demographic information to allow an assessment of different quanta of need in social and economic policy, and for assessment of the impact of these in environmental policy. However, demographic analysis on human populations in the desert to date has attracted very little research attention. In this paper we begin to address this lack of analysis by focusing on the populations, both aboriginal and non-aboriginal, of the arid and semi-arid zones of Australia. We extend earlier analysis by including for the first time demographic information on the semi-arid as well as the arid zone to establish the spatial pattern of population growth within the whole desert area drawing attention to the resulting settlement structure as an outcome of prevailing social, cultural and economic conditions. By examining population structure and demographic components of population change we also present for the first time population projections for the semi-arid zone and, therefore, in combination with the arid zone, for the entire Australian desert. All of this provides a basis for considering social and economic policy implications and the nature of underlying processes that drive change in this region.

Download Full-text

Third Symposium on Environmental Physiology at the Negev Institute for Arid Zone Research

International Journal of Biometeorology ◽

10.1007/bf01804721 ◽

1971 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 81-99

Keyword(s):

Arid Zone ◽

Environmental Physiology ◽

Arid Zone Research

Download Full-text

Arid Zone Research

Nature ◽

10.1038/169011a0 ◽

1952 ◽

Vol 169 (4288) ◽

pp. 11-12

Keyword(s):

Arid Zone ◽

Arid Zone Research

Download Full-text

Arid Zone Research

Nature ◽

10.1038/1811443c0 ◽

1958 ◽

Vol 181 (4621) ◽

pp. 1443-1443

Keyword(s):

Arid Zone ◽

Arid Zone Research

Download Full-text

Arid Zone Research

Nature ◽

10.1038/173854c0 ◽

1954 ◽

Vol 173 (4410) ◽

pp. 854-854

Keyword(s):

Arid Zone ◽

Arid Zone Research

Download Full-text

Arid Zone Research

Geographical Journal ◽

10.2307/1790542 ◽

1959 ◽

Vol 125 (2) ◽

pp. 269 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

S. R. Eyre ◽

UNESCO

Keyword(s):

Arid Zone ◽

Arid Zone Research

Download Full-text

Water and soil environmental vulnerability of arti-ficial oases in arid areas and its temporal and spatial differentiation and evolution

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2021.217 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Cundong Xu ◽

Zijin Liu ◽

Xinglin Zhu ◽

Junjiao Tian ◽

Fengyou Gu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Arid Zone ◽

Evaluation Model ◽

Irrigation District ◽

Vegetation Coverage ◽

Arid Zones ◽

Arid Areas ◽

Soil Environment ◽

Irrigation Area ◽

Environmental Vulnerability ◽

Soil And Water

Abstract The water and soil environmental vulnerability in arid areas is mainly affected by vegetation, hydrology, terrain, and climate. To accurately evaluate the water and soil environmental vulnerability and its evolution in the Jingtaichuan Pumping Irrigation District in China, this paper, taking 1994, 2006, and 2018 as typical years, selects 13 index factors that directly or indirectly drive the water and soil environmental evolution in this area, and adopts the cloud theory and analytic hierarchy process to determine the weight of each index factor. Spatial analysis technique and supervised classification were used to obtain and standardize the spatial distribution raster maps of each index factor. The multi-source data fusion was performed according to the index weight to analyze the evolution characteristics of soil and water environmental vulnerability. The results showed that soil salinity, vegetation coverage, and land use type have a significant impact on the water and soil environmental vulnerability in this irrigation area, and most of the area is at mild risk. High risk mainly occurs in closed hydrological units in the eastern part of the irrigation area. From 1994 to 2018, the evolution process can be divided into two stages, namely the ‘environmental deterioration stage’ and the ‘environmental restoration stage’. The results showed that the water and soil environment of the irrigation area is developing in a healthy way. HIGHLIGHT In this paper, we use space remote sensing technology with continuous monitoring means. By establishing a set of rating system and a novel evaluation model applicable to the vulnerability of water and soil environment in artificial oases in arid zones. The evolutionary state of soil and water environmental vulnerability of a typical arid zone irrigation area25 is evaluated and analyzed.

Download Full-text