Arid Land Ecosystems, Volume 2 Structure, Functioning and Management

About this book

The history of man's use of arid lands is a sad record of deterioration of the natural resource base and of low and declining living standards for the 300 million people who live in them. One prerequisite to meeting the challenge of reversing the deterioration and of raising living standards is a sound knowledge of the natural ecosystems. This volume was first published in 1981.

Contents

Part I. Composite and interactive processes:
1. Introduction F. H. Wagner;
2. Soil-vegetation-atmosphere interactions M. A. Ayyad;
3. Plant-plant interactions M. G. Barbour;
4. Animal-animal interactions F. H. Wagner and R. D. Graetz;
5. Plant-animal interactions R. D. Graetz;
6. Effects of biotic components on abiotic components K. E. Lee; 7. Population dynamics F. H. Wagner;
8. Primary productivity L. E. Rodin;
9. Production by desert animals F. B. Turner and R. M. Chew;

Part II. Ecosystem dynamics:
10. Introduction J. A. MacMahon;
11. Short-term water and energy flow in arid ecosystems J. A. Ludwig and W. G. Whitford;
12. Nutrient cycling in desert ecosystems N. E. West;
13. Short-term dynamics of minerals in arid ecosystems P. Binet; 14. Long-term dynamics in arid-land vegetation and ecosystems of North Africa H. N. Le Houerou;
15. The modelling of arid ecosystem dynamics D. W. Goodall;
16. Spatial effects in modelling of arid ecosystems I. Noy-Meir; 17. Simulation of plant production in arid regions: a hierarchical approach H. van Keulen and C. T. de Wit;
18. Understanding arid ecosystems: the challenge I. Noy-Meir;

Part III. Management of arid lands:
19 Introduction R. A. Perry;
20. Management of arid-land resources for domestic livestock forage C. M. McKell and B. E. Norton;
21. Management of arid-land resources for dryland and irrigated crops H. S. Mann;
22. Recreation and tourism in arid lands M. D. Sutton;
23. Management of water resources in arid lands J. L. Thames and J. N. Fischer;
24. Some social aspects of managing arid ecosystems M. D. Young; 25. Synthesis M. Evenari.

Customer Reviews