Journal of Arid Environments最新文献

{"title":"Soil organic carbon recovery and soil health in semi-arid drylands with years of transition to perennial grasses","authors":"Dotun Arije ,&nbsp;Rajan Ghimire ,&nbsp;Prakriti Bista ,&nbsp;Sangamesh V. Angadi ,&nbsp;Charlotte C. Gard","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105263","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105263","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Semi-arid drylands face unique challenges for sustainable land management and soil carbon (C) sequestration due to significant depletion in soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, increasing water scarcity, and climate change. Restoring perennial grasses could regenerate these lands, enhancing SOC storage and soil health. This study investigated the SOC recovery potential, C saturation limit, and time required for the saturation in semi-arid drylands with perennial grass sequences. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 15 and 15–30 cm depths of an annual winter wheat system (AWWS) and three perennial grass sequences, i.e., 3-years of perennial grass (3YPG), 6-years of perennial grass (6YPG), and 20-years of perennial grass (20YPG), each replicated four times. Results reveal significant depth-dependent variations in soil parameters while maintaining the ranking of 20YPG &gt; 6YPG &gt; AWWS &gt; 3YPG in SOC storage at 0–15 cm soil depth. Linear regression analysis showed a SOC sequestration rate of 0.46 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ across grass sequences. Total nitrogen (TN), potentially mineralizable nitrogen (PMN), mineral-associated organic carbon (MAOC), and particulate organic carbon (POC) accumulated at rates of 0.04 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, 0.34 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, 0.24 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, and 0.22 Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively, across all treatments in the surface soil layer. A regression model predicted that the 20YPG field would reach MAOC saturation in approximately 80 years at the 0–15 cm depth and 230 years at the 15–30 cm depth if the current condition persists. This research shows the enormous potential of SOC sequestration in arid and semi-arid drylands with grassland restoration. It also underscores the significance of perennial grass systems in enhancing soil health and SOC sequestration. Identifying grass species producing high, economically useful biomass in water-limited semi-arid environments may provide agricultural sustainability and climate change solutions for dry regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105263"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142422572","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}

{"title":"Diversity and fire responses in Renosterveld, the forgotten relation of fynbos, in southernmost Africa","authors":"O.E. Curtis ,&nbsp;W.J. Bond ,&nbsp;S. Chimphango","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105261","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105261","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105261"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142358532","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}

{"title":"Dune elongation and hunting strategy during the Terminal Pleistocene (Ramonian): Insights from Mizpor Ashalim, northwestern Negev dunefield margins, Israel","authors":"Alla Yaroshevich ,&nbsp;Joel Roskin ,&nbsp;Naomi Porat ,&nbsp;Adrian Nigel Goring-Morris ,&nbsp;Lotem Robins","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105260","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105260","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Middle Epipalaeolithic Ramonian culture, endemic to the Negev-Sinai desert, incorporates highland occupations alongside lowland dune-associated localities. The lowland sites, dominated by microlithic tools, have been hypothesized to be prime hunting settings. Here we investigate this hypothesis based on the data from Mizpor Ashalim - a new Ramonian site located upon a falling dune overlooking the central Besor Valley. The study incorporates analysis of projectile damage on microlithic tools, geomorphology, portable OSL profiling, and OSL ages of the dune deposits, as well as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) investigation. GIS mapping of relevant sites alongside the ancient dune-dammed water bodies constitutes an additional methodological tool newly applied in the current study.</div><div>The results support the hypothesis and suggest that Ramonian hunting strategy was associated with dune-dammed, medium-sized basins that formed ecological niches following winter floods. The study sheds new light on adaptations developed by different cultural entities occupying the region during the Terminal Pleistocene and their connection with changing environmental settings. At the same time, it emphasizes technological continuity throughout the cultural sequence in the arid environments of the Southern Levant, expressed in microliths production and projectile design. This continuity, not observed in the Mediterranean climate zone, underscores the importance of understanding the social and economic dynamics in the desert areas of the Southern Levant to comprehend the processes that led to sedentism and food production in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105260"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142326324","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}

{"title":"What are the odds? Neolithic “game boards” from the Levant","authors":"Gary Rollefson","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105257","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105257","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A total of 14 Neolithic sites have reported 51 game boards, ranging geographically from mid-7th millennium Shir in west-central Syria and Chaga Safid in western Iran to early 8th millennium at Wadi Hamarash 1 above the Wadi al-Hasa, and at Beidha in southern Jordan to Wadi Tbeik in the southern Sinai. Several sites have also reported possible pieces or tokens that may have played roles in board games. It is, on the other hand, just as likely that the game boards had a more serious purpose that involved the fate of communities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105257"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142311663","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}

{"title":"Importance of birds and bats in the diet of the striped polecat (Ictonyx striatus) in archaeological heritage Old Dongola (Sudan)","authors":"Piotr Tryjanowski ,&nbsp;Andrzej Węgiel ,&nbsp;Tomomi Fushiya ,&nbsp;Artur Obłuski","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105259","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105259","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Deserts present unique challenges to the survival of various animal species, particularly mammals, which must develop special adaptations to thrive in these harsh environments. However, some species may take advantage of human-induced changes, such as the development of infrastructure, even established in ancient times. Then, this study examines the diet composition of the striped polecat (<em>Ictonyx striatus</em>) at the archaeological site of Old Dongola in Sudan. Through non-invasive faecal analysis, we identified 205 prey items from 139 scats, including insects, birds, and bats. Our findings suggest that the striped polecat's predation on birds and bats could help mitigate damage to archaeological sites caused by guano. These results highlight the dietary plasticity of the striped polecat and its potential role in preserving archaeological heritage by naturally controlling pest populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105259"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142315284","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}

{"title":"Stopover by migrant Montagu's Harriers in the Thar Desert is determined by vegetation greenness and grasshopper abundance but not locust outbreaks","authors":"T Ganesh ,&nbsp;Arjun Kannan ,&nbsp;Prashanth M.B. ,&nbsp;Abhishek Samrat","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105253","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105253","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Food availability is an important criterion for migrant birds' decision to stay or leave a stopover site. This can vary depending on the conditions at the site. The Thar Desert of the Indian subcontinent is a major stopover area for birds wintering further south in the region. The desert is also prone to stochastic outbreaks of desert locusts that often coincide with the stopover time of migrating birds. Between 2017 and 2022, we tracked nine tagged Montagu's Harriers (<em>Circus pygargus</em>) using PTT and GPS-GSM transmitters to determine if the stopover duration at stopover sites in the desert is influenced by the availability of migratory locusts or resident grasshoppers and the strategies the birds employ, such as, foraging over a wide area or multiple sites to ensure refuelling during stopover. The mean stopover duration during the 2019 peak locust outbreak was 12 days compared to 18 days in other years. Birds did not track locust occurrence deliberately and preferred to stopover at the same sites each year, irrespective of locust outbreaks. The stopover duration at stopover sites appears to be linked to arrival date, vegetation greenness (NDVI) and marginally to grasshopper abundance. We conclude that the stochastic availability of locusts at stopover sites may provide only an opportunistic source of abundant food for migrant harriers and does not seem to affect their stopover duration. Instead, they choose a more stable strategy of relying on resident grasshoppers, less prone to strong fluctuations in abundance and distribution at the stopover sites.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105253"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142311662","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}

{"title":"The Hedendoa and half-weaving","authors":"Janet Levy","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105241","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105241","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Hedendoa of Sudan produce goat-hair blankets, called <em>shamlas,</em> for nuptial ceremonies employing an extremely rare and labour-intensive half-weaving technique that is completely unrelated to the narrow braided sewn strips used to produce palm leaf mats that cover their tents. I hypothesize that this technique exemplifies technological transfer resultant from casual encounters and incomplete observations of the weaving techniques of the Bedouin pastoral nomads of the region.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105241"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142241724","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}

{"title":"Fertile island variation depends on species differences in the deserts of Northwest China","authors":"Boyi Song ,&nbsp;Yuxin Xiao ,&nbsp;Nargiza Galip ,&nbsp;Xinyu Zhang ,&nbsp;Weiwei Zhuang","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105258","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105258","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Desert ecosystems are extremely arid and nutrient poor. “Fertile islands” formed by mobile sand dunes and perennial desert plants are crucial for maintaining the structure and function of these ecosystems. However, the impacts of fertile islands created by different plant species at various spatial locations on soil physicochemical properties such as soil nutrients remain unclear. This study focused on the legumes (<em>Astragalus flexus</em> Fisch.), and non-legume (<em>Eremurus inderiensis</em> (M. Bieb.) Regel) plants widely distributed in the Gurbantunggut Desert in northwestern China. We analyzed the soil physicochemical properties of fertile islands formed by these two desert plants at different horizontal distances (0–140 cm) and vertical depths (0–15 cm). In addition, we investigated the relationship between plant functional shape and soil physicochemical properties. This study yielded the following results. (1) The fertile island was observed within the 0–140 cm soil layer of <em>Astragalus flexus</em> and <em>Eremurus inderiensis</em> and gradually weakened with increasing horizontal distance and soil depth. (2) The two plants had different nutrient enrichment rates. <em>Eremurus inderiensis</em> had higher TP and AK enrichment rates than <em>Astragalus flexus</em>. In contrast, <em>Astragalus flexus</em> demonstrated significantly higher enrichment rates for TN, NH₄⁺-N, and NO₃⁻-N, especially NH₄⁺-N, highlighting the ability of legumes to fix and uptake N. (3) The correlation between plant height, crown width, and soil nutrient enrichment rate was more significant for <em>Eremurus inderiensis</em> than for <em>Astragalus flexus</em>. In general, both plants formed the fertile islands that gradually decreased with the increasing distance (both horizontal and vertical). Different plants exhibited varying abilities to enrich soil nutrients and form fertile islands, which presented a clear species effect. Therefore, protecting the diversity of desert plants to form stable fertile islands could be crucial for maintaining the soil fertility in desert ecosystems.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105258"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142241723","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}

{"title":"Bringing water values into play in the Atacama desert water crisis","authors":"Raphael Cantillana ,&nbsp;José Luis Molina ,&nbsp;Irene Iniesta-Arandia","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105256","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105256","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The current water crisis in the Atacama Desert is explained by extractivist models based on the overexploitation of this resource. Extensive mega-mining is devastating water reserves and causing inequities in access for local indigenous communities. In the present work, through ethnographic research in the community of Mamiña, we show how the water values of different local actors come into conflict. Through a positioned analysis model, we observe two types of water-related values, some determined by worldviews and others created by socio-environmental relationships throughout history. Along these two axes, we observe the emergence of new pragmatic values that make an adequate collective response to the water crisis challenging to implement. We argue that this paradox can be better understood through an approach focused on the sociocultural analysis of water values, deriving from the context of their emergence, as well as their complementarities and dynamics.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105256"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140196324001368/pdfft?md5=4cb4e702af0dc5c532c3a827041d3112&pid=1-s2.0-S0140196324001368-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142171731","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}

{"title":"Measuring the adaptive capacity of rangeland users under drought stress in North-eastern Iran: application of social network analysis","authors":"Mehdi Ghorbani ,&nbsp;Behnaz Esmaeili ,&nbsp;Elham Akbari ,&nbsp;Maryam Yazdanparast ,&nbsp;Leila Avazpour","doi":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105254","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jaridenv.2024.105254","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Drought events have significant impact on ecosystems and the livelihoods of rural communities in Iran. So, the purpose of this study was the analysis and evaluation of dimensions of adaptive capacity (AC) against drought in Bajestan county, Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. A questionnaire was used to collect data for social network analysis (SNA) and AC by the full network method. Then, a combined SNA-SEM model was developed to determine what was the social response of rangeland users in dealing with drought. In this study, the AC of rangeland users was compared in two groups of villages covered by the collaborative management or Carbon Sequestration Project (CSP) and uncovered by CSP. The results confirmed that the villages under CSP had higher levels of AC and social capital. Among five capitals, indicators of economic resources and information, skills and management were more effective on AC. Among the SNA indexes, effsize, constrain, indirects, density and betweenes centrality are more effective on AC of rangeland users. Results showed that identifying the key actors, who have the power and influence to determine the information flow and financial inflows in these components, can help increase the AC of rangeland users to mitigate effects of drought.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":51080,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Arid Environments","volume":"225 ","pages":"Article 105254"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142161605","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}