Journal of Arid Environments最新文献_第3页

Ethnoecology of desert truffles hunting: A cross-cultural comparative study on practices and perceptions in the Mediterranean and the Near East

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-15 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105367

Mousaab Alrhmoun , Naji Sulaiman , Giulia Mattalia , Hiwa M. Ahmed , Chadi Khatib , Yeter Yeşil Cantürk , Giovanni Zucca , Abdelkader Ammam , Mushtaq Ahmad , Andrea Pieroni

{"title":"Ethnoecology of desert truffles hunting: A cross-cultural comparative study on practices and perceptions in the Mediterranean and the Near East","authors":"Mousaab Alrhmoun , Naji Sulaiman , Giulia Mattalia , Hiwa M. Ahmed , Chadi Khatib , Yeter Yeşil Cantürk , Giovanni Zucca , Abdelkader Ammam , Mushtaq Ahmad , Andrea Pieroni","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105367","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105367","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates desert truffle hunting practices across Iraq (including the Kurdistan Region), Eastern Turkey, Syria, and Sardinia (Italy) based on data collected with semi-structured interviews from 58 hunters in 21 locations distributed across the four countries. Employing both Principal Component Analysis and qualitative analysis, the research focuses on ecological, cultural, and economic dimensions of traditional desert truffle hunting/foraging in the Mediterranean and the Near East. The study demonstrates diverse ecological contexts and cultural practices, revealing the reliance on natural indicators for truffle detection and the cultural significance of this practice. Additionally, novel findings highlight the various perceived threats faced by desert truffle ecosystems, including soil erosion, land use patterns, market dynamics, climate change, and threats associated with desert truffle hunting across conflict zones. The study emphasizes the economic contributions of truffle harvesting to local communities, shedding light on its significance for rural livelihoods. Truffles are a traditional medicine for vision disorders, as well as cooking and snack food. By providing comprehensive insights into these multifaceted aspects, this study enhances our understanding of desert truffle hunting's ecological, cultural, and economic importance and informs actionable steps for biocultural conservation, as well as sustainable development initiatives in truffle-rich regions globally.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 105367"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143627924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Groundwater allocation and the question of justice in Iran's rural communities

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-14 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105370

Majid Labbaf Khaneiki , Matthias Schmidt , Abdullah Saif Al-Ghafri , Ali Mohtashami

引用次数: 0

Desert journeys: Papers on the prehistory and protohistory of the arid Southern Levant in Honour of Steven A. Rosen

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-12 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105334

Yael Abadi-Reiss , Davida Eisenberg-Degen , Michal Birkenfeld , Liora Kolska Horwitz

引用次数: 0

Aridity mediates how grazing affects ground-dwelling arthropod abundance through changes in plant community properties in Mongolian grasslands

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-12 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105342

Issei Nishimura , Naohiro I. Ishii , Yulan Qi , Yuki Iwachido , Batdelger Gantsetseg , Gaku Takimoto , Hiroko Kurokawa , Maiko Kagami , Takehiro Sasaki

{"title":"Aridity mediates how grazing affects ground-dwelling arthropod abundance through changes in plant community properties in Mongolian grasslands","authors":"Issei Nishimura , Naohiro I. Ishii , Yulan Qi , Yuki Iwachido , Batdelger Gantsetseg , Gaku Takimoto , Hiroko Kurokawa , Maiko Kagami , Takehiro Sasaki","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105342","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105342","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In dryland ecosystems, grazing and increasing aridity (aridification) are major drivers of biotic community modification. Although some studies have indicated that the effects of grazing on plant communities change with aridity, the effects on ground-dwelling arthropod communities remain unclear. This study examined (1) aridity-dependent grazing effects on plant communities (plant species richness and community-weighted mean [CWM] of plant height) and ground-dwelling arthropod communities (abundances of herbivores, detritivores, and omnivores) and (2) the variation in interlinkages among grazing, plant communities, and ground-dwelling arthropod communities for steppe and desert steppe in a wide aridity range of Mongolian grasslands. The abundance of herbivores was enhanced by grazing, regardless of aridity. In contrast, with increasing aridity, the negative effects of grazing on the abundance of detritivores weakened, and the abundance of omnivores, mostly that of ants, shifted from positive to negative. A grazing-induced decrease in the CWM of plant height exhibited positive effects on the abundance of omnivores and negative effects on that of detritivores in the steppe; however, these effects were not observed in the desert steppe. Conclusively, this study highlights how aridity mediates the effects of grazing on plant and arthropod communities, providing insights into the changing dynamics of dryland ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 105342"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143600886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Similar post-drought functional trait response of native and exotic plant species in southwestern Arizona

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-12 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105355

Trace E. Martyn , Leslie M. Roche , Albert Kline , Mary Miller , Elise S. Gornish

{"title":"Similar post-drought functional trait response of native and exotic plant species in southwestern Arizona","authors":"Trace E. Martyn , Leslie M. Roche , Albert Kline , Mary Miller , Elise S. Gornish","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105355","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105355","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Extreme climate events such as severe drought and heatwaves are expected to increase in intensity, frequency, and duration across the southwestern USA. Understanding plant responses to such events can give us insight into the impact they have on plant communities and the communities' potential resilience. Plant functional traits (mean and variation) can provide insight into species’ drought response. We explored how mean and variance of trait values within species shifts in a drought year and the following wet year in southwestern Arizona. We also examined the response of different plant identities: life form (grass and forb) and native status (native and exotic). We measured 10 different functional traits on 12 species across both years and compared trait shifts across the two years. We found that most species displayed large trait shifts towards more acquisitive functional strategies in the wet year compared to the drought year. We found no clear differentiation between native and exotic species nor grass and forb species for the traits within or across years. Understanding the potential range of these responses enables us to manage plant communities in ways that can mitigate conditions leading to declines in species or even local extirpation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 105355"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143600887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Rapid conservation assessment of Boswellia sacra in Oman reveals complex threat and population patterns

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-12 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105368

Stephen Johnson , Ali Bait Said , Petr Vahalík , Lukáš Karas , Maïa Sarrouf Willson , Frans Bongers

{"title":"Rapid conservation assessment of Boswellia sacra in Oman reveals complex threat and population patterns","authors":"Stephen Johnson , Ali Bait Said , Petr Vahalík , Lukáš Karas , Maïa Sarrouf Willson , Frans Bongers","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105368","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105368","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Boswellia sacra</em> is an iconic dryland tree in southern Arabia and Somalia. A cultural keystone species, it produces frankincense resin long used for its medicinal and aromatic qualities. Recent research has indicated population declines and unsustainable exploitation of multiple species of <em>Boswellia</em>, including the Somalian <em>B. sacra</em> populations. However, information on the Arabian populations is minimal and contradictory. Therefore, we conducted a broad-scale rapid assessment of the <em>B. sacra</em> populations in the Dhofar mountains of Oman to map the species’ range, identify major threats, and predict if the same pattern of population collapse seen in other species is occurring in Oman.</div><div>Based on field surveys and distribution mapping, <em>B. sacra</em> likely occupies a range of at least 3465 km<sup>2</sup> in Oman. We observed regeneration across almost all populations, with 97 % of transects including at least 10 % small trees or saplings. However, population patterns were variable; both reverse-J shaped and bell-shaped population structures were observed in different locations. Threats identified varied geographically, and included overgrazing, resin overharvesting, mining, insect/pest attacks, and wind/flooding. Grazing pressure was prevalent across many populations, while harvesting pressure was concentrated in specific areas.</div><div>We conclude that the data do not currently indicate significant or widespread declines in <em>B. sacra</em> in Oman, as seen in other species. Still, given the burgeoning threats, improved socio-ecological management systems are needed to maintain this status. Key priorities include research to elucidate drivers of population patterns, improved rangeland management, enhanced monitoring and management of resin tapping, and identification of potential additional reserves.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 105368"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143600884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Changes in the distribution and availability of plant fuel associated with the invasion of non-native Pinus halepensis in high-altitude grasslands of Argentina

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-12 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105356

Ruth Rauber , Melisa Blackhall , Jorgelina Franzese , Stella Bogino , Alicia Cendoya

{"title":"Changes in the distribution and availability of plant fuel associated with the invasion of non-native Pinus halepensis in high-altitude grasslands of Argentina","authors":"Ruth Rauber , Melisa Blackhall , Jorgelina Franzese , Stella Bogino , Alicia Cendoya","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105356","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105356","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In Argentina, near the Sierra de los Comechingones, the exotic tree <em>P. halepensis</em> has been used mainly as an ornamental garden tree for more than a century. However, a few years ago, scattered populations began to be observed on the slopes of the hills, which are growing rapidly. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in the amount and distribution of combustible plant material to infer potential changes in fire behavior and in the physical structure of native communities. We performed fuel characterization following the point intercept method in three pine populations and three adjacent non-invaded grassland communities. Vertical fuel distributions were significantly different between the two types of communities (KS = 0.78, p < 0.01), and horizontal fuel continuity was also significantly different between the two types of communities (KS = 0.76, p < 0.01). According to our results, the invasion of <em>P. halepensis</em> could potentially affect fire dynamics and characteristics in the high-altitude grassland communities of the Sierra de los Comechingones and represents a change in the physical structure of the community, since it implies a replacement of natural grasslands with the presence of some shrub species by trees that can reach a large size.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 105356"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143600980","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Climate Extreme Indices Influencing GRACE Total Water Storage (TWS) in Semi-Arid Africa

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-11 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105357

Komi Mawulom Claude Afamondji , Ismail Mohsine , Nourelhouda Karmouda , Tarik Bouramtane , Mounia Tahiri , Ilias Kacimi , Sarah Tweed , Fatima Driouech , Marc Leblanc

{"title":"Climate Extreme Indices Influencing GRACE Total Water Storage (TWS) in Semi-Arid Africa","authors":"Komi Mawulom Claude Afamondji , Ismail Mohsine , Nourelhouda Karmouda , Tarik Bouramtane , Mounia Tahiri , Ilias Kacimi , Sarah Tweed , Fatima Driouech , Marc Leblanc","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105357","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105357","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the relationship between GRACE terrestrial water storage (TWS) data and climate indices related to temperature and precipitation across four semi-arid African regions: the Mediterranean (MED), West Southern Africa (WSAF), East Southern Africa (ESAF), and Madagascar (MDG). In addition to mean temperature and total precipitation, ten climate indices from the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI) were analyzed for their relevance to extreme rainfall and drought. Using a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network, the study improves TWS prediction accuracy, with feature ablation assessing the importance of each climate index. The LSTM model showed strong predictive performance (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.73–0.91), identifying the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) as the key driver of TWS variability. Specifically, 12-month time scale SPEI was dominant in MED, while 6-month time scale SPEI played a crucial role in WSAF, ESAF, and MDG. Regional trend analyses revealed persistent TWS declines in MED and MDG (2002–2022) due to intensified droughts. In WSAF and ESAF, trends reversed between 2002–2011 and 2012–2022, with early positive trends, particularly in northern WSAF, followed by intensified TWS losses.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"229 ","pages":"Article 105357"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143592440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Introducing a computationally light approach to estimate forest height and fractional canopy cover from Sentinel-2 data

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-06 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105343

Arvin Fakhri , Hooman Latifi , Kyumars Mohammadi Samani , Fabian Ewald Fassnacht

{"title":"Introducing a computationally light approach to estimate forest height and fractional canopy cover from Sentinel-2 data","authors":"Arvin Fakhri , Hooman Latifi , Kyumars Mohammadi Samani , Fabian Ewald Fassnacht","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105343","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105343","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Accurate and timely monitoring of forest attributes such as canopy height and cover is crucial in the face of global climate change and its impact on forests, in particular across semi-arid and fragile ecosystems. Motivated by this, we explored the potential of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery for estimating forest height (H) and fractional canopy cover (FCC) in semi-arid mountainous ecosystems, as challenging cases for optical remote sensing due to the prominent influence of soil background. Our investigation tackles a gap in current research by utilizing multi-temporal data to understand the effects of tree growth on Sentinel-2 spectral bands, and unravelling the spectral content of Sentinel-2 to estimate H and FCC at 10 m spatial resolution. We first estimated FCC and then H using a newly proposed vegetation index (VI) by optimizing Sentinel-2 band coefficients to mitigate soil influence. FCC was used included in the model to estimate H. We estimated the change in H (ΔH) over one and two-year growth periods, analysing the relationship between spectral variations and tree height growth. We propose a workflow for optimizing our index for FCC, H and ΔH to address the challenge of soil background influence in semi-arid tree cover. The results indicate a strong relationship between the optimized index and FCC, H and ΔH, with R<sup>2</sup> = 0.76, 0.70 and 0.62 respectively obtained using a linear model. The proposed method additionally underwent rigorous testing in a temperate forest study area characterized by dense forest stands and reference data from laser scanning, and returned moderate results which indicate the robustness and reliability of our approach to estimate H across forest structures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 105343"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Analysis of the relationship between vegetation indices and forage nutritional parameters in Mediterranean semi-arid rainfed grasslands

IF 2.6 3区环境科学与生态学

Journal of Arid Environments Pub Date : 2025-03-06 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105344

Toro-Mujica P , Lozano-Parra J , Enríquez-Hidalgo D

{"title":"Analysis of the relationship between vegetation indices and forage nutritional parameters in Mediterranean semi-arid rainfed grasslands","authors":"Toro-Mujica P , Lozano-Parra J , Enríquez-Hidalgo D","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105344","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2025.105344","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Information about herbage availability and its nutritional value is fundamental to implementing efficient and precise grassland management. However, obtaining such information is time-consuming and expensive, representing an important burden particularly when the herbage resources are scarce. The use of new technologies, such as remote sensing, has been proposed as a promising alternative. The objectives of this study were 1) to characterize the seasonal variation of herbage biomass and nutritional value of the naturalized grassland of the Mediterranean semi-arid zone, and 2) to develop regression models to predict the nutritional value of naturalized grasslands using vegetational indices (VIs) as predictive variables. The herbage growth and nutritional value of the grasslands were monitored. At the same time, multispectral images were captured, and VIs were generated. Results showed differences in botanical composition and nutritional values among sampling sites. The VIs that presented the best adequacy, based on values of R<sup>2</sup> and RMSE, for determining dry matter, crude protein, neutral, and acid detergent fibers were NDVI, CLRG, CLRG and GNDVI, respectively. The quick estimation of the nutritional value of grasslands from VIs obtained through aerial images offers significant potential for improving planning processes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 105344"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0