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183 Results Found

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
4,523 Views
15 Pages

24 November 2018

In a vadose zone the soil water content can change seasonally, driven by seasonal variations of meteorological factors. This dynamic behavior is depth-dependent, which controls the groundwater recharge from infiltration, and plays an essential role i...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1,037 Views
19 Pages

12 March 2025

In desertified regions, monitoring vegetation phenology and elucidating its relationship with climatic factors are of crucial significance for understanding how desertification responds to climate change. This study aimed to extract the spatial-tempo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
23 Citations
5,505 Views
23 Pages

Enhancing the Energy Efficiency of Buildings by Shading with PV Panels in Semi-Arid Climate Zone

  • Aiman Albatayneh,
  • Renad Albadaineh,
  • Adel Juaidi,
  • Ramez Abdallah,
  • Alberto Zabalo and
  • Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro

19 December 2022

Solar energy is one of the most abundant and available forms of renewable energy. Reliance on the electricity network can be decreased and net-zero energy achieved by mounting photovoltaic power on the tops of houses. Photovoltaic arrays can also cha...

  • Article
  • Open Access
31 Citations
3,496 Views
15 Pages

Vegetation Greenness Variations and Response to Climate Change in the Arid and Semi-Arid Transition Zone of the Mongo-Lian Plateau during 1982–2015

  • Risu Na,
  • Li Na,
  • Haibo Du,
  • Hong S. He,
  • Yin Shan,
  • Shengwei Zong,
  • Lirong Huang,
  • Yue Yang and
  • Zhengfang Wu

12 October 2021

Vegetation greenness dynamics in arid and semi-arid regions are sensitive to climate change, which is an important phenomenon in global climate change research. However, the driving mechanism, particularly for the longitudinal and latitudinal changes...

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
5,250 Views
15 Pages

Spatial Metagenomic Analysis in Understanding the Microbial Diversity of Thar Desert

  • Jagdish Parihar,
  • Suraj P. Parihar,
  • Prashanth Suravajhala and
  • Ashima Bagaria

17 March 2022

The arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan are one of the most extreme biomes of India, possessing diverse microbial communities that exhibit immense biotechnological potential for industries. Herein, we sampled study sites from arid and semi-arid r...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
2,949 Views
17 Pages

13 July 2022

Verrucariaceae is the third-largest lichen family with high species diversity. However, this diversity has not been well-explored in China. We carried out a wide-scale field investigation in the arid and semi-arid regions of Northwest China from 2017...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,139 Views
16 Pages

28 February 2025

Desertification is acknowledged as a significant global ecological challenge. In the current context of advancing ecological governance and sustainable development, it is imperative to explore optimal solutions that reconcile economic and ecological...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
4,588 Views
14 Pages

Assessment of Recent Changes in Dust over South Asia Using RegCM4 Regional Climate Model

  • Acharya Asutosh,
  • S.K Pandey,
  • V Vinoj,
  • Ramakrishna Ramisetty and
  • Nishant Mittal

26 October 2021

Pre-monsoon dust aerosols over Indian regions are closely linked to the monsoon dynamics and Indian summer monsoon rainfall. Past observational studies have shown a decline in dust loading over the Indian landmass potentially caused by changing rainf...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,580 Views
18 Pages

6 March 2025

Woody plants serve as crucial ecological barriers surrounding oases in arid and semi-arid regions, playing a vital role in maintaining the stability and supporting sustainable development of oases. However, their sparse distribution makes significant...

  • Review
  • Open Access
7 Citations
4,104 Views
17 Pages

11 February 2023

The “counter-trend” of oasification in China’s arid and semi-arid regions has attracted widespread attention against the backdrop of the rising global desertification risk, which endangers ecological safety and food security. This p...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
4,433 Views
16 Pages

The net primary productivity (NPP) dynamics in arid and semi-arid ecosystems are critical for regional carbon management. Our study applied a light-utilization-efficiency model (CASA: Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach) to evaluate the veget...

  • Article
  • Open Access
9 Citations
4,735 Views
18 Pages

Satellite Based Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation Is Congruent with Plant Diversity in India

  • Swapna Mahanand,
  • Mukunda Dev Behera,
  • Partha Sarathi Roy,
  • Priyankar Kumar,
  • Saroj Kanta Barik and
  • Prashant Kumar Srivastava

6 January 2021

A dynamic habitat index (DHI) based on satellite derived biophysical proxy (fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation, FAPAR) was used to evaluate the vegetation greenness pattern across deserts to alpine ecosystems in India that accou...

  • Article
  • Open Access
12 Citations
5,694 Views
11 Pages

Ongoing climate change processes and increasing environmental pressure suggest the need to adjust the wine production systems worldwide to the new conditions while reducing their environmental pressure. The grapes’ cultivation phase may be infl...

  • Article
  • Open Access
28 Citations
4,454 Views
19 Pages

15 April 2021

Soil moisture is a reliable water resource for plant growth in arid and semi-arid regions. Characterizing the interaction between soil moisture and vegetation is important for assessing the sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems. This study explore...

  • Article
  • Open Access
28 Citations
6,753 Views
19 Pages

Multi-Temporal LiDAR and Hyperspectral Data Fusion for Classification of Semi-Arid Woody Cover Species

  • Cynthia L. Norton,
  • Kyle Hartfield,
  • Chandra D. Holifield Collins,
  • Willem J. D. van Leeuwen and
  • Loretta J. Metz

17 June 2022

Mapping the spatial distribution of woody vegetation is important for monitoring, managing, and studying woody encroachment in grasslands. However, in semi-arid regions, remotely sensed discrimination of tree species is difficult primarily due to the...

  • Article
  • Open Access
928 Views
15 Pages

13 June 2025

Aerosol optical properties and radiative forcing critically influence Earth’s climate, particularly in semi-arid regions. This study investigates these properties in Yinchuan, Northwest China, focusing on aerosol optical depth (AOD), single-sca...

  • Article
  • Open Access
4 Citations
3,961 Views
12 Pages

Updating Ecology and Distribution of Wild Truffles in Morocco

  • Fatima Henkrar,
  • Chaimae Meyad,
  • Marwa Oikrim,
  • Nezha Bouhaddou and
  • Lahsen Khabar

5 May 2023

The distribution and abundance of the various truffle species are influenced by the climate, soil, and vegetation conditions. The setting of these characteristics is necessary for the potential species’ cultivation. Here, we describe the ecolog...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
5,325 Views
18 Pages

15 May 2018

Accurate continuous daily evapotranspiration (ET) at the field scale is crucial for allocating and managing water resources in irrigation areas, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. The authors integrated the modified perpendicular drought ind...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,825 Views
17 Pages

Dust Intensity Across Vegetation Types in Mongolia: Drivers and Trends

  • Chunling Bao,
  • Yonghui Yang,
  • Hasi Bagan,
  • Qinxue Wang,
  • Terigelehu Te,
  • Bayarsaikhan Uudus,
  • Mei Yong and
  • Tanghong Liao

25 January 2025

Dust storms, characterized by their rapid movement and high intensity, present significant challenges across atmospheric, human health, and ecological domains. This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations in dust intensity (DI) and its drivi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
789 Views
26 Pages

5 November 2025

Drought represents one of the most critical environmental hazards in arid and semi-arid regions, exerting profound impacts on ecological security and sustainable development. Nevertheless, many existing drought indices exhibit delayed responses to pr...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,477 Views
16 Pages

Agroforestry Systems Enhance Soil Moisture Retention and Aquifer Recharge in a Semi-Arid Mexican Valley

  • Aldo Yair Pulido-Esquivel,
  • Jorge Víctor Prado-Hernández,
  • Julio César Buendía-Espinoza and
  • Rosa María García-Núñez

15 May 2025

Agroforestry systems (AFSs) have been recognized for their ecological potential, yet quantitative assessments of their hydrological functions in semi-arid regions remain limited. This study evaluates soil moisture retention and potential aquifer rech...

  • Article
  • Open Access
3 Citations
19,033 Views
22 Pages

Greening and Browning Trends on the Pacific Slope of Peru and Northern Chile

  • Hugo V. Lepage,
  • Eustace Barnes,
  • Eleanor Kor,
  • Morag Hunter and
  • Crispin H. W. Barnes

21 July 2023

Accurate detection and quantification of regional vegetation trends are essential for understanding the dynamics of landscape ecology and vegetation distribution. We applied a comprehensive trend analysis to satellite data to describe geospatial chan...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
1,259 Views
20 Pages

4 June 2025

This article is devoted to the study of a 20 MW large-scale photovoltaic power plant (LS-PVPP), connected to the grid and located in Naàma, Algeria. The power plant is included in the National Program for the Development of Renewable Energies...

  • Article
  • Open Access
18 Citations
3,398 Views
19 Pages

Spatiotemporal Variation in Compound Dry and Hot Events and Its Effects on NDVI in Inner Mongolia, China

  • Yao Kang,
  • Enliang Guo,
  • Yongfang Wang,
  • Yuhai Bao,
  • Shuixia Zhao and
  • Runa A

16 August 2022

In recent decades, frequent compound dry and hot events have posed a great threat to humans and the ecological environment, especially in Inner Mongolia, which has arid and semi-arid characteristics. In this study, monthly temperature and precipitati...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
1,739 Views
16 Pages

23 January 2024

Shrubland is an important type of vegetation in the semi-arid region of the western Loess Plateau, and it is of great value to the maintenance of biodiversity and soil and water conservation. Equally, there may be significant differences in the level...

  • Article
  • Open Access
22 Citations
7,671 Views
20 Pages

Extracting Plant Phenology Metrics in a Great Basin Watershed: Methods and Considerations for Quantifying Phenophases in a Cold Desert

  • Keirith A. Snyder,
  • Bryce L. Wehan,
  • Gianluca Filippa,
  • Justin L. Huntington,
  • Tamzen K. Stringham and
  • Devon K. Snyder

18 November 2016

Plant phenology is recognized as important for ecological dynamics. There has been a recent advent of phenology and camera networks worldwide. The established PhenoCam Network has sites in the United States, including the western states. However, the...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
2,467 Views
18 Pages

26 October 2023

Currently, the ecological problems caused by the greenhouse effect are growing more serious, and implementing carbon sequestration methods is an effective way to address them. Arid and semi-arid desert areas have tremendous potential as carbon sinks,...

  • Article
  • Open Access
20 Citations
4,537 Views
15 Pages

Impact of Extreme Climate on the NDVI of Different Steppe Areas in Inner Mongolia, China

  • Kuan Chen,
  • Genbatu Ge,
  • Gang Bao,
  • Liga Bai,
  • Siqin Tong,
  • Yuhai Bao and
  • Luomeng Chao

22 March 2022

The frequency of extreme climate events has increased resulting in major changes to vegetation in arid and semi-arid areas. We selected 12 extreme climate indices and used trend analysis and multiple linear regression models to analyze extreme climat...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
3,492 Views
30 Pages

Assessment of Land Desertification and Its Drivers in Semi-Arid Alpine Mountains: A Case Study of the Qilian Mountains Region, Northwest China

  • Zijin Liu,
  • Jianhua Si,
  • Yanfang Deng,
  • Bing Jia,
  • Xinrong Li,
  • Xiaohui He,
  • Dongmeng Zhou,
  • Chunlin Wang,
  • Xinglin Zhu and
  • Boyang Wang
  • + 1 author

1 August 2023

Land desertification associated with climate change and human activities significantly impacts ecosystem functioning in semi-arid alpine mountains. However, accurately revealing the state of desertification risk and the drivers of its evolution is fr...

  • Proceeding Paper
  • Open Access
2 Citations
2,693 Views
8 Pages

Comparative Taxonomic Study of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile (Zygophyllaceae)

  • Fatma A. Hamada,
  • Ahmed El-Banhawy,
  • Faten Y. Ellmouni,
  • Widad Al-Juhani,
  • Rabab R. Makharita and
  • Iman H. Nour

Balanites aegyptiaca or Desert Date (Zygophyllaceae) is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid regions in Africa and South Asia. The current study aims to identify the infraspecific variation between B. aegyptiaca native to Egypt and Saudi Arabia....

  • Article
  • Open Access
17 Citations
7,061 Views
13 Pages

Satellite Monitoring of Vegetation Response to Precipitation and Dust Storm Outbreaks in Gobi Desert Regions

  • Yuki Sofue,
  • Buho Hoshino,
  • Yuta Demura,
  • Kenji Kai,
  • Kenji Baba,
  • Eunice Nduati,
  • Akihiko Kondoh and
  • Troy Sternberg

1 February 2018

Recently, droughts have become widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, including in Mongolia. The ground surface condition, particularly vegetation coverage, affects the occurrence of dust storms. The main sources of dust storms in the Asian region ar...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2,000 Views
17 Pages

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Aridity Index in Central Kazakhstan

  • Sanim Bissenbayeva,
  • Dana Shokparova,
  • Jilili Abuduwaili,
  • Alim Samat,
  • Long Ma and
  • Yongxiao Ge

5 August 2025

This study analyzes spatiotemporal aridity dynamics in Central Kazakhstan (1960–2022) using a monthly Aridity Index (AI = P/PET), where P is precipitation and PET is potential evapotranspiration, Mann–Kendall trend analysis, and climate z...

  • Article
  • Open Access
7 Citations
2,605 Views
20 Pages

10 November 2022

Grassland biomass is a significant parameter for measuring grassland productivity and the ability to sequester carbon. Estimating desert grassland biomass using the best remote sensing inversion model is essential for understanding grassland carbon s...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
3,638 Views
15 Pages

23 July 2021

Degradation in a range of land uses was examined across the transition from the arid to the semi-arid zone in the northern Negev desert, representative of developments in land use taking place throughout the West Asia and North Africa region. Primary...

  • Review
  • Open Access
23 Citations
9,833 Views
34 Pages

Role of Aeolian Dust in Shaping Landscapes and Soils of Arid and Semi-Arid South Africa

  • Joseph R. McAuliffe,
  • Leslie D. McFadden and
  • M. Timm Hoffman

The deposition of fine aeolian sediment profoundly influences the morphology of several different landscapes of the arid and semi-arid western portion of South Africa. Such landscapes and features include: (1) regularly-spaced mounds known as heuwelt...

  • Article
  • Open Access
11 Citations
2,993 Views
23 Pages

Analysis of Mineral Aerosol in the Surface Layer over the Caspian Lowland Desert by the Data of 12 Summer Field Campaigns in 2002–2020

  • Otto G. Chkhetiani,
  • Natalia V. Vazaeva,
  • Alexander V. Chernokulsky,
  • Karim A. Shukurov,
  • Dina P. Gubanova,
  • Maria S. Artamonova,
  • Leonid O. Maksimenkov,
  • Fedor A. Kozlov and
  • Tatyana M. Kuderina

30 July 2021

In-situ knowledge on characteristics of mineral aerosols is important for weather and climate prediction models, particularly for modeling such processes as the entrainment, transport and deposition of aerosols. However, field measurements of the dus...

  • Article
  • Open Access
220 Views
26 Pages

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Vegetation Carbon Storage in the Kubuqi Desert and Dominant Drivers: The Coupling Effect of Topography and Climate

  • Weifeng Wang,
  • Haoran Zhao,
  • Chunfeng Qi,
  • Zongqi Liu,
  • Ke Sai,
  • Xiuxian Yue,
  • Yuan Liu,
  • Zhuojin Wu and
  • Guangpeng Fan

19 December 2025

The Kubuqi Desert represents a key ecologically fragile region in northern China, primarily functioning as a windbreak and sand-fixation barrier while also contributing to regional ecological balance. However, the area’s ecological vulnerabilit...

  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
2,859 Views
16 Pages

9 September 2022

The accurate estimation of global evapotranspiration (ET) is essential to understanding the water cycle and land–atmosphere feedbacks in the Earth system. This study focused on the Inner Mongolia Reach of the Yellow River Basin, a typical arid...

  • Brief Report
  • Open Access
3 Citations
5,500 Views
15 Pages

Innovative Reforestation Strategies to Combat Desertification in Algeria: Insights from the Djelfa Region

  • Jüri Liiv,
  • Mohamed Mefti,
  • Morten Poolakese,
  • Ergo Rikmann and
  • Merrit Shanskiy

17 January 2025

North Africa, including the Sahara Desert, was historically forested, but over the past 10,000 years, the region has undergone significant desertification due to climate change and human activity. The use of wood for heating and grazing destroyed gra...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
3,064 Views
14 Pages

The First Botanical Garden: A Technical Design for a Sustainable City in Arequipa, Peru

  • María Elizabeth Bejarano Meza,
  • Gianela Milagros Paz Cahuina,
  • Paola Fabiana Vásquez Macedo and
  • Andrea Marieta Chanove Manrique

Arequipa, situated in the arid Atacama Desert, is experiencing significant biodiversity loss due to unchecked urban growth. This study presents the design of a Botanical Garden to address this issue by serving as a conservation center for native flor...

  • Article
  • Open Access
18 Citations
5,192 Views
14 Pages

Genome-Wide Analysis of Nubian Ibex Reveals Candidate Positively Selected Genes That Contribute to Its Adaptation to the Desert Environment

  • Vivien J. Chebii,
  • Samuel O. Oyola,
  • Antoinette Kotze,
  • Jean-Baka Domelevo Entfellner,
  • J. Musembi Mutuku and
  • Morris Agaba

22 November 2020

The domestic goat (Capra hircus) is an important livestock species with a geographic range spanning all continents, including arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia. The Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana), a wild relative of the domestic goat inhabit...

  • Technical Note
  • Open Access
13 Citations
3,983 Views
14 Pages

30 July 2020

The sustainability of dryland vegetation growth over the Silk Road Economic Belt is under threat of water shortage, and the determination of water carrying capacity for vegetation is critically essential to balance water supply and water demand for t...

  • Article
  • Open Access
31 Citations
6,232 Views
22 Pages

22 January 2019

Accurate and continuous monitoring of the production of arid ecosystems is of great importance for global and regional carbon cycle estimation. However, the magnitude of carbon sequestration in arid regions and its contribution to the global carbon c...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
2,093 Views
18 Pages

8 August 2023

The northern desert of China plays an important strategic role in land resource security and national economic development. Research on the spatio-temporal changes of ecological sensitivity can provide a scientific reference for desert management and...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
2,645 Views
16 Pages

Spatial Heterogeneity of Root Water Conduction Strategies of Zygophyllaceae Plants in Arid Regions of China

  • Ying Chen,
  • Yanjun Dong,
  • Jie Liu,
  • Zongshan Li,
  • Xiaochun Wang,
  • Maierdang Keyimu,
  • Cong Wang,
  • Guangyao Gao and
  • Xiaoming Feng

13 October 2022

Desert plants are the main component of species diversity in desert ecosystems, and studying the anatomy and function of desert plant xylem is of great significance for understanding climate sensitivity and adaptation mechanisms to arid ecosystems. I...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
2,583 Views
15 Pages

Investigating the Effect of Climate Change on Drought Propagation in the Tarim River Basin Using Multi-Model Ensemble Projections

  • Xiaoyun Ding,
  • Yang Yu,
  • Meilin Yang,
  • Qian Wang,
  • Lingyun Zhang,
  • Zengkun Guo,
  • Jing Zhang,
  • Ireneusz Mailik,
  • Wistuba Malgorzata and
  • Ruide Yu

30 December 2023

Recent studies on China’s arid and semi-arid regions, particularly the Tarim River Basin (TRB), have shown an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. This research examines the link between meteorological droughts, as...

  • Article
  • Open Access
8 Citations
2,732 Views
19 Pages

Behavior of CFRP-Confined Sand-Based Material Columns under Axial Compression

  • Guodong Li,
  • Honglin Liu,
  • Wentao Deng,
  • Hongzhi Wang and
  • Haitian Yan

19 November 2021

This paper presents an innovative pumpable standing support designed for underground mines located in the arid and semi-arid deserts of the Gobi region with a shortage of water resources. The exterior shell of this pumpable standing support is made o...

  • Article
  • Open Access
44 Citations
7,435 Views
20 Pages

10 December 2015

This study proposes a method for improving the estimation of surface turbulent fluxes in surface energy balance system (SEBS) model under water stress conditions using MODIS data. The normalized difference water index (NDWI) as an indicator of water...

  • Article
  • Open Access
472 Views
21 Pages

Study on Spatio-Temporal Evolution Characteristics of Vegetation Carbon Sink in the Hexi Corridor, China

  • Qiang Yang,
  • Shaokun Jia,
  • Chang Li,
  • Wenkai Chen,
  • Yutong Liang and
  • Yuanyuan Chen

8 November 2025

As a critical ecological barrier in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwestern China, the spatio-temporal evolution of vegetation carbon sequestration in the Hexi Corridor is of great significance to the ecological security of this region. Based...

  • Article
  • Open Access
1 Citations
959 Views
18 Pages

Two Novel Microbacterium Species Isolated from Citrullus colocynthis L. (Cucurbitaceae), a Medicinal Plant from Arid Environments

  • Khadija Ait Si Mhand,
  • Salma Mouhib,
  • Nabil Radouane,
  • Khaoula Errafii,
  • Issam Meftah Kadmiri,
  • Derly Madeleiny Andrade-Molina,
  • Juan Carlos Fernández-Cadena and
  • Mohamed Hijri

Plants inhabiting arid regions often harbor microbial communities that contribute to their resilience under extreme conditions. Yet, the genomic diversity and functional potential of bacterial endophytes associated with desert-adapted plants, particu...

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