scholarly journals Between Sand Dunes and Hamadas: Environmental Sustainability of the Thar Desert, West India

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3602
Author(s):  
Jiri Chlachula
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Groundwater Depletion ◽  
Thar Desert ◽  
Tree Plantation ◽  
Sparse Vegetation ◽  
Precipitation Decrease

Extensive geographic areas of the world show a long-term atmospheric moisture deficit. Desertification of Rajasthan is concurrent with the strengthened weather extremality and mean annual air temperature (MAAT) rise over the western part of the Indian subcontinent. The present landscape aridification due to the precipitation decrease and reinforced windiness generates surface-cover dryness, aeolian erosion with a mass sediment transfer, salinity of excessively irrigated lands and groundwater depletion; altogether these pose major geo-environmental threats and settlement risks of the expanding Thar Desert. Livestock-overgrazing of sparse-vegetation contributes to ecological pressure to the fragile wasteland ecosystems with approximately three-quarters of the countryside affected to a certain extent by degradation and >50% exposed to wind erosion. Sand dune stabilisation by the drought-adapted tree plantation, the regional hydrology network regulation and the arid-land farming based on new xerophytic cultigens are the key land-use and mitigation strategies. Specific geomorphic palaeosettings predetermined patterned adaptive forms of the ancient desert inhabitation. Geo- and eco-tourism contributes to the arid-zone socioeconomic sustainability with regard to the rich natural and cultural heritage of the area. This study outlines the main effects of the current climate variations on the pristine and occupied lands of western Rajasthan, and the past and present relief transformations, and reviews the modern anthropogenic responses to desertification.

scholarly journals A Study of Desertification Using Remote Sensing Techniques in Basra Governorate, South Iraq

2021 ◽  
pp. 912-926
Author(s):  
Fadel Abbas Zwain ◽  
Thair Thamer Al-Samarrai ◽  
Younus I. Al-Saady
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Degradation ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Landsat Images

Iraq territory as a whole and south of Iraq in particular encountered rapid desertification and signs of severe land degradation in the last decades. Both natural and anthropogenic factors are responsible for the extent of desertification. Remote sensing data and image analysis tools were employed to identify, detect, and monitor desertification in Basra governorate. Different remote sensing indicators and image indices were applied in order to better identify the desertification development in the study area, including the Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), Salinity index (SI), Top Soil Grain Size Index (GSI) , Land Surface Temperature (LST) , Land Surface Soil Moisture (LSM), and Land Degradation Risk Index (LDI) which was used for the assessment of degradation severity .Three Landsat images, acquired in 1973, 1993, and 2013, were used to evaluate the potential of using remote sensing analysis in desertification monitoring. The approach applied in this study for evaluating this phenomenon was proven to be an effective tool for the recognition of areas at risk of desertification. The results indicated that the arid zone of Basra governorate encounters substantial changes in the environment, such as decreasing surface water, degradation of agricultural lands (as palm orchards and crops), and deterioration of marshlands. Additional changes include increased salinization with the creeping of sand dunes to agricultural areas, as well as the impacts of oil fields and other facilities.

Ecotourism in Protected Areas

2019 ◽  
pp. 22-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaunette M. Sinclair-Maragh
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecological Resources

This chapter explores the role of ecotourism in the sustainable development of protected areas. It specifically examines the aims of ecotourism in simultaneously contributing to economic development and environmental sustainability in protected areas. The chapter further analyzes protected areas within the ecological, human, and institutional dimensions, and demonstrates how the outcomes of ecotourism are linked to the economic, social, and environmental pillars that drive sustainable development. The chapter also discusses challenges surrounding the sustainability of ecotourism in protected areas and several mitigation strategies. It concludes that while ecotourism aims for economic development it can have detrimental effects on the ecological resources and host communities if not managed in a strategic sustainable way. The chapter recommends that ecotourism in protected areas should be carried out within the realm of environmental justice where all stakeholders and the natural environment are treated with respect and equity.

Do Stable Isotope Data from Calcrete Record Late Pleistocene Monsoonal Climate Variation in the Thar Desert of India?

1998 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian E. Andrews ◽  
Ashok K. Singhvi ◽  
Ansu J. Kailath ◽  
Ralph Kuhn ◽  
Paul F. Dennis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Green Light ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Thar Desert ◽  
Quaternary Sediments ◽  
Low Latitudes ◽  
Stable Oxygen ◽  
Glacial Periods

Late Pleistocene terrestrial climate records in India may be preserved in oxygen and carbon stable isotopes in pedogenic calcrete. Petrography shows that calcrete nodules in Quaternary sediments of the Thar Desert in Rajasthan are pedogenic, with little evidence for postpedogenic alteration. The calcrete occurs in four laterally persistent and one nonpersistent eolian units, separated by colluvial gravel. Thermoluminescence and infrared- and green-light-stimulated luminescence of host quartz and feldspar grains gave age brackets for persistent eolian units I–IV of ca. 70,000–60,000, ca. 60,000–55,000, ca. 55,000–43,000, and ca. 43,000–∼25,000 yr, respectively. The youngest eolian unit (V) is <10,000 yr old and contains no calcrete. Stable oxygen isotope compositions of calcretes in most of eolian unit I, in the upper part of eolian unit IV, and in the nonpersistent eolian unit, range between −4.6 and −2.1‰ PDB. These values, up to 4.4‰ greater than values from eolian units II and III, are interpreted as representing nonmonsoonal18O-enriched “normal continental” waters during climatic phases when the monsoon weakened or failed. Conversely, 25,000–60,000-yr-old calcretes (eolian units II and III) probably formed under monsoonal conditions. The two periods of weakened monsoon are consistent with other paleoclimatic data from India and may represent widespread aridity on the Indian subcontinent during isotope stages 2 and 4. The total variation in δ13C is 1.7‰ (0.0–1.7‰), and δ13C covaries positively and linearly with δ18O. δ13C values are highest when δ18O values indicate the most arid climatic conditions. This is best explained by expansion of C4grasses at the expense of C3plants at low latitudes during glacial periods when atmospheric pCO2was lowered. C4dominance was overridingly influenced by global change in atmospheric pCO2despite the lowered summer rainfall.

Population Dynamics and Movement Patterns of Bolam's Mouse, Pseudomys bolami, at Roxby Downs, South Australia.

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 353
Author(s):  
K.E. Moseby ◽  
J.L. Read
Keyword(s):  
Arid Zone ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Winter Rainfall ◽  
Land Systems ◽  
Single Night ◽  
Time Of Year

Basic ecological data were collected on Bolam&apos;s mouse, Pseudomys bolami, during a six year trapping study at Roxby Downs in northern South Australia. Pseudomys bolami inhabited mixed arid land systems in the Roxby Downs area, sheltering in the longitudinal orange sand dunes but foraging at night principally on the adjacent chenopod swales. Distances of up to 334m were traversed in a single night and recapture rates were high within trapping sessions but low between sessions suggesting wide-ranging movements and short-term residency. Dietary observations imply an omnivorous diet. Whilst the closely related P. hermannsburgensis is regarded as having an opportunistic breeding strategy, P. bolami reproduced opportunistically but also regularly in spring and early summer. Different reproductive strategies may be influenced by the latitudinal distribution of P. bolami near the southern margin of the arid-zone, where rainfall can occur at any time of year but winter rainfall is more predictable. This contrasts with P. hermannsburgensis, which inhabits more northerly arid areas where rainfall is erratic and unpredictable. There was a 10 fold fluctuation in P. bolami captures over the trapping period with numbers of P. bolami and house mice, Mus domesticus peaking 12 months after above average rains during 1992. Rodent captures remained high for two years afterwards. Although P. bolami persisted throughout the study period, M. domesticus was only present when conditions were above average. Trap success of P. bolami or M. domesticus did not vary between the five sub habitats at the 1 ha study site. However, trap success of P. bolami was positively related to vegetation cover, particularly cover of low bluebush, Maireana astrotricha. Maireana astrotricha may be important in providing both food and cover for P. bolami, a scenario consistent with the utilisation of spinifex, Triodia spp. by P. hermannsburgensis in the northern arid-zone. Past over- grazing of chenopod shrublands may have reduced cover and contributed to the suggested decline in the distribution of P. bolami.

Rural Household Livelihood and Tree Plantation Dependence in the Central Mountainous Region of Hainan Island, China: Implications for Poverty Alleviation

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruida Li ◽  
Hua Zheng ◽  
Cuiping Zhang ◽  
Bonnie Keeler ◽  
Leah H. Samberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Poverty Alleviation ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Hainan Island ◽  
Rural Household ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
Mountainous Region ◽  
Tree Plantation ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Household Livelihood

Plantations support local economies and rural livelihoods in many mountainous regions, where poverty and a fragile environment are often interlinked. Managing plantations sustainably and alleviating poverty is a major challenge. This study reports on the findings of a household livelihood survey in the central mountainous region of Hainan Island, a global biodiversity hotspot. The survey aimed to identify rural household livelihoods, strategies to lift rural households out of poverty and potential environmental consequences of different livelihood strategies. Households were divided into five groups based on their main source of income: plantations, crops, livestock, local off-farm income and remittances. Plantations were the main source of income for 74% of households and provided 46% of the total income. Plantation land area, planting diverse tree species and intercropping were significantly associated with higher income. Reallocating land by family size could increase the proportion of households above the poverty line in the plantation group from 51.3% to 85.3%, while making only 3.3% of households worse off. Lower income households tended to apply more chemicals to plantations, which suggests that they create more strain on the environment. Improving household income through dynamically allocating plantation land and diversifying planted species could therefore be beneficial both socially and environmentally. Our results emphasize the importance of dynamic plantation land allocation and diverse plantation planting in poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability.

scholarly journals AN ASSESSMENT OF THE VARIOUS MITIGATION STRATEGIES TO COMBAT DESERTIFICATION IN JIBIA AND KAITA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF KATSINA STATE

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
Richard Sunday Thlakma ◽  
John Eche Omale
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
Local Government Area ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
United Nations Convention

This study was conducted on an assessment of the various mitigation strategies to combat desertification in Jibia and Kaita Local Government Areas of Katsina State, Nigeria. The data use includes Satellite imageries for the study such as landsat MSS of 1976, landsat TM of 1987, SPOT XS of 1995 and landsat ETM of 2006 as well as structured questionnaires. Sixty close ended copies of the Questionnaire were administered in the study. Purposive sampling method of administering questionnaires was adopted. The percentages land mass covered for each of these variables was determined and estimated in M2. literature was obtained from various agencies which were responsible for desertification control in Katsina state. It was found from the reserved forest that in 1976 the percentage of reserved forest was 2.57%. In 1987 however, it increased by 73.9% to 76.47 %. By 1995, it declined by 9.42% to 67.05% and further declined by 0.52% in 2006. Effort to combat desertification through the use of reserved forest has been quite significant over the years. Also, noticed was a declined in shelter belt from 5.91% in 1987 to 1.097% in 1995 and a shot up to 7.39% in 2006. About 37% of the respondent opined that the deforestation leads to the disappearance of trees while 33% pinioned that it leads to reduction on agricultural productivity. The major strategy adopted to combat desertification is tree planting as supported by 88% of the respondents. It found that desertification as major environmental problem of the study area has reduced drastically from 43.34% in 1976 to 1.29% in 2006. It was also revealed from this study that some organizations such as European Economic Community/Katsina State government EEC/KTSG, Katsina Afforestation Project Unit KTAPU and Local Government Councils are the major agencies that are responsible for mitigating desertification in the study area. Keywords: Desertification, Mitigation, Afforestation, Shelterbelt and Satellite image References Ariyo, J.A, Abdullahi, C.J. Stigter, O.Z Onyewotu and I. Musa (2005). Community Participation in Planning Desertification, Control Interventions in Northern Nigeria. Lessons from Kano State. A Paper Presented at the Conference on Prospects and Problems of Agricultural Development in Nigeria, Held in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. June 29th – July 2nd, 2005. Auwal, U. (2006). An Appraisal of Desertification in Arid Zone of Bauchi State. Unpublished PGDEM thesis Department of Geography, Bayero University Kano. Babura, D.U. (2001). Desertifucation in Babura Local Government Area. Unpublished PGDEM Thesis. Department of Geography, Bayero University Kano.                                                                            Bala, A. (2003). An Evaluation of Drought Incidence and Hazards in Northern Nigeria. A Paper Presented at a Seminar on the Conservation of the environment. Department of Geography Isa Kaita College of Education, Dutsinma, Katsina State 5th November. Bins, T. (1990). The Threatening Deserts: Ox Blackwell. Campbell, D.J (1986). The  Prospects For desertification in Kajiado District Kenya, Geg. Federal Office of Statistics (1999). Annual Abstracts of Statistics: facts and Figures about Nigeria. Katsina  Afforestation Project Unit (2006). A brief on Katsina Afforestation Project Unit (FGN ASSISTED) 1st February, 2006. Katsina Afforestation Project Unit (2006). Annual Reports on Afforestation Projects. Katsina Afforestation Project Unit (2009). Annual Reports on Afforestation Project. Katsina Afforestation Project Unit KTAPU. (2009). A brief on Katsina Afforestation Project Unit (FGN  ASSITED) 5th February, 2009. Katsina Agricultural and Rural Development Authority KTARDA. (2006). Land Management\ Unit, Historical Background to soil conservation in Katsina State. Katsina Arid Zone Programme EEC/KTSG (1995). Soil Conservation Experience, A paper for KSACDP one day Soil conservation Strategy Workshop 14th December, 1995. Katsina Arid Zone Programme EEC/KTSG. (1995). Historical background of soil conservation efforts in Katsina State. Msafirri, F. (2009). Involving or not Involving Communities in strategies to combat Desertification and Drought in Kenya. Murtala S.K.  (2003). An Analysis of the problems of desertification in Katsina local government area. An NCE project, Isa kaita College of Education Dutsin Ma, Katsina state.  Nasiru, I.M. (2009). Combating Desertification and Drought in Nigeria. Daily Trust Monday, 25th. National Population Commission (2006). Federal Republic of  Nigeria (2009), National Population Commission Official Gazette No2, Abuja 2nd February 2009 Vol 96. Njeru, J. (2005). Monitoring and Modelling crop growth, water use and production crop growth, water use and production under dry land environment, north west of mount Kenya. Nyong, A.O. and Kanoroglou, P.S (1999). The Influence of water resources and their locations on rural distribution in north eastern Nigeria. A journal of environmental sciences. Owen and Pickering (1997). Global environmental issues. Rutledge and New York. Sagua, V.O, Enabor, E.E, K.O P.R.O, Ojanuga A.V, Mortimore, M. and Kalu, A.E. (1987). Ecological Disasters in Nigeria. Drought and Desertification Federal Ministry of science and Technology Lagos. Sani, M. (1996). Evaluation of Desertification and its effects in Jibia local Government area of Katsina state. Unpublished PGDEM Thesis. Department of Geography Bayero University Kano. Shittu, K. (1999). An Assessment on the socio economic effects of desertification in Katsina state. An Unpublished BSC project Department of Geography Bayero University Kano. Stebbing, E.P. (1935). The Encroaching Sahara: The Threat to west Africa colonies. A geographical Journal. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (1997). A new Response an age – old problem. United Nations Conversation on Desertification (1977). Desertification, it Causes and Consequences: Pergmon Press. United Nations, Department for Public Information (1997). The United Nations convention to combat desertification. Whates and Jones (1992). Land Degradation. Edward Arnold London. Copyright (c) 2019 Geosfera Indonesia Journal and Department of Geography Education, University of Jember This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share A like 4.0 International License

scholarly journals Rainfall Recovery in North-East Arid Zone of Nigeria: Comparative Analysis of Drought and Post Drought Decades

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abubakar Jajere ◽  
Adam Modu Abbas ◽  
Ali Abdu
Keyword(s):  
Arid Zone ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Characteristics ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Sahel Rainfall ◽  
Mean Trend

This study used annual rainfall records from three stations within the North East Arid Zone of Nigeria for the period (1957-2017) to measure the extent of the rainfall recovery by comparing the drought decades and post drought decades rainfall patterns. Monthly rainfall records from Potiskum, Maiduguri and Nguru Stations were used. Descriptive and inferential statistical tools were employed in analysing the data. The findings of the study revealed a significant year-to-year variability in rainfall characteristics around 61 years (1957-2017) averages. The variability was large in 1970s up till 1990s, and lower in 1960s and from 2000 to 2018. Decreasing trend in annual rainfall amount was observed during the study period while a stability in onset and cessation dates were observed. The differences between 1957-1986 and 1987-2017 climatic season were found to be statistically insignificant. The study concluded that the reported rainfall recovery from drought is statistically insignificant and the observed long term mean trend revealed a decreasing trend. Therefore, the theory of Sahel rainfall recovery can be better termed as a ‘’break of the series of drought or decline in frequency and magnitude of occurrence of drought’’ The research recommended the continuations with the drought adaptation and mitigation strategies adopted by local population, decisions makers and organizations following the series Sahelian droughts of 1970s and 1980s.

Environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-46
Author(s):  
Jagjeet Lally
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Indian Subcontinent ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
The North ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Circulatory Pattern

This chapter introduces the structure and organisation of caravan trade. Focusing on the environment, it opens by connecting the wave of political flux and state-building to the shock of the Little Ice Age, which hit Afro-Eurasia around the mid-seventeenth century. It then sketches the broad geography and circulatory pattern along the north-south routes from the Eurasian interior to the Indian subcontinent. It shows that exchange was based on specialisation and interdependence between the arid zone that stretched from central Asia to the Indo-Afghan frontier and the wet zone of monsoon south Asia, and was subject to seasonal rhythms, with climate shaping when—and through which routes—it was hospitable to pass. It also demonstrates that ecological change—as well as economic and political factors—could shift patterns of specialisation and thereby affect trade, illustrated through a case study of the Indo-central Asian horse trade.

Origins of Australian arid-zone tenebrionid beetles

2000 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 941 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Coastal Dunes ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Generic Level ◽  
Tethys Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Sclerophyll Forest

Three biogeographic components with very different histories are represented among the tenebrionids of the Australian arid zone: the Indo-Malayan element, which is related mainly to the Indonesian fauna; the Austral Gondwanan element, mainly related to that of southern South America; and one here called Tethyan, related to the fauna of northern hemisphere arid regions. Indo-Malayan groups appear to have arrived comparatively recently, probably by invasion from the north, and are differentiated within the arid zone mainly to the species level. Austral groups are the most diverse and have radiated extensively to generic level from ancestors inhabiting sclerophyll forest, probably by vicariance, within the present arid zone. Tethyan groups are endemic in the arid zone at tribal level and have no forest-inhabiting relatives anywhere. They have often become myrmecophilous in Australia, and because of their distribution patterns in the northern hemisphere, partial occurrence in coastal dunes, and apparently basal phylogenetic positions are surmised to have descended by vicariance from inhabitants of the coastal sand dunes of the Tethys Sea, probably in the Jurassic before there was an arid zone in Australia.

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