Fundamentals of Arid Zone Ecology include a wide range of landforms, soils, animal and plant life, water balances, and human activities. It is impossible to pin down exactly what conditions qualify as "arid" because of this variation. Nevertheless, aridity itself is the common thread that ties together the world's driest places. The degree of aridity is often quantified as a function of average annual precipitation and average annual temperature. A region is deemed to be dry when there is a significant dearth of water resources, to the point that plant and animal growth and development are hampered or prevented. Arid regions are sometimes described as xeric or desertic because of their absence of flora. Foundations of Arid Zone Ecology, including geography, physiography, and Rajasthan's climate, are some of the primary themes covered in this book. Another is how to comprehend how deserts arise and are distributed. The book also discusses how wastelands are distributed and how plants and animals may adapt to dry environments, both of which are important in this topic. Also, we discuss the ecological effects of the Indira Gandhi Canal in this book.

Publisher Description

This volume was first published in 1981. The history of man's use of arid lands is a sad record of deterioration of the natural resource base and of low and declining living standards for the 300 million people who live in them. One prerequisite to meeting the challenge of reversing the deterioration and of raising living standards is a sound knowledge of the natural ecosystems.

Ecology is an essential subject for students studying zoology at all universities. This book covers every aspect of ecological theory, from the individual to the ecosystem scale. Strong emphasis is placed on abiotic and biotic variables impacting organisms, adaptions, the ecology of species populations, and interactions between species. The book provides comprehensive description of community structure and functions, ecological niche ecological succession, ecosystem processes, ecosystem energetics, biogeochemical cycles, biomes, endemism, theory of island biogeography, disturbance, and habitat fragmentation. Significant attention has been paid to the benefits and services provided by biodiversity as well as the problems that pose an unprecedented risk to biodiversity.

Presents the principles, theory, methods, and applications of landscape ecology and is supplemented by numerous examples and case studies from a variety of systems.

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.