Discusses the exploration and sustainable valorization of natural resources from the arid zones, focussing on the challenges the industry faces in an era of sustainability. It describes the geographic and climatic characteristics and the natural resources from arid zones of microbiological resources, plants resources and animal resources.

This new book analyzes the exploration and sustainable valorization of natural resources from the arid zones, putting special emphasis on the challenges that the industry faces in an era of sustainable development and ecological conservation programs. The volume describes the geographic and climatic characteristics as well as the natural resources from arid zones, divided into three main groups: a) microbiological resources as biotechnological tools and change agents to produce and/or obtain compounds with industrial or medicinal applications; b) plants as an important source of principal compounds or subproducts produced by natural adaptation to the extreme environmental conditions; and c) animal resources, which includes insects, animal residues, products or subproducts derived from animal sources, as well as poisons. The authors focus on the processes or bioprocesses used in the valorization and transformation of these three main groups for research purposes as well as for biotechnological processing to obtain important compounds for use in various industries. The information provided in this volume, Exploration and Valorization of Natural Resources from Arid Zones, can be used as reference for investigation, training, and education, and also as main tool in under- and postgraduate university education on the sustainable uses of resources from arid zones.

In this book, the authors integrate various perspectives on the evaluation of natural resources in arid and semiarid zones, analyze development options, and discuss systems analysis tools that could be important for the management of technology.

In this book, the authors integrate various perspectives on the evaluation of natural resources in arid and semiarid zones, analyze development options, and discuss systems analysis tools that could be important for the management of technology.

This publication aims to contribute to planning and management approaches that minimize land degradation and desertification in arid and semi-arid zones as a result of extractive industries operations. Both operational and policy guidance are included to help those government departments responsible for the licensing, planning and monitoring of extractive industries activities to take account of environment and development issues in their decision-making.

Extensive regions of the world have a climate which, whilst permitting development of a continuous vegetative cover, is too dry for successful annual cropping. These are the semi-arid areas where land use is based on the natural vegetation. Easily degraded and difficult to maintain, they are under increasing pressure as expanding human populations move in and endeavour to force a living from them. As a result they contain some of the worst examples of resource degradation. This book examines the problems and opportunities involved in man's use of semi-arid areas. The authors are all actively involved in research and land management in the areas discussed. Each chapter begins with a detailed, up-to-date account of the ecology of the region (its climate, soils, vegetation, fauna and main ecological characteristics). This is followed by a history of land use, problems involved in its management, a review of current research and recommended land use practices. The common features of semi-arid ecosystems are brought together in a final section.

First Published in 1983. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.