Agriculture In Semi Arid Environments

The semi-arid zones of the world are fragile ecosystems which are being sub stantially modified by the activities of mankind. Increasing human populations have resulted in greater demands on semi-arid zones for providing human susten ance and the possibility that this may enhance desertification is a grave concern. These zones are harsh habitats for humans. The famines that resulted from drought during the late 1960's and the 1970's in the African Sahel illustrated the unreliability of present agricultural systems in this zone. Large fluctuations in ag ricultural production have occurred in semi-arid zones of Australia, North Ameri ca, and the Soviet Union due to periodic droughts, even though considerable ag ricultural technology has been devoted to agricultural development in these zones. The challenge to mankind is to manage these different semi-arid zones so that pro ductivity is increased and stabilized, and environmental deterioration is decreased. Irrigation can be used to increase and stabilize agricultural production in semi-arid zones as discussed in Volume 5 of this series, Arid Zone Irrigation. The present volume, Agriculture in Semi-Arid Environments, focuses on dryland farming in semi-arid zones, and is relevant to the large areas of the world where rainfall is limiting and where water is not available for irrigation. This volume is designed to assist agricultural development in these areas and consists of reviews and analyses of available information by scientists working in Africa, Australia, and at the U ni versity of California.

Water Scarcity and Sustainable Agriculture in Semiarid Environment: Tools, Strategies and Challenges for Woody Crops explores the complex relationship between water scarcity and climate change, agricultural water-use efficiency, crop-water stress management and modeling water scarcity in woody crops. Understanding these cause- and effect relationships and identifying the most appropriate responses are critical for sustainable crop production. The book focuses on Mediterranean environments to explain how to determine the most appropriate strategy and implement an effective plan; however, core concepts are translational to other regions. Informative for those working in agricultural water management, irrigation and drainage, crop physiology and sustainable agriculture. Focuses on semi-arid crops including olive, vine, citrus, almonds, peach, nectarine, plum, subtropical fruits and others Explores crop physiological responses to drought at plant, cellular and/or molecular levels Presents tool options for assessing crop-water status and irrigation scheduling

Semi-arid climate regions receive low annual precipitation and intermediates between the desert climates and humid climates in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential. Semi-arid climates tend to provide scrubby vegetations in regions where they exist. There are two variations of the semi-arid climate, a hot semi-arid climate and a cold semi-arid climate. This book presents topical research data in the study of semi-arid environments, including the semi-arid environments of the El Melah Lagoon in Tunisia; improving reproductive outputs of small ruminants reared in semi-arid environments; the presence of cyanobacterial soil crusts in semi-arid ecosystems is associated with an increase in carbon and nitrogen sequestration; semi-arid vegetation in Brazil; and the semi-arid zone afforestation in northern Israel.

This book introduces state-of-the-art approaches, methods and research, focusing on smart management of rainwater. In addition, it provides an overview of projects from across the world, illustrating how rainwater-smart management has been implemented in drylands. Focusing on the scientific perspective it demonstrates how rural dryland agriculture can be improved. It also documents the wealth of rainwater-smart know-how available today, and replicates and transfers results to other countries and regions, to encourage cross-sector interactions among various stakeholders, such as practitioners from governmental and public organisations, policy- and decision-makers, and teaching staff from academic scientific institutions. The contributors showcase vital lessons learned from research, field projects and best-practice examples. They address the integrated use of rainwater harvesting management with landscape restoration practices and water-, and climate-smart agriculture for food security and poverty alleviation in arid and semi-arid areas. Original research, combined with the contributors’ synthetic approach, lays a foundation for new concepts and ideas. Through case studies and research reports, the book discusses all the relevant issues necessary for the comprehensive analysis and successful implementation of the technologies in rainwater management. Highlighting the working principles and technical recommendations with regard to cost-efficient rainwater-smart solutions, it is of interest to practitioners. It is also a valuable resource for academic specialists, professionals and students, since many development agencies are funding rainwater harvesting for irrigation purposes.

The problems of agriculture in the semi-arid regions; Assessing the possibilities for improving agriculture; Soil conservation; Water conservation; Water harvesting and use; Applications of water conservation.

Offering a cross-country examination and comparison of drought awareness and experience, this book shows how scientists, water managers, and policy makers approach drought and water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions of Spain, Mexico, Australia, South Africa and the United States.

This publication contains guidelines to sustain irrigated agriculture and protect water resources from the negative impacts of agricultural drainage water disposal. Using case studies from Central Asia, Egypt, India, Pakistan and the US, this study highlights four broad groups of drainage water management options and provides information to enable assessment of their impact and contribution towards development goals and to facilitate the preparation of drainage water management plans and designs. The options are: water conservation, drainage water re-use, drainage water disposal and drainage water treatment. The full texts of the case studies can be found on the attached CD-ROM.

Water is the most limiting factor for irrigated agriculture in arid and semi-arid areas of European Mediterranean countries. In this book, the authors' explore the different mechanisms and robust tools to monitor plant-water status, with the aim of keeping crops within a certain threshold of moderate-to-mild water stress. Other chapters include research on agricultural techniques in semi-arid environments that would benefit the surrounding environment and impact soil management. The third chapter includes site-specific documentation of landforms developed in the Ejina Basin in Central Asia and its implications for late quaternary landscape evolution and palaeoenvironmental change. The fourth chapter focuses on the links between economic value addition, demographics, personal income and entrepreneurship in selected South African towns. The last chapter reviews thirty years of ecological monitoring in Algerian arid rangelands.