Product Description
Land degradation and desertification processesrepresent a serious problem in many Italian regions,as in the north-western part of Sardinia whereurbanization, overgrazing and fires have inducedenvironmental degradation and rapid land-use change,thus altering entire landscapes. In semi-arid andarid environments, in particular, where fragileecosystems are dominant, land cover and landscapechange often reflects the most significant impact onthe environment due to human activity. This book provides a test of a landscape approach inareas prone to desertification, where this kind ofinvestigation has not been experimented on up untilnow. By means of remote sensing, GeographicalInformation System (GIS) and the software FRAGSTATS,three Landsat MSS and TM images, covering the periodbetween 1972 and 2000, were classified and astepwise indicator approach was adopted in order todetect the location, the direction, the magnitude ofthe changes and the spatio-temporal dynamic oflandscape. The analysis should help warning the localauthorities of the circumstances of the past andcurrent landscape changes and their consequences. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is a journal article from Geoforum, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
In Morocco the crisis narrative of desertification has been invoked for decades to facilitate and justify policy and legal changes that have systematically disadvantaged pastoralists and damaged the environment. The existing data from southern Morocco, however, do not support the claims of widespread desertification due to overgrazing or other pastoral activities. Furthermore, many anti-desertification and range improvement projects in southern Morocco have not succeeded. In an effort to rethink desertification and range ecology in Morocco, this paper presents an overview of the indigenous knowledge of range ecology among the Aarib, a group of camel pastoralists in southern Morocco, and compares it to the ''expert'' knowledge of Moroccan range managers. It suggests that this expert knowledge is based on questionable evidence and that it has been privileged over local knowledge primarily for political, economic and administrative reasons. The discrepancies between expert and indigenous knowledges of range ecology presented here underscore the need to reconsider range ecology in Morocco, taking indigenous ecological knowledge into account. Doing so may point the way to more successful development and conservation projects which are more environmentally appropriate and socially just. Not doing so will likely exacerbate environmental degradation in the region. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from World of Earth Science, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 933 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.A comprehensive guide to the concepts, theories, discoveries, pioneers, and issues relating to topics in earth science. Its encyclopedic approach offers entries that are written in easy to understand language. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Arid Environments, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The Negev region occupies nearly two-third of Israel's land area (21,671km^2) but hosts less than 9% of its 6.5 million strong population. Until recently, the process of desertification did not affect the Negev profoundly. This was mainly due to large-scale afforestation programs, restrictions imposed on grazing, and large water subsidies from the less arid part of the country to its more arid part. However, there are some indications that the process of desertification in the Negev has already started and may accelerate in the future. In light of this trend, the efficient long-term strategy for the Negev's development is essential. The present study compares two alternative strategies of the Negev's future development: agricultural expansion vs. urbanization path. Two basic criteria-the minimization of adverse environmental impacts and economic feasibility-are used for the evaluation. The urbanization path is found to be preferable. Since agriculture and livestock grazing are the major contributors to desertification, replacing them with urban development may lessen the risk of desertification in the future. In contrast, urban development, if properly planned and regulated, may reduce the spatial extent of the area affected by agricultural development, and thus minimize the anthropogenic impact on the desert environment. Economic reason is also important: While even in the future, agricultural production in the Negev may remain limited due to economic considerations, urban development may justify the often-large investment required for the provision of fresh water. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Arid Environments, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
A great many debates have grown up around the notion of desertification as a process of degradation that affects the arid, semi-arid and sub-humid zones of the globe. A fundamental and continuing debate has been over whether desertification actually exists and, if so, how it might be defined, measured and assessed. Rather than simply review the evolution of these debates we examine the contexts in which they take place and how those contexts have contributed to the evolution of our understanding of the intertwined processes that contribute to desertification. The fact that these contexts have changed over time, combined with the fact that some of them are often ignored have both helped to sustain debate. We consider four contexts that frame much of the debate and consider what impact each has had: (1) changes in our understanding of climate variability; (2) changes in our understanding of vegetation responses to perturbation; (3) changes in our understanding of social processes, including household responses to economic perturbation; and (4) changes in our understanding of desertification as a political process or artifact. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Droughts, Dust Bowl, 1984-1985 Famine in Ethiopia, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Monsanto, Drought in Australia, High Rock Lake, Drought in Canada, Sahel Drought, 2003 European Heat Wave, Desiccation Tolerance, Drought Research Initiative, Droughts and Famines in Russia and the Soviet Union, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Drought in India, 5.9 Kiloyear Event, Palmer Drought Index, Rainmaking, 1988 North American Drought, Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel, Keetch-Byram Drought Index. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 147. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a U.S.-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. It is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed as "Roundup". Monsanto is also the leading producer of genetically engineered (GE) seed; it sells 90% of the US's GE seeds. It is headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Agracetus, owned by Monsanto, exclusively produces Roundup Ready soybean seed for the commercial market. In 2005, it finalized purchase of Seminis Inc, making it the world's largest conventional seed company. Monsanto's development and marketing of genetically engineered seed and bovine growth hormone, as well as its aggressive litigation and political lobbying practices, have made the company controversial around the world and a primary target of the alter-globalization movement and environmental activists. Monsanto was founded in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1901, by John Francis Queeny, a 30-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry. He funded the start-up with his own money and capital from a soft drink distributor, and gave the company his wife's maiden name. His father in law was Emmanuel Mendes de Monsanto a wealthy sugar factor active in Vieq...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=93825 ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Geographical Journal, published by Royal Geographical Society on November 1, 1999. The length of the article is 966 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: World Atlas of Desertification.(Review)
Author: David J. Nash
Publication: The Geographical Journal (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 1999
Publisher: Royal Geographical Society
Volume: 165Issue: 3Page: 325

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Geographical Journal, published by Royal Geographical Society on March 1, 1996. The length of the article is 728 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Desertification: Exploding the Myth.
Author: Andrew Warren
Publication: The Geographical Journal (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 1996
Publisher: Royal Geographical Society
Volume: v162Issue: n1Page: p83(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of East Asian Studies, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2006. The length of the article is 11591 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Dragon dust: atmospheric science and cooperation on desertification in the Asia and Pacific region.
Author: Ken Wilkening
Publication: Journal of East Asian Studies (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 6Issue: 3Page: 433(29)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Arid Environments, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The process of desertification in the Otindag sandy land has increased dramatically over the past several decades. While there has been an increase in research on recent changes, little is known about the historical vegetation cover, the soils and the past biogeographical patterns, which are important for understanding the desertification causes and for effective desertification control. This research explores two relevant issues: (1) what are the major causes for ecosystem change and desertification; and (2) what are the implications for developing management policies, including those related to engineering projects. For these purposes, a meta-process model is developed to simulate several key parameters of plant community, including foliage projective cover (FPC) and net primary production (NPP). Their dynamics over the past 40 years are analysed. It is found that if only climate is considered, the simulated NPP and FPC of vegetation community show an increasing trend, although the increase is not statistically significant. This indicates that climate may not be the key cause for desertification in this area. Instead, socio-economic factors should be mainly responsible for such changes, as is confirmed by our further analysis. Two measurements are proposed for sustainable environment management: development and maintenance of suitable vegetation coverage of at least 46.7% and implementing a reasonable sheep stocking of 1.5 per hectare, respectively. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, published by Soil & Water Conservation Society on May 1, 1996. The length of the article is 5062 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: The mid-Boteti river area in north-central Botswana is undergoing desertification from the perspective of a decline of available natural resources. Since the area has suffered no decline in average rainfall during past decades, resource depletion is considered to be related to intense resource use, particularly during early drought years. Decline is manifesting mainly as decreasing available fresh water, reductions in the amounts of woody vegetation cover for both fuelwood (locally) and browse (generally), species decline with changes to unpalatable cover, and increased areas of exposed soil, leading to soil erosion.

Citation Details
Title: Desertification in north-central Botswana: causes, processes, and impacts.
Author: Francis Sefe
Publication: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (Refereed)
Date: May 1, 1996
Publisher: Soil & Water Conservation Society
Volume: v51Issue: n3Page: p241(8)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more