Ecohydrology emerges as a new field of research aiming at furthering our understanding of the earth system through the study of the interactions between the water cycle and vegetation. By combining the analysis of biotic and abiotic components of terrestrial ecosystems, this volume provides a synthesis of material on arid and semiarid landscapes, which is currently spread in a number of books and journal articles. The focus on water-limited ecosystems is motivated by their high sensitivity to daily, seasonal, and decadal perturbations in water availability, and by the ecologic, climatic, and economic significance of most of the drylands around the world. Conceived as a tool for scientists working in the area of the earth and environmental sciences, this book presents the basic principles of eco-hydrology as well as a broad spectrum of topics and advances in this research field. The chapters collected in this book have been contributed by authors with different expertise, who work in several arid areas around the World. They describe the various interactions among the biological and physical dynamics in dryland ecosystems, starting from basic processes in the soil-vegetation-climate system, to landscape-scale hydrologic and geomorphic processes, ecohydrologic controls on soil nutrient dynamics, and multiscale analyses of disturbances and patterns.

Rigorous yet accessible textbook on ecohydrology for advanced students, and a reference for researchers, professionals, and engineers.

A grasp of key elements of several disparate disciplines is required in order to fully understand the sustainable management of water. The authors, who have undertaken extensive field work and published widely take an international perspective on water in the environment in order to tackle issues of dryland salinity and water allocation.

Addressing the connections between the hydrologic cycle and plant ecosystems, the authors build suitable mathematical models and apply them to studying the ecosystem structure. Response to rainfall and climate forcing is analyzed from different areas of the world, including savannas, grasslands and forests. The book will appeal to advanced students and researchers in environmental science, hydrology, ecology, earth science, civil and environmental engineering, agriculture, and atmospheric science.

Encyclopedia of the World’s Biomes is a unique, five volume reference that provides a global synthesis of biomes, including the latest science. All of the book's chapters follow a common thematic order that spans biodiversity importance, principal anthropogenic stressors and trends, changing climatic conditions, and conservation strategies for maintaining biomes in an increasingly human-dominated world. This work is a one-stop shop that gives users access to up-to-date, informative articles that go deeper in content than any currently available publication. Offers students and researchers a one-stop shop for information currently only available in scattered or non-technical sources Authored and edited by top scientists in the field Concisely written to guide the reader though the topic Includes meaningful illustrations and suggests further reading for those needing more specific information

This book provides a comprehensive overview of dryland climates and their relationship to the physical environment, vegetation, hydrology, and inhabitants. Packed with photographs and an extensive review of the primary literature, this is a unique interdisciplinary resource for researchers, environmental professionals and advanced students in fields from climatology to geomorphology.

Drylands are the largest terrestrial biome on the planet, and the critically important systems that produce approximately 40% of global net primary productivity to support nearly 2.5 billion of global population. Climate change, increasing populations and resulting anthropogenic effects are all expected to impact dryland regions over the coming decades. Considering that approximately 90% of the more than 2 billion people living in drylands are geographically located within developing countries, improved understanding of these systems is an international imperative. Although considerable progress has been made in recent years in understanding climate change impacts on hydrological cycles, there are still a large number of knowledge gaps in the field of dryland ecohydrology. These knowledge gaps largely hinder our capability to better understand and predict how climate change will affect the hydrological cycles and consequently the soil-vegetation interactions in drylands. The present study used recent technical advances in remote sensing and stable isotopes, and filled some important knowledge gaps in the understanding of the dryland systems. My study presents a novel application of the combined use of customized chambers and a laser-based isotope analyzer to directly quantify isotopic signatures of transpiration (T), evaporation (E) and evapotranspiration (ET) in situ and examine ET partitioning over a field of forage sorghum under extreme environmental conditions. We have developed a useful framework of using satellite data and trend analysis to facilitate the understanding of temporal and spatial rainfall variations in the areas of Africa where the in situ observations are scarce. By using a meta-analysis approach, we have also illustrated that higher concentrations of atmospheric CO2 induce plant water saving and the consequent available soil water increases are a likely driver of the observed greening phenomena. We have further demonstrated that Leuning's modified Ball-Berry model and RuBP limited optimization model can generally provide a good estimate of stomatal conductance response to CO2 enrichment under different environmental conditions. All these findings provide important insights into dryland water-soil-vegetation interactions.

We are now entering the third decade of the 21st century, and recent drylands-focused research has led to major advances in our understanding of the coupled roles of climatic, edaphic, biotic, and anthropogenic processes in dryland ecosystem function, degradation, and sustainable management. Frontiers has organized a series of Research Topics to highlight the latest advancements in science in order to be at the forefront of science in different fields of research. This editorial initiative, led by Professor Niall Hanan, Specialty Chief Editor of the Drylands section, together with Dr. Lindsay Hutley, is focused on new insights, novel developments, current challenges, latest discoveries, recent advances, and future perspectives in the drylands field.

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC 2.5 license. This book provides an unprecedented synthesis of the current status of scientific and management knowledge regarding global rangelands and the major challenges that confront them. It has been organized around three major themes. The first summarizes the conceptual advances that have occurred in the rangeland profession. The second addresses the implications of these conceptual advances to management and policy. The third assesses several major challenges confronting global rangelands in the 21st century. This book will compliment applied range management textbooks by describing the conceptual foundation on which the rangeland profession is based. It has been written to be accessible to a broad audience, including ecosystem managers, educators, students and policy makers. The content is founded on the collective experience, knowledge and commitment of 80 authors who have worked in rangelands throughout the world. Their collective contributions indicate that a more comprehensive framework is necessary to address the complex challenges confronting global rangelands. Rangelands represent adaptive social-ecological systems, in which societal values, organizations and capacities are of equal importance to, and interact with, those of ecological processes. A more comprehensive framework for rangeland systems may enable management agencies, and educational, research and policy making organizations to more effectively assess complex problems and develop appropriate solutions.

Global Deforestation provides a concise but comprehensive examination of the variety of ways in which deforestation modifies environmental processes, as well as the societal implications of these changes. The book stresses how forest ecosystems may be prone to nearly irreversible degradation. To prevent the loss of important biophysical and socioeconomic functions, forests need to be adequately managed and protected against the increasing demand for agricultural land and forest resources. The book describes the spatial extent of forests, and provides an understanding of the past and present drivers of deforestation. It presents a theoretical background to understand the impacts of deforestation on biodiversity, hydrological functioning, biogeochemical cycling, and climate. It bridges the physical and biological sciences with the social sciences by examining economic impacts and socioeconomic drivers of deforestation. This book will appeal to advanced students, researchers and policymakers in environmental science, ecology, forestry, hydrology, plant science, ecohydrology, and environmental economics.