Rainfall levels are rarely optimal, but there are hundreds of things you can do to efficiently conserve and use the water you do have and to reduce the impact of drought on your soil, crops, livestock, and farm or ranch ecosystem. Author Dale Strickler introduces you to the same innovative systems he used to transform his own drought-stricken family farm in Kansas into a thriving, water-wise, and profitable enterprise, maximizing healthy cropland, pasture, and water supply. Ranging from simple, short-term projects such as installing rain-collection ollas to long-term land-management planning strategies, Strickler’s methods show how to get more water into the soil, keep it in the soil, and help plants and livestock access it.

This volume provides in-depth coverage of the latest in remote sensing of hydrological extremes: both floods and droughts. The book is divided into two distinct sections – floods and droughts – and offers a variety of techniques for monitoring each. With rapid advances in computer modelling and observing systems, floods and droughts are studied with greater precision today than ever before. Land surface models, especially over the entire Continental United States, can map the hydrological cycle at kilometre and sub-kilometre scales. In the case of smaller areas there is even higher spatial resolution and the only limiting factor is the resolution of input data. In-situ sensors are automated and the data is directly relayed to the world wide web for many hydrological variables such as precipitation, soil moisture, surface temperature and heat fluxes. In addition, satellite remote sensing has advanced to providing twice a day repeat observations at kilometre to ten-kilometre spatial scales. We are at a critical juncture in the study of hydrological extremes, and the GPM and SMAP missions as well as the MODIS and GRACE sensors give us more tools and data than were ever available before. A global variety of chapter authors provides wide-ranging perspectives and case studies that will make this book an indispensable resource for researchers, engineers, and even emergency management and insurance professionals who study and/or manage hydrological extremes.

Drought, a serious global issue, is being aggravated by climate change. Both pedological and agronomic droughts are major risk factors with adverse effects on agronomic productivity, food and nutritional security, and human wellbeing. This volume in the Advances in Soil Sciences series provides research information regarding case studies from diverse agro-ecoregions around the world and lists examples of effective management of drought at farm, state, national, regional, and global scales. Features: Considers processes, factors, and causes of pedological/agronomic droughts. Discusses effects of global warming on soil drought and describes management options to enhance drought resilience of agricultural soils. Focuses on specific case studies along with review of a variety of tools and techniques designed to mitigate drought and reduce its impact on agronomic productivity. Includes information on soil health and its effects on drought. In addition to highlighting the scientific accomplishments of Dr. Bobby A. Stewart, this book is a major contribution to the global issue of drought management and its dynamics in relation to soil properties under changing climate. It is reference material for researchers, students, practitioners, and policymakers in soil science, agronomy, ecology and management of natural resources with specific focus on adaptation and mitigation of climate change, restoration of soil health, strengthening of biodiversity and promoting the strategy for advancing the “Sustainable Development Goals” or Agenda 2030 of the United Nations.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the multiple strategies that plants have developed to cope with drought, one of the most severe environmental stresses. Experts in the field present 17 chapters, each of which focuses on a basic concept as well as the latest findings. The following major aspects are covered in the book: · Morphological and anatomical adaptations · Physiological responses · Biochemical and molecular responses · Ecophysiological responses · Responses to drought under field conditions The contributions will serve as an invaluable source of information for researchers and advanced students in the fields of plant sciences, agriculture, ecophysiology, biochemistry and molecular biology.

“I can't imagine a designer or avid gardener who wouldn't want this on their bookshelf.” —Garden Design Online Waterwise Plants for Sustainable Gardens is a practical guide to the best 200 plants guaranteed to thrive in low-water gardens. Plant entries provide the common and botanical name, the regions where the plant is best adapted, growth and care information, and notes on pests and disease. This practical and inspiring guide includes a variety of plants, from trees to succulents, perennials to bulbs, all selected for their wide adaptability and ornamental value. Companion plants, creative design ideas, and full color photography make this guide a must-have resource for any sustainable gardener.

This graduate-level text and reference work is unique among the soil literature. It deals with the interdisciplinary fields of soil pollution and remediation. It starts off with a thorough and comprehensible introduction to the relevant fundamentals of mineralogy, chemistry, and soil properties. Readers are thus well prepared to understand the biochemical aspects of soil remediation then presented. The book’s holistic approach and narrative style are complemented by numerous and detailed illustrations. Soil pollution is an asset not only to graduate students and instructors, but also to professionals from the environmental and agricultural sciences, as it provides an integrated overview of previously separately treated material.

First Published in 2011. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.