Academic literature on the topic 'Desertification factors'
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Journal articles on the topic "Desertification factors"
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Liu, Zhihui, Long Ma, Tingxi Liu, Zixu Qiao, and Yang Chen. "Influence of Key Climate Factors on Desertification in Inner Mongolia." Atmosphere 14, no. 9 (September 6, 2023): 1404. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos14091404.
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Desertification is a major environmental problem facing the world today, and climate change is an important factor influencing desertification. This study investigates the impact of changes in key climate factors on desertification based on normalized difference vegetation index data, precipitation data and evaporation data from Inner Mongolia between 1982 and 2020 using correlation analysis, regression modelling, and residual analysis. The results show that precipitation and evaporation are significantly correlated with mild desertification and severe desertification, respectively, with correlation coefficients reaching 0.98 and −0.96, respectively. In severely desertified areas in central-eastern Inner Mongolia, there is a high correlation between desertification and temperature, the characteristics of the correlation of average maximum and minimum temperatures with desertification are similar to those of the correlation of average temperature with desertification, and the average maximum and minimum temperatures are well correlated with mild desertification, with correlation coefficients as high as 0.98 and 0.978, respectively. Climate contribution accounts for 97% of desertification in severely desertified areas, indicating that climate change has increased desertification in these areas. In regions with improved desertification, approximately 75% are primarily influenced by climate change (with a relative contribution greater than 50%), with climate factors exhibiting a relative contribution greater than 75% to desertification in 30% of these regions.
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Liu, Q. G. "Spatial and Temporal Changes and Driving Factors of Desertification Around Qinghai Lake, China." Nature Environment and Pollution Technology 22, no. 1 (March 2, 2023): 119–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.46488/nept.2023.v22i01.010.
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The area around Qinghai Lake is one of the most serious desertification areas on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In this paper, combined with field investigation and indoor analysis, the classification and grading system of desertification around Qinghai Lake was established. On this basis, through remote sensing data processing and parameter inversion, the desertification monitoring index model was established. Based on the analysis of Landsat-5/TM remote sensing data from 1990 to 2020, the dynamic change characteristics of desertification land around Qinghai Lake in recent 30 years were obtained. The results show that the desertification area around Qinghai Lake was 1,359.62 km2, of which the light desertification land was the main one. The desertification spread in a belt around Qinghai Lake, concentrated in Ketu sandy area in the east, Ganzi River sandy area in the northeast, Bird Island sandy area in the northwest, and Langmashe sandy area in the southeast. From 1990 to 2000, the annual expansion rate of desertification around Qinghai Lake was 2.68%, the desertification spread rapidly, and light desertification land was the main part of desertification expansion. From 2000 to 2010, the annual expansion rate of desertification was only 0.83%, but severe desertification land and moderate desertification land developed more rapidly than in the previous period. From 2010 to 2020, the annual expansion rate of desertification was 2.66%, and the desertification was spreading rapidly, mainly with moderate desertification land and light desertification land. In the process of desertification land transfer around Qinghai Lake, the transfer of desertification land and non-desertification land was the main, accompanied by the mutual transformation of different levels of desertification land. The process of desertification around Qinghai Lake was essentially the result of natural and human factors. The special geographical location, climate changes, rodent damage, and human factors around Qinghai Lake were the main causes of desertification.
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Zhang, Shiwen, Yan Wang, Xuehua Wang, Yang Wu, Chengrong Li, Chao Zhang, and Yuhang Yin. "Ecological Quality Evolution and Its Driving Factors in Yunnan Karst Rocky Desertification Areas." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 24 (December 16, 2022): 16904. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416904.
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Rocky desertification is a key element affecting regional ecological quality. Rocky desertification in Southwest China directly affects the ecological security of the Yangtze River and Pearl River basins and also restricts regional economic and social development. In order to clarify the evolution laws and key influencing factors of ecological quality in Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas, a quantitative analysis based on the remote sensing-based ecological index (RSEI) model was conducted to explore the overall evolution characteristics and change laws of ecological quality in Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas in the past 30 years. The correlation between RSEI, rock outcrop rate (Fr), and driving factors was determined by redundancy analysis. The results showed the following: (1) RSEI in Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas generally showed a decreasing trend, with a fluctuation in the mid-term, followed by a tendency to recover. It fell into three stages: decline, trough, and recovery, with fitting coefficients of −0.121, −0.057, and 0.157, respectively. In contrast, Fr showed an opposite tendency, illustrating the inverse relationship between RSEI and Fr, and the rate of sequential succession was much faster than that of the reverse succession under human measures of intervention. (2) The mean value of RSEI of Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas was generally lower than that of the total Yunnan Province land areas and Yunnan non-karst rocky desertification areas, but the mean value of Fr was generally more than that of both the above-mentioned areas. In addition, the RSEI and Fr of Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas both showed lower stability values than those of both the above-mentioned areas. This generally suggested a low ecological quality and a high degree of desertification under a low stability in Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas. (3) The correlation of RSEI and Fr with driving factors followed the order of topographic factors, soil factors > water factors > anthropogenic factors. Anthropogenic factors were the driving force changing the state of rocky desertification, geological factors such as topography and soil to a larger extent determined the original macroscopic ecological relationship of rocky desertification, and water factors lay between the above two. The findings of this research will provide theoretical support and a basis for the improvement of ecological quality and comprehensive control of karst rocky desertification in Yunnan Province.
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Jia, Hong, Rui Wang, Hang Li, Baijian Diao, Hao Zheng, Lanlan Guo, Lianyou Liu, and Jifu Liu. "The Changes of Desertification and Its Driving Factors in the Gonghe Basin of North China over the Past 10 Years." Land 12, no. 5 (May 1, 2023): 998. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12050998.
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Desertification is one of the most severe environmental and socioeconomic issues facing the world today. Gonghe Basin is located in the monsoon marginal zone of China, is a sensitive area of climate change in the northeastern of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China, desertification issue has become very severe. Remote sensing monitoring provides an effective technical means for desertification control. In this study, we used Landsat images in 2010 and 2020 to extract desertification information to constructed the Albedo-NDVI feature space in the Gonghe Basin. And then analyzed temporal and spatial evolution of desertification and its driving factors using Geodetector in the Gonghe Basin from 2010 to 2020. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Albedo-NDVI feature space method can accurately classify desertification information with accuracy of more than 90%, which was benefit to quantitative analysis of desertification. (2) The desertification situation in the Gonghe Basin had improved from 2010 to 2020, especially in the west of the basin, desertification land area decreased by 827.46 km2, and desertification intensity had been obviously reversed. (3) The changes of the desertification in the Gonghe Basin from 2010 to 2020 was affected by both natural and human factors, and the influence of human activities on desertification reversal had increased gradually. The results indicate that the desertification status in the Gonghe Basin had been effectively controlled, and can provide useful basis for the desertification combat in the Gonghe Basin.
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Li, Jingbo, Chunxiang Cao, Min Xu, Xinwei Yang, Xiaotong Gao, Kaimin Wang, Heyi Guo, and Yujie Yang. "A 20-Year Analysis of the Dynamics and Driving Factors of Grassland Desertification in Xilingol, China." Remote Sensing 15, no. 24 (December 13, 2023): 5716. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs15245716.
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Grassland desertification stands as an ecological concern globally. It is crucial for desertification prevention and control to comprehend the variation in area and severity of desertified grassland (DGL), clarify the intensities of conversion among DGLs of different desertification levels, and explore the spatial and temporal driving factors of desertification. In this study, a Desertification Difference Index (DDI) model was constructed based on albedo-EVI to extract desertification information. Subsequently, intensity analysis, the Geo-detector model, and correlation analysis were applied to analyze the dynamics and driving factors of desertification. The results showed the following: (1) Spatially, the DGL in Xilingol exhibited a zonal distribution. Temporally, the degree of DGL decreased, with the proportion of severely and moderately desertified areas decreasing from 51.77% in 2000 to 37.23% in 2020, while the proportion of nondesertified and healthy areas increased from 17.85% in 2000 to 37.40% in 2020; (2) Transition intensities among different desertification levels were more intense during 2000–2012, stabilizing during 2012–2020; (3) Meteorological factors and soil conditions primarily drive the spatial distribution of DDI, with evapotranspiration exhibiting the most significant influence (q-value of 0.83), while human activities dominate interannual DDI variations. This study provides insights into the conversion patterns among different desertification levels and the divergent driving forces shaping desertification in both spatial and temporal dimensions in Xilingol.
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Lee, Jinmeng, Xiaojun Yin, Honghui Zhu, and Xin Zheng. "Geographical Detector-Based Research of Spatiotemporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Oasification and Desertification in Manas River Basin, China." Land 12, no. 8 (July 27, 2023): 1487. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12081487.
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Oasification and desertification are two essential processes of land use and cover (LULC) change in arid regions. Compared to desertification, which is widely regarded as the most severe global ecological issue, the importance of oasification has not received universal recognition. However, neglecting oasification can lead to detrimental outcomes to the effectiveness of ecological governance by affecting the comprehensiveness of environmental policies proposed only based on desertification. Therefore, this study incorporates oasification into the examination of desertification by analyzing land use data for five representative periods spanning from 1980 to 2020, as well as socioeconomic and environmental data from 2000 to 2010. The aim is to evaluate the spatial and temporal dynamics of oasification and desertification in the Manas River Basin and identify the underlying factors driving these processes. The findings indicated that (1) the general trend of oasification and desertification exhibited the expansion of oases and the retreat of deserts. Specifically, the oasification area showed a “decrease-increase-decrease” pattern over time, while the desertification area consistently decreased. (2) In terms of spatial distribution, oasification and desertification displayed a transition from scattered and disordered patterns to an overall more organized pattern, with the hotspot area of desertification shifting from Shawan County to Manas County over time. (3) Population density, average land GDP, soil type and annual precipitation significantly influenced the degree of oasification, with driving force q-values above 0.4, which were the key factors driving oasification. Population density and average land GDP significantly affected the degree of desertification, with driving force q-values above 0.35, which were the key factors driving desertification. The driving force of all factors increased significantly after the interaction, and socioeconomic factors influenced oasification and desertification more than other factors. The study’s findings aim to provide a scientific basis for land resource use, ecological governance and sustainable development in the Manas River basin.
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Gao, Weijie, Siyi Zhou, and Xiaojie Yin. "Spatio-Temporal Evolution Characteristics and Driving Factors of Typical Karst Rocky Desertification Area in the Upper Yangtze River." Sustainability 16, no. 7 (March 25, 2024): 2669. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16072669.
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Karst rocky desertification (KRD) has become the most serious ecological disaster in the southwest of China and is a major obstacle to the sustainable development of the karst region in the southwest. Remarkably, scientific understanding of the spatial-temporal evolution of rocky desertification and the corresponding driving mechanism is the primary prerequisite crucial to controlling rocky desertification. Hence, the typical rocky desertification area of Qujing City, located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, was selected as the research object. On the basis of the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform and decision tree classification, the spatial-temporal evolution process of rocky desertification in Qujing City from 1990 to 2020 was investigated, and the driving factors of rocky desertification were explored in terms of the natural environment and socio-economic aspects. Consequently, over this period, the area of rocky desertification had decreased by 1728.38 km2, while the no rocky desertification area had increased by 1936.61 km2. Notably, the major driving factors of rocky desertification were fractional vegetation cover (FVC) (q = 0.41), land use type (q = 0.26), slope (q = 0.21), and land reclamation rate (q = 0.21). Typically, rocky desertification is likely to occur in areas with moderate or low FVC (<0.7), a low slope (0–8°) or high slope (35°–80°), a land type of cultivated-land or grassland, and a land reclamation rate of 10–70%. In addition, all two-factor interactions acted as drivers that exacerbate rocky desertification. Furthermore, FVC ∩ slope (q = 0.79) and slope ∩ land use type (q = 0.56) were two interacting drivers that promote rocky desertification strongly.
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Liang, Xiya, Pengfei Li, Juanle Wang, Faith Ka Shun Chan, Chuluun Togtokh, Altansukh Ochir, and Davaadorj Davaasuren. "Research Progress of Desertification and Its Prevention in Mongolia." Sustainability 13, no. 12 (June 17, 2021): 6861. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13126861.
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Mongolia is a globally crucial region that has been suffering from land desertification. However, current understanding on Mongolia’s desertification is limited, constraining the desertification control and sustainable development in Mongolia and even other parts of the world. This paper studied spatiotemporal patterns, driving factors, mitigation strategies, and research methods of desertification in Mongolia through an extensive review of literature. Results showed that: (i) remote sensing monitoring of desertification in Mongolia has been subject to a relatively low spatial resolution and considerable time delay, and thus high-resolution and timely data are needed to perform a more precise and timely study; (ii) the contribution of desertification impacting factors has not been quantitatively assessed, and a decoupling analysis is desirable to quantify the contribution of factors in different regions of Mongolia; (iii) existing desertification prevention measures should be strengthened in the future. In particular, the relationship between grassland changes and husbandry development needs to be considered during the development of desertification prevention measures; (iv) the multi-method study (particularly interdisciplinary approaches) and desertification model development should be enhanced to facilitate an in-depth desertification research in Mongolia. This study provides a useful reference for desertification research and control in Mongolia and other regions of the world.
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Macêdo, Theilon Henrique de Jesus, Cristiano Tagliaferre, Bismarc Lopes da Silva, Alessandro de Paula, Odair Lacerda Lemos, Felizardo Adenilson Rocha, Rosilene Gomes de Souza Pinheiro, and Ana Carolina Santos Lima. "Assessment of Land Desertification in the Brazilian East Atlantic Region Using the Medalus Model and Google Earth Engine." Land 13, no. 1 (December 26, 2023): 31. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land13010031.
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Many factors drive land desertification, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. However, the sheer number of these driving factors of desertification makes analyses computer-intensive. Cloud computing offers a solution to address this problem, especially in developing countries. The objective of this work was to assess the sensitivity of the East Atlantic Basin, Brazil, to desertification using the Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) model and Google Earth Engine (GEE). The model is composed of four environmental Quality Indices (QIs) associated with soil (SQI), vegetation (VQI), climate (CQI), and management (MQI), each encompassing factors that influence the desertification process. Digital databases corresponding to these factors were pre-processed and uploaded to GEE for analysis. We report Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) and Environmentally Critical Factors (ECF) maps of the East Atlantic Basin, which show that most of the basin is in either a critical (49.4%) or fragile (35.7%) state of sensitivity. In contrast, only a smaller portion of the area is unaffected (5%) or potentially affected (10.1%). The analysis also revealed an inverse correlation between desertification sensitivity and the presence of vigorous vegetation. A joint evaluation of ESAs and ECF shed light on the importance of each factor in the sensitivity to desertification. The East Atlantic Basin shows a high degree of sensitivity to desertification, thereby demanding more attention and the establishment of measures to mitigate the negative impacts of the desertification process.
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Liu, Wenjun, Xiumei Yin, Tong Gong, Ying Liu, and Hu Chen. "Community Structure of Epilithic Moss Mites and Their Response to Environmental Factors in Different Grades of Rocky Desertification Habitats." Sustainability 14, no. 22 (November 10, 2022): 14860. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su142214860.
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This research has been undertaken to reveal the changes in the community structure of epilithic moss mites and the response of these mites to environmental factors under different grades of rocky desertification environment. In this study, epilithic moss mites were collected in a demonstration area for rocky desertification management in Bijie Salaxi, with the following rocky desertification grades as habitat gradients: without rocky desertification, potential rocky desertification, light rocky desertification, moderate rocky desertification, and severe rocky desertification. The differences in the number of individuals, taxa, diversity index, dominance index, richness index, evenness index, and the effects of environmental factors on moss mite communities were revealed by one-way ANOVA, correlation analysis, and redundancy analysis for different grades of these mites. The results show that a total of 11,563 epilithic moss mites were captured in the study area, belonging to three orders, 100 families, and 171 genera, with Nanorchestes and Trichogalumna as the dominant taxa. With the deepening of rocky desertification, the dominant number of Nanorchestes and Trichogalumna increased. Still, the percentage of very rare genera also decreased, and there were differences in the composition of the dominant genus taxa in different grades of rocky desertification. Different grades of rocky desertification habitats had significant effects on the diversity index and richness index of moss mite species but not on the number of taxa, individuals, dominance index, and evenness index. The overall epilithic moss mite communities in different habitats were moderately dissimilar. Air temperature and rock temperature had strong effects on each index of moss mite diversity, whereas light factors and air humidity had a weak impact on these indices. Amongst the communities, those of Scheloribates are more sensitive to rock temperature variation, while Blattisocius, Ledermuelleria and Camerobia correlate more with a light variation. Parholaspulus, Blattisocius, Camerobia, Haplochthonius, Gymnodamaeus, etc. were more sensitive to changes in air humidity. The research shows that there are differences in moss mite community structure under different rocky desertification grades, rocky desertification has caused some effects on moss mite community structure, and the use of mite dominant taxa genera can give preliminary indications of the rocky desertification environment; meanwhile, there is a specific correlation between mite taxa and habitat environment changes.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Desertification factors"
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Kone, Alassane. "Modelling and Decision Support for a Desertification Issue Using Cellular Automata Approach." Electronic Thesis or Diss., Guyane, 2023. http://www.theses.fr/2023YANE0001.
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La désertification, en tant que problématique majeure affectant la vie sur Terre, a d’énormes conséquences qui dégradent la qualité de vie des hommes, leurs activités quotidiennes et leurs moyens de subsistance. Pour lutter contre son avancée, les organisations internationales ont mis en place des actions pour ralentir ou arrêter son expansion et réduire ses impacts.Cette thèse s’inscrit dans la lutte contre la désertification en modélisant le processus de dégradation des terres conduisant à la désertification. Deux modèles sont développés : le premier combine des automates cellulaires continus et l'évaluation MEDALUS, évaluant la désertification sur la base des indices des facteurs sol, végétation, climat et management. Le deuxième modèle simule la dégradation des terres en utilisant le couple automates cellulaires/Modèle MEDALUS, enrichi par des facteurs anthropiques comme les pratiques d'utilisation des terres, le facteur d'exploitabilité et l’appartenance foncière, formant le Modèle Amélioré de Désertification. Ce modèle sert de base au logiciel DESERTIfication Cellular Automata Software (DESERTICAS), permettant de simuler l'évolution spatio- temporelle de la dégradation des terres. DESERTICAS facilite l'exploration de scénarios de dégradation des terres dans le temps et l'espace.Ces modèles développés intègrent des processus dynamiques dans le modèle MEDALUS à la base statique et permettent d’étendre la notion d’état des automates cellulaires classiques à des états continus. L’identification d’un facteur prédominant permet d’agir sur tout le système conduisant à la désertification. Notre étude met en évidence le management, action humaine, comme facteur prédominant affectant indirectement les autres facteurs. Agir positivement sur le management permet d’interrompre les sources de dégradation, de ralentir ou arrêter la dégradation des terres. La théorie du contrôle est également appliquée au modèle d'automates cellulaires développés et permet d’agir sur le facteur prédominant à partir des algorithmes génétiques. En intégrant des actions de protection des terres dans les simulations liées à la désertification, le logiciel DESERTICAS devient un outil d'aide à la décisionDesertification, as a significant challenge impacting life on Earth, has extensive consequences that degrade human life quality, daily activities, and livelihoods. In response, international organizations have implemented actions to slow or stop its progress and reduce its impacts. This thesis focuses on combating desertification by modelling the process of land degradation leading to desertification. Two models are developed: the first combines continuous Cellular Automata and the MEDALUS assessment, evaluating desertification based on soil, vegetation, climate, and management. The second model simulates land degradation using cellular automata approach, enriched with anthropogenic factors like land use practices, exploitability factor and ownership, forming the Enhanced Model of Desertification. This model serves as the basis for DESERTIfication Cellular Automata Software (DESERTICAS), simulating spatio- temporal land degradation evolution. DESERTICAS facilitates scenario exploration by simulating land degradation progression over time and space. The models incorporate dynamic processes into the MEDALUS model, expanding classical Cellular Automata to continuous states. Identifying a predominant factor influencing desertification, management emerges as crucial, affecting other factors indirectly. Positive management actions can interrupt degradation sources, slowing or halting land degradation. The thesis also applies control theory to the Cellular Automata model, aiming to influence the predominant factor using Genetic Algorithms. By integrating land protection actions into desertification simulations, the DESERTICAS software becomes a decision support tool
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Qiu, Kaiyang [Verfasser]. "Ecological responses of vegetation and environmental factors to the reversal of sandy desertification and soil-vegetation relationships / Kaiyang Qiu." Hannover : Technische Informationsbibliothek und Universitätsbibliothek Hannover (TIB), 2015. http://d-nb.info/108024946X/34.
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Zatout, Masoud Moustafa Mohamed. "The roles of exotic and native tree species in preventing desertification and enhancing degraded land restoration in the north east of Libya : reciprocal effects of environmental factors and plantation forestry on each other, assessed by observations on growth and reproductive success of relevant tree species, and environmental factors analysed using multivariate statistics." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5708.
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Today's arid and semi-arid zones of the Mediterranean are affected by desertification, resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities such as overcultivation, overgrazing and deforestation. Afforestation programs are one of the most effective means in preventing desertification. For many years Libya has had afforestation programs in order to restore degraded land and in response to rapid desert encroachment in the north east of Libya, in the area called the Jabal Akhdar (Green Mountain), which has been investigated in this study. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relative roles of exotic compared to native tree species in preventing desertification and enhancing degraded land restoration in the Jabal Akhdar. The effect of environmental factors on exotic compared to native tree species have been assessed by observations on growth and reproductive success of the species, including variables of stocking rate, trunk diameter, tree height, crown diameter, tree coverage, natural mortality, felling and seedling regeneration, as well as calculated variables, derived from these measurements. The effects of methods and age of afforestation on the promotion of biological diversity have been investigated using the Shannon-Wiener diversity index. The effects of tree species on soil depth have also been investigated. Multivariate statistical analyses of site, species and environmental data, using both cluster analyses and factor analyses have been performed, with the aim of determining what is influencing the species, crops or differentiating between the sites, based on soil depth, angle of slope, altitude, rainfall and air temperature values. Pinus halepensis showed success in its growth and regeneration, particularly at higher altitudes and steeper slopes. Cupressus sempervirens was successful in growth and regeneration in the mountains. The exotic Eucalyptus gomphocephala was very successful in its growth, but did not regenerate well, while the exotic Acacia cyanophylla trees had a failure of both growth and regeneration. E. gomphocephala species appeared to favour relativley the flatter (non-mountain) sites, while A. Cyanophylla appeared to favour relativly the mountain sites. All the species responded positively to greater rainfall and deep soil, but they differed in where they were most likely to be successful. Environmental factors such as climate, terrain and soil are the main determinants of species distribution in the study area, in addition to their impact on the growth of the main trees. There appeared not to be any relationship between biodiversity and whether the main trees were native or exotic, and only P. halepensis showed any negative effect on the abundance of shrubs. There was greater diversity of trees and shrubs generally at the younger sites than the old sites. The present study emphasises the current mismanagement of planted forests, particularly with overgrazing contributing to desertification, through preventing tree growth and eliminating most sapling regeneration. This study concludes by making recommendations for more effective choice of tree species to plant, and for subsequent management to improve afforestation programmes in the Jabal Akhdar area.
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Grouzis, Michel. "Structure, productivité et dynamique des systèmes écologiques sahéliens (Mare d'Oursi, Burkina Faso)." Paris 11, 1987. http://www.theses.fr/1987PA112339.
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Cette étude traite de la structure, de certains aspects du fonctionnement et de l'évolution des phytocénoses sahéliennes du bassin versant d'Oursi, situé au nord du Burkina Faso. Après avoir· rappelé les conditions sahéliennes (aridité climatique, édaphique, saisonalité, variabilité. . . ) le problème du déséquilibre entre les besoins d'une population en expansion et les ressources limitées du milieu est posé. L'étude aborde ensuite la méthodologie relative à la précision des mesures dans l'estimation des phytomasses épigée et hypogée par les techniques classiques de la récolte et radiométrique. Les résultats recueillis de 1976 à 1984 à l' échelle de la station écologique, du bassin versant et de la région portent sur : ( 1) la structure de la végétation ( spectre floristique et biologique de la strate herbacée, densité et structure démographique du peuplement ligneux) (2) la mise en place du peuplement herbacée (productiondes semences propriétés germinatives, établissement des plantules) ; ( 3) la phénologie, la productivité de la végétation épigée et hypogée et, leur déterminisme écologique. Une expression de la production en fonction des précipitations est proposée pour estimer· la production et la capacité de charge fréquentielles ; ( 4) les conditions de la dégradation et les capacités de régénération de la végétation définies par les effets de la mise en défens sur la flore, la phytomasse, l' efficience en eau, la densité des ligneux et par les effets d'aménagements (travail du sol, reboisement. . . ). Ces caractéristiques de structure et de dynamique actuelle associées à certains aspects de la dynamique historique (évolution climatique, occupation ancienne) permettent d' élaborer un modèle de la dynamique du système écologique sahélien. Celui-ci montre que ce système écologique est d'une grande complexité qui sous une relative homogénéité physionomique masque une grande diversité floristique, structurale, fonctionnelle et évolutive. Sous l'effet conjugué de la persistance de la sécheresse et surtout de l' anthropisation, ce système écologique est le siège de processus de dégradation conduisant à sa désertisation progressive. A l'issue de cette analyse des axes prioritaires de recherches (définition des caractéristiques de l' équilibre écologique, de leur seuil de rupture, des conditions de régénération et de restauration. . . ) sont proposésThis work mainly deals with the spin crossover phenomenon in cobalt (II} molecular chemistry. The synthesis of a series of five and six coordinated complexes, with Schiff bases as equatorial ligands and various apical ones, are reported. The temperature dependances of magnetic susceptibilities and EPR spectra are used to study the influence of the environment on the metal ion spin state. The behaviours observed are interpreted on the basie of simple models. Evidence is provided for thermally induced s = 1/2 - s -= 3/2 spin crossavers. In other respects, a correlation can be established between the geometry and spin state of these complexes and their ability to activate molecular oxygen. In order to specify the spin-crossover mechanism, structural and thermodynamic techniques are used: the ingle-crystal X-ray structure of one of the compounds is reported; the mean variation of metal-ligand diatances upon transition is evaluated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy; enthalpy and heat capacity changes, measured by t ose, are compared with the values calculated on the basis of a phenomenological model. A new means of detecting the crossover, by using its effect r. N he EPR spectrum of a Cu (II)doping ion, is described in the case of an iron(II)complex
Books on the topic "Desertification factors"
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Fensholt, Rasmus, Cheikh Mbow, Martin Brandt, and Kjeld Rasmussen. Desertification and Re-Greening of the Sahel. Oxford University Press, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.553.
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In the past 50 years, human activities and climatic variability have caused major environmental changes in the semi-arid Sahelian zone and desertification/degradation of arable lands is of major concern for livelihoods and food security. In the wake of the Sahel droughts in the early 1970s and 1980s, the UN focused on the problem of desertification by organizing the UN Conference on Desertification (UNCOD) in Nairobi in 1976. This fuelled a significant increase in the often alarmist popular accounts of desertification as well as scientific efforts in providing an understanding of the mechanisms involved. The global interest in the subject led to the nomination of desertification as focal point for one of three international environmental conventions: the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), emerging from the Rio conference in 1992. This implied that substantial efforts were made to quantify the extent of desertification and to understand its causes. Desertification is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon aggravating poverty that can be seen as both a cause and a consequence of land resource depletion. As reflected in its definition adopted by the UNCCD, desertification is “land degradation in arid, semi-arid[,] and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climate variation and human activities” (UN, 1992). While desertification was seen as a phenomenon of relevance to drylands globally, the Sahel-Sudan region remained a region of specific interest and a significant amount of scientific efforts have been invested to provide an empirically supported understanding of both climatic and anthropogenic factors involved. Despite decades of intensive research on human–environmental systems in the Sahel, there is no overall consensus about the severity of desertification and the scientific literature is characterized by a range of conflicting observations and interpretations of the environmental conditions in the region. Earth Observation (EO) studies generally show a positive trend in rainfall and vegetation greenness over the last decades for the majority of the Sahel and this has been interpreted as an increase in biomass and contradicts narratives of a vicious cycle of widespread degradation caused by human overuse and climate change. Even though an increase in vegetation greenness, as observed from EO data, can be confirmed by ground observations, long-term assessments of biodiversity at finer spatial scales highlight a negative trend in species diversity in several studies and overall it remains unclear if the observed positive trends provide an environmental improvement with positive effects on people’s livelihood.
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Mbow, Cheikh. The Great Green Wall in the Sahel. Oxford University Press, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228620.013.559.
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For several decades, the Sahelian countries have been facing continuing rainfall shortages, which, coupled with anthropogenic factors, have severely disrupted the great ecological balance, leading the area in an inexorable process of desertification and land degradation. The Sahel faces a persistent problem of climate change with high rainfall variability and frequent droughts, and this is one of the major drivers of population’s vulnerability in the region. Communities struggle against severe land degradation processes and live in an unprecedented loss of productivity that hampers their livelihoods and puts them among the populations in the world that are the most vulnerable to climatic change. In response to severe land degradation, 11 countries of the Sahel agreed to work together to address the policy, investment, and institutional barriers to establishing a land-restoration program that addresses climate change and land degradation. The program is called the Pan-Africa Initiative for the Great Green Wall (GGW). The initiative aims at helping to halt desertification and land degradation in the Sahelian zone, improving the lives and livelihoods of smallholder farmers and pastoralists in the area and helping its populations to develop effective adaptation strategies and responses through the use of tree-based development programs. To make the GGW initiative successful, member countries have established a coordinated and integrated effort from the government level to local scales and engaged with many stakeholders. Planning, decision-making, and actions on the ground is guided by participation and engagement, informed by policy-relevant knowledge to address the set of scalable land-restoration practices, and address drivers of land use change in various human-environmental contexts. In many countries, activities specific to achieving the GGW objectives have been initiated in the last five years.
Book chapters on the topic "Desertification factors"
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Wang, Tao, Xian Xue, Bing Liu, and Heqiang Du. "Driving Factors of Aeolian Desertification." In Ecological Research Monographs, 75–97. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9028-0_4.
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Fantappiè, M., G. L’Abate, and E. A. C. Costantini. "Factors Influencing Soil Organic Carbon Stock Variations in Italy During the Last Three Decades." In Land Degradation and Desertification: Assessment, Mitigation and Remediation, 435–65. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8657-0_34.
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Danlami, Abubakar Hamid, and Shri Dewi Applanaidu. "Sustaining a Cleaner Environment by Curbing Down Biomass Energy Consumption." In African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, 1423–39. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45106-6_211.
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AbstractEnvironmental degradation, soil erosion, and desertification are some of the consequences of high rate of traditional biomass fuel use by households in developing countries. The critical issues to raise here are how can these households be encouraged to change their energy consumption behavior? What are the factors that cause the rampant use of biomass fuel in developing countries? How and to what extent can these factors be manipulated so that households in developing countries are encouraged to adopt clean energy fuel an alternative to the most widely used biomass fuel? Therefore, this chapter tries to find answer to the above questions raised, by carrying out an in depth analysis of households’ use of biomass fuel in developing countries using Bauchi State, Nigeria, as the case study. Cluster area sampling technique was utilized to generate the various responses, where a total number of 539 respondents were analyzed. The study estimated ordered logit model to analyze the factors that influence the movement of households along the energy ladder from nonclean energy to the cleaner energy. Furthermore, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model was estimated to analyze the impacts of socio-economic, residential, and environmental factors on biomass energy consumption. It was found that age of the household head and his level of education, income, living in urban areas, home ownership, and hours of electricity supply have positive and significant impact on household energy switching from traditional biomass energy use to the cleaner energy. Therefore, policies that will enhance household income and the increase in the availability of cheap cleaner energy will encourage households switching to cleaner energy sources thereby reducing the level of environmental pollution in the study area.
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Danlami, Abubakar Hamid, and Shri Dewi Applanaidu. "Sustaining a Cleaner Environment by Curbing Down Biomass Energy Consumption." In African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation, 1–17. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42091-8_211-1.
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AbstractEnvironmental degradation, soil erosion, and desertification are some of the consequences of high rate of traditional biomass fuel use by households in developing countries. The critical issues to raise here are how can these households be encouraged to change their energy consumption behavior? What are the factors that cause the rampant use of biomass fuel in developing countries? How and to what extent can these factors be manipulated so that households in developing countries are encouraged to adopt clean energy fuel an alternative to the most widely used biomass fuel? Therefore, this chapter tries to find answer to the above questions raised, by carrying out an in depth analysis of households’ use of biomass fuel in developing countries using Bauchi State, Nigeria, as the case study. Cluster area sampling technique was utilized to generate the various responses, where a total number of 539 respondents were analyzed. The study estimated ordered logit model to analyze the factors that influence the movement of households along the energy ladder from nonclean energy to the cleaner energy. Furthermore, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model was estimated to analyze the impacts of socio-economic, residential, and environmental factors on biomass energy consumption. It was found that age of the household head and his level of education, income, living in urban areas, home ownership, and hours of electricity supply have positive and significant impact on household energy switching from traditional biomass energy use to the cleaner energy. Therefore, policies that will enhance household income and the increase in the availability of cheap cleaner energy will encourage households switching to cleaner energy sources thereby reducing the level of environmental pollution in the study area.
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Roussis, I., D. Vokou, Th A. Mardiris, and N. S. Margaris. "The Mining Factor in the Desertification Process." In Desertification in Europe, 161–65. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1986. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4648-4_15.
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Grove, A. T. "The Scale Factor in Relation to the Processes Involved in “Desertification” in Europe." In Desertification in Europe, 9–14. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 1986. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4648-4_2.
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Eisikowitch, D. "Honeybees and Nectariferous Plants in the Desert are an Important Factor to Sustain Modern Agriculture." In Combating Desertification with Plants, 65–68. Boston, MA: Springer US, 2001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1327-8_6.
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Liu, Chunling, Liqiang Tong, and Shengwen Qi. "Susceptibility of Rocky Desertification Based on Analytical Hierarchy Process and Certainty Factor (AHP-CF) Method: A Case from Changshun County, Guizhou Province, SW of China." In Engineering Geology for Society and Territory - Volume 3, 511–17. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09054-2_104.
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Rastgoo, Mehdi, and Alireza Hasanfard. "Desertification in Agricultural Lands: Approaches to Mitigation." In Deserts and Desertification [Working Title]. IntechOpen, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98795.
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Urban expansion and industrial development destroy agricultural lands, pastures, and forests, and reduce the ecological and biological potential of lands, known as desertification. Diminished land potential due to one or a combination of processes such as erosion, destruction of water resources, destruction of vegetation, and swamping, by climate and human factors, is called desertification. Among these, human factors have a vital role in the emergence of this phenomenon. Excessive human economic activity upsets the ecological balance of arid and semi-arid regions, leading to adverse environmental changes. With the expansion of deserts in some parts of the world, food production and water resources are declining, resulting in environmental migration. Due to the limited capacity of urban areas to provide facilities and services, these migrations will cause severe socio-economic problems. In general, climatic and human factors are among the fundamental causes of desertification in the world. Preventing improper agricultural practices that lead to salinity and widespread soil degradation requires well-planned and strengthened awareness programs and development of information and care systems for areas exposed to desertification and drought, while also addressing the economic and social dimensions in these ecosystems.
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Havstad, Kris M., and William H. Schlesinger. "Introduction." In Structure and Function of a Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystem. Oxford University Press, 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195117769.003.0005.
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Arid lands throughout the world are often degraded or increasingly at risk of degradation. These lands, including those at the border of arid regions, commonly exhibit accelerated soil erosion, losses of productivity, and impaired economic potential to support human populations. Human history is replete with the collapse of great civilizations of the hot and dry subtropics that suffered severe soil resource depletions in their midst or at their margins. Given that over 1 billion people currently inhabit the arid lands of the world, it is critical that we have the knowledge and resulting technologies to mitigate our impacts and improve environmental conditions of these lands and their resources. This book describes our understanding of basic processes of arid ecosystems resulting from nearly a century of research in one desert locale, the Jornada Basin of southern New Mexico. Much of our understanding comes from both extensive and intensive studies in a landscape that has drastically changed over that time. The loss of ecological, economic, and social capital is called “desertification” (Dregne et al. 1991). The 1992 United Nations Desertification Convention defined desertification as “land degradation in arid, semiarid and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.” In the future, we can expect that the shifting border between arid and semiarid lands will be one of the most sensitive indicators of global change. Desertification involves human and environmental drivers of change but is a regional symptom that emerges from degradation at finer spatial scales (Reynolds and Stafford Smith 2002). Desertification does not describe cyclic phenomena, as when decadal variations of precipitation lead to periods of drought and to losses of vegetation cover that are fully restored when rains return (Tucker et al. 1994). An updated and revised desertification paradigm has been developed by Reynolds et al. (2003; table 1-1). An important feature of this conceptual model is that both biophysical and socioeconomic factors are jointly involved in desertification. This paradigm clearly recognizes critical points, or thresholds, in system dynamics, yet these points may be manageable for increasing system resilience.
Conference papers on the topic "Desertification factors"
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Zhu Hongxia, Li Yingxue, and Qu Xuebing. "The factors of Ewenki's desertification." In 2010 2nd International Conference on Information Science and Engineering (ICISE). IEEE, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/icise.2010.5691218.
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Pchelkina, T., Anna Koukhta, and Aleksey Pchelkin. "THE ROLE OF MICROCLIMATIC CONDITIONS IN FORMATION OF LICHENOBIOTA RESPONSE TO ANTHROPOGENIC POLLUTION IN MOSCOW." In Land Degradation and Desertification: Problems of Sustainable Land Management and Adaptation. LLC MAKS Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.29003/m1704.978-5-317-06490-7/180-185.
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The paper considers the combination of climatic and anthropogenic factors on the lichen flora of the metropolis. The impact level of each factor chaing leads to changes in the status of biota. With the same background level of pollution, the value of the atmosphere purity index is higher under more favorable microclimatic conditions for lichens. Monitoring of influence of one of factors on lichenological indicators should be carried out at invariable value of other factor.
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Okolelova, Alla, and Galina Egorova. "THE FACTORS INCREASING THE OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF OIL PRODUCTS IN SOIL." In Land Degradation and Desertification: Problems of Sustainable Land Management and Adaptation. LLC MAKS Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.29003/m1716.978-5-317-06490-7/235-240.
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Natural objective reasons significantly complicate the objective assessment of oil products in soils: a variety of chemical forms of the pollutants connection, the soil ability to self-healing and self-cleaning, provincial features of the soil cover, lack of objective criteria.To increase the objectivity of determining the presence of oil products in soils, it is proposed to take into account the following factors: analysis methods of soils contaminated with oil products, the chemical properties of extractants extracting oil products from soil samples, the content of soil organic carbon and nonspecific organic compounds in conditionally unpolluted and oil-polluted soils, an increase in organic carbon in soils contaminated with petroleum products, units of measurement (% or mg / kg), the soil horizonin which soil samples were taken, the presence of discrepancies in GOST standards on the standardization of pollutants of organic origin in soils, the state of modern rationing of oil and oil products in soils and the terminological aspect.
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Zheng, Guoqiang, and Yanyan Li. "The Land Desertification Dynamic Monitoring and Driving Factors Analysis in YLN Region of Tibet." In 2015 5th International Conference on Computer Sciences and Automation Engineering (ICCSAE 2015). Paris, France: Atlantis Press, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.2991/iccsae-15.2016.122.
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Zhumalieva. "THE MODERN CHANGES OF THE HIGH-MOUNTAIN GEOSYSTEMS (BY THE EXAMPLE OF THE AKSAI-CHATYR-KUL DEPRESSION AND THE ATBASHY RANGE)." In Land Degradation and Desertification: Problems of Sustainable Land Management and Adaptation. LLC MAKS Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.29003/m1674.978-5-317-06490-7/54-58.
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Changes of geosystems in the southern part of the Inner Tien Shan under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors over the past few decades were studied. A general tendency of the reduction of pasture area by 12-19% was observed, caused by changes in the regional nature management regime, but the influence of the climatic factors is insignificant.
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Zhou, Lihua, Guojing Yang, and Tao Wang. "Analysis on driving factors of desertification in northern china: A case study of yanchi county." In 2010 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS 2010). IEEE, 2010. http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2010.5651073.
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Tang, Rongbin, Guiyun Huang, Di Wu, Yinhua Guo, and Yutong Feng. "Study on Spatial Difference of Karst Rocky Desertification Related Factors Based on Remote Sensing Data." In Proceedings of The 11th Academic Conference of Geology Resource Management and Sustainable Development. Riverwood, Australia: Aussino Academic Publishing House, 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.52202/073371-0063.
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Yatsukhno, Valentin, and Svetlana Bachila. "CRITERIA AND INDICATORS OF VULNERABILITY OF AGRARIAN LAND USE SOILS TO DROUGHT TO DEVELOP MEASURES TO MITIGATE THEIR CONSEQUENCES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE BELARUSIAN POLESSYE REGION)." In Land Degradation and Desertification: Problems of Sustainable Land Management and Adaptation. LLC MAKS Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.29003/m1667.978-5-317-06490-7/23-26.
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A system of criteria and indicators is proposed to determine the degree of vulnerability of soils of agricultural lands in Belarusian Polessye based on the analysis of climatic changes, natural and anthropogenic factors affecting their moisture supply during the growing season.
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BABINA, Yulia. "ORGANIZATIONAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF CAPACITY ASSESSMENT MODEL TYPES OF SUSTAINABLE LAND USE." In Land Degradation and Desertification: Problems of Sustainable Land Management and Adaptation. LLC MAKS Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.29003/m1706.978-5-317-06490-7/191-194.
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The presented materials analyze the impact of organizational, legal and socio-economic factors in the formation of a type of sustainable land management (SLM), taking into account regional features that limit the supported SLM or contribute to an expanded SLM. To assess the impact of these factors, the main groups of possible indicators of organizational, legal and socio-economic orientation for the diagnosis of effective practices of SLM are considered. Based on the available sources of input the proposed structured system of possible quantitative and qualitative indicators that apply directly to the diagnostic object (land parcel) applicable to the owner of land, and applicable to the context of the activities of the owner of land, including the characteristics of adjacent lands and the General conditions of the area of land that relate to the objectives of the SLM. To identify possible indicators of legal, economic and social orientation, an integrated approach based primarily on a combination of system-structural and comparative-legal methods was used to diagnose effective SLM practices.
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Mashtykov, Kirill, and Elvira Dedova. "GEOECOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF PASTURE PHYTOCENOSES IN THE DESERT ZONE OF THE REPUBLIC OF KALMYKIA." In Land Degradation and Desertification: Problems of Sustainable Land Management and Adaptation. LLC MAKS Press, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.29003/m1676.978-5-317-06490-7/62-65.
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Based on long-term monitoring, the geoecological assessment of pasture phytocenoses in the desert zone of the Republic of Kalmykia under the influence of anthropogenic and climatic factors is given. It is established that excessive pasture load leads to degradation processes of vegetation and soil cover: a wide spread of explerents ( Eragrostis minor, Amaranthus albus ), depletion of the floral composition by 2 times, a decrease in productivity and feed value of pastures, an increase in the area of flown Sands.
Reports on the topic "Desertification factors"
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Bourekba, Moussa. Climate Change and Violent Extremism in North Africa. The Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, October 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.55317/casc014.
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As climate change intensifies in many parts of the world, more and more policymakers are concerned with its effects on human security and violence. From Lake Chad to the Philippines, including Afghanistan and Syria, some violent extremist (VE) groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State exploit crises and conflicts resulting from environmental stress to recruit more followers, expand their influence and even gain territorial control. In such cases, climate change may be described as a “risk multiplier” that exacerbates a number of conflict drivers. Against this backdrop, this case study looks at the relationship between climate change and violent extremism in North Africa, and more specifically the Maghreb countries Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, which are all affected by climate change and violent extremism. There are three justifications for this thematic and geographical focus. Firstly, these countries are affected by climate change in multiple ways: water scarcity, temperature variations and desertification are only a few examples of the numerous cross- border impacts of climate change in this region. Secondly, these three countries have been and remain affected by the activity of violent extremist groups such as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the Islamic State organisation (IS) and their respective affiliated groups. Algeria endured a civil war from 1991 to 2002 in which Islamist groups opposed the government, while Morocco and Tunisia have been the targets of multiple terrorist attacks by jihadist individuals and organisations. Thirdly, the connection between climate change and violent extremism has received much less attention in the literature than other climate-related security risks. Although empirical research has not evidenced a direct relationship between climate change and violent extremism, there is a need to examine the ways they may feed each other or least intersect in the context of North African countries. Hence, this study concentrates on the ways violent extremism can reinforce vulnerability to the effects of climate change and on the potential effects of climate change on vulnerability to violent extremism. While most of the existing research on the interplay between climate change and violent extremism concentrates on terrorist organisations (Asaka, 2021; Nett and Rüttinger, 2016; Renard, 2008), this case study focuses on the conditions, drivers and patterns that can lead individuals to join such groups in North Africa. In other words, it looks at the way climate change can exacerbate a series of factors that are believed to lead to violent radicalisation – “a personal process in which individuals adopt extreme political, social, and/or religious ideals and aspirations, and where the attainment of particular goals justifies the use of indiscriminate violence” (Wilner and Dubouloz, 2010: 38). This approach is needed not only to anticipate how climate change could possibly affect violent extremism in the medium and long run but also to determine whether and how the policy responses to both phenomena should intersect in the near future. Does climate change affect the patterns of violent extremism in North Africa? If so, how do these phenomena interact in this region? To answer these questions, the case study paper first gives an overview of the threat posed by violent extremism in the countries of study and examines the drivers and factors that are believed to lead to violent extremism in North Africa. Secondly, it discusses how these drivers could be affected by the effects of climate change on resources, livelihoods, mobility and other factors. Finally, an attempt is made to understand the possible interactions between climate change and violent extremism in the future and the implications for policymaking.
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Fait, Aaron, Grant Cramer, and Avichai Perl. Towards improved grape nutrition and defense: The regulation of stilbene metabolism under drought. United States Department of Agriculture, May 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.32747/2014.7594398.bard.
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The goals of the present research proposal were to elucidate the physiological and molecular basis of the regulation of stilbene metabolism in grape, against the background of (i) grape metabolic network behavior in response to drought and of (ii) varietal diversity. The specific objectives included the study of the physiology of the response of different grape cultivars to continuous WD; the characterization of the differences and commonalities of gene network topology associated with WD in berry skin across varieties; the study of the metabolic response of developing berries to continuous WD with specific attention to the stilbene compounds; the integration analysis of the omics data generated; the study of isolated drought-associated stress factors on the regulation of stilbene biosynthesis in plantaand in vitro. Background to the topic Grape quality has a complex relationship with water input. Regulated water deficit (WD) is known to improve wine grapes by reducing the vine growth (without affecting fruit yield) and boosting sugar content (Keller et al. 2008). On the other hand, irregular rainfall during the summer can lead to drought-associated damage of fruit developmental process and alter fruit metabolism (Downey et al., 2006; Tarara et al., 2008; Chalmers et al., 792). In areas undergoing desertification, WD is associated with high temperatures. This WD/high temperature synergism can limit the areas of grape cultivation and can damage yields and fruit quality. Grapes and wine are the major source of stilbenes in human nutrition, and multiple stilbene-derived compounds, including isomers, polymers and glycosylated forms, have also been characterized in grapes (Jeandet et al., 2002; Halls and Yu, 2008). Heterologous expression of stilbenesynthase (STS) in a variety of plants has led to an enhanced resistance to pathogens, but in others the association has not been proven (Kobayashi et al., 2000; Soleas et al., 1995). Tomato transgenic plants harboring a grape STS had increased levels of resveratrol, ascorbate, and glutathione at the expense of the anthocyanin pathways (Giovinazzo et al. 2005), further emphasizing the intermingled relation among secondary metabolic pathways. Stilbenes are are induced in green and fleshy parts of the berries by biotic and abiotic elicitors (Chong et al., 2009). As is the case for other classes of secondary metabolites, the biosynthesis of stilbenes is not very well understood, but it is known to be under tight spatial and temporal control, which limits the availability of these compounds from plant sources. Only very few studies have attempted to analyze the effects of different environmental components on stilbene accumulation (Jeandet et al., 1995; Martinez-Ortega et al., 2000). Targeted analyses have generally shown higher levels of resveratrol in the grape skin (induced), in seeded varieties, in varieties of wine grapes, and in dark-skinned varieties (Gatto et al., 2008; summarized by Bavaresco et al., 2009). Yet, the effect of the grape variety and the rootstock on stilbene metabolism has not yet been thoroughly investigated (Bavaresco et al., 2009). The study identified a link between vine hydraulic behavior and physiology of stress with the leaf metabolism, which the PIs believe can eventually lead to the modifications identified in the developing berries that interested the polyphenol metabolism and its regulation during development and under stress. Implications are discussed below.