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Desert Greening
Desert greening is the process of afforestation or revegetation of deserts for ecological restoration (biodiversity), sustainable farming and forestry, but also for reclamation of natural water systems and other ecological systems that support life. The term "desert greening" is intended to apply to both cold and hot Desert climate, arid and Semi-arid climate, semi-arid deserts . It does not apply to ice capped or permafrost regions. It pertains to roughly 32 million square kilometres of land. Deserts span all seven continents of the Earth and make up nearly a fifth of the Earth's landmass, areas that recently have been increasing in size. As some of the deserts expand and global temperatures increase, the different methods of desert greening may provide a possible response. Planting suitable flora in deserts has a range of environmental benefits from carbon sequestration to providing habitat for Xerocole, desert fauna to generating employment opportunities to creation of habi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sahara Satellite Hires
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic. The name "Sahara" is derived from , a broken plural form of ( ), meaning "desert". The desert covers much of North Africa, excluding the fertile region on the Mediterranean Sea coast, the Atlas Mountains of the Maghreb, and the Nile Valley in Egypt and the Sudan. It stretches from the Red Sea in the east and the Mediterranean in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the west, where the landscape gradually changes from desert to coastal plains. To the south it is bounded by the Sahel, a belt of semi-arid tropical savanna around the Niger River valley and the Sudan region of sub-Saharan Africa. The Sahara can be divided into several regions, including the western Sahara, the central Ahaggar Mountains, the Tibesti Mountains, the Aïr Mountains, the Tén ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desert
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or Semi-arid climate, semi-arid. This includes much of the Polar regions of Earth, polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location. Deserts are formed by weathering processes as large variations in temperature between day and night strain the Rock (geology), rocks, which consequently break in pieces. Although rain seldom occurs in deserts, there are occasional downpours that can result in flash floods. Rain falling on hot rocks can cause them to shatter, and the resulting frag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phoenix Dactylifera
''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as the date palm, is a flowering-plant species in the palm family Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet #Fruits, fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across North Africa, northern Africa, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Australia, South Asia, and the desert regions of Southern California in the United States. It is Naturalisation (biology), naturalized in many Tropics, tropical and Subtropics, subtropical regions worldwide. ''P. dactylifera'' is the type species of genus ''Phoenix (plant), Phoenix'', which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms. Date palms reach up to 60–110 feet in height, growing singly or forming a Clumping (biology), clump with several stems from a single root system. Slow-growing, they can reach over 100years of age when maintained properly. Date fruits (dates) are oval-cylindrical, long, and about in diameter, with colour ranging from dark brown to bright red or yellow, depen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ziziphus Spina-christi
''Ziziphus spina-christi'', known as the Christ's thorn jujube, is a thorny and an evergreen tree or plant native to the Levant, East Africa, and Mesopotamia. Ecology In the Levant, it grows in valleys up to an elevation of 500 m, and is drought tolerant and heat-resistant. The ripe fruits are edible. The seed, contained within a small, oblong woody pit, is opened and eaten by local fauna, including the rock hyrax. Cultural and religious references In the Levant and wider Middle East, it is called '' sidr'' (associated with the lote tree of the Quran), and is common in the Jordan Valley and around Jerusalem, as well as in the Hajar Mountains of the United Arab Emirates. By some traditions, it was the tree from which Jesus' crown of thorns was made. Matthew George Easton argues that ''Z. spina-christi'' is too brittle to be bent into a crown, and suggests another local plant, ''Ziziphus lotus''. The oldest known ''Z. spina-christi'' is located in Ir Ovot, in the south o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acacia Tortilis
''Vachellia tortilis'', widely known as ''Acacia tortilis'' but now attributed to the genus ''Vachellia'' of the Mimosa Family ( Mimosaceae), is the umbrella thorn acacia, also known as umbrella thorn and Israeli babool, a medium to large canopied tree native to most of Africa, primarily to the savanna and Sahel of Africa (especially the Somali peninsula and Sudan), but also occurring in the Middle East. Distribution and growing conditions ''Vachellia tortilis'' is widespread in Africa, being found in countries like Tunisia, Morocco, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, and Botswana. It tends to grow in areas where temperatures vary from and rainfall is anywhere from about per year. Characteristics In extremely arid conditions, it may occur as a small, wiry bush. In more favorable conditions, it grows up to in height. The tree carries leaves that grow to approx. in length with between 4 and 10 pair of pinnae each with up to 15 pairs of leaflets. Its most interesting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecoscaping
Ecoscaping is a spatial planning discipline that integrates landscape architecture and environmental science to create sustainable designs or construction. The approach of Ecoscaping is holistic and strives to respect the pre-existing materials, microenvironments, and structures (backyards, cities, campuses, etc.) in sustainable land use management with ecological balance. Process Ecoscaping searches for solutions to improve the look of a property while making minimal impact on the surrounding environment, protecting biodiversity and wildlife habitats, achieving nature conservation and ecological balance. Examples of Ecoscaping techniques include: * Using natural products instead of artificial decoration * Planting trees and minimizing the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers * Creating out-buildings, decks, trellises, etc. that work in with the land. * Rainwater harvesting * Creating a self-contained water reservoir for water balance. Significance Ecoscaping ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sowing
Sowing is the process of planting seeds. An area that has had seeds planted in it will be described as a sowed or sown area. Plants which are usually sown Among the major field crops, oats, wheat, and rye are sown, grasses and legumes are seeded and maize and soybeans are planted. In planting, wider rows (generally 75 cm (30 in) or more) are used, and the intent is to have precise; even spacing between individual seeds in the row, various mechanisms have been devised to count out individual seeds at exact intervals. Depth of sowing In sowing, little if any soil is placed over the seeds, as seeds can be generally sown into the soil by maintaining a planting depth of about 2-3 times the size of the seed. Sowing types and patterns For hand sowing, several sowing types exist; these include: * Flat sowing * Ridge sowing * Wide bed sowing Several patterns for sowing may be used together with these types; these include: * Rows that are indented at the even rows (so that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salicornia
''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, central Asia, and southern Africa. Common names for the genus include glasswort, pickleweed, picklegrass, and marsh samphire; these common names are also used for some species not in ''Salicornia''. To French speakers in Atlantic Canada, they are known colloquially as ('mouse tits'). The main European species is often eaten, called marsh samphire in Britain, and the main North American species is occasionally sold in grocery stores or appears on restaurant menus as sea beans, samphire greens or sea asparagus. Description The ''Salicornia'' species are small annual herbs. They grow prostrate to erect, their simple or branched stems are succulent, hairless, and appear to be jointed. The opposite leaves are strongly reduced to small fleshy scales with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halophyte
A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. The word derives from Ancient Greek ἅλας (halas) 'salt' and φυτόν (phyton) 'plant'. Halophytes have different anatomy, physiology and biochemistry than glycophytes.Physiology of halophytes, T. J. FLOWERS, Plant and Soil 89, 41–56 (1985) An example of a halophyte is the salt marsh grass '' Spartina alterniflora'' (smooth cordgrass). Relatively few plant species are halophytes—perhaps only 2% of all plant species. Information about many of the earth's halophytes can be found in thhalophytedatabase. The large majority of plant species are glycophytes, which are not salt-tolerant and are damaged fairly easily by high salinity. Classification Halophytes can be classified in many ways. According to Stocker (1933), it is mainly o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located primarily in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada, with small portions extending into Arizona and Utah. The Mojave Desert, together with the Sonoran Desert, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Desert, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin Desert, Great Basin deserts, form a larger List of North American deserts, North American desert. Of these, the Mojave is the smallest and driest. It displays typical basin and range topography, generally having a pattern of a series of parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is also the site of Death Valley, which is the lowest elevation in North America. The Mojave Desert is often colloquially called the "high desert", as most of it lies between . It supports a diversity of flora and fauna. The desert supports a numb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lepidium Fremontii
''Lepidium fremontii'', the desert pepperweed, is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family which is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows on sandy desert flats and the rocky slopes of nearby hills and mountains. It takes its scientific name from John C. Frémont. Description ''Lepidium fremontii'' is a robust perennial herb producing a branching, tangled gray stem to about a meter in height. The many sprawling stems are foliated in linear leaves up to about 10 centimeters long which may have several fingerlike lobes. The plant produces thick raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...s of many small flowers. Each flower has spoon-shaped white petals just a few millimeters long. The fruit is a mostly flattened oblong to rounded capsule unde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acamptopappus Shockleyi
''Acamptopappus shockleyi'', or Shockley's goldenhead, is a perennial subshrub in the family Asteraceae found in and near the eastern Mojave Desert in southern Nevada and southeastern California.Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed. 2013, p. 183 Description ''Acamptopappus shockleyi'' is a perennial subshrub. Flower heads are borne singly, with both ray flowers and disk flowers, compared to Acamptopappus sphaerocephalus which also grows in the Mojave Desert but has only disc flowers on heads in corymbose arrays.Lane, M. A. 1988. Generic relationships and taxonomy of ''Acamptopappus'' (Compositae: Astereae). Madroño 35: 247–265. ''Acamptopappus shockleyi'' grows from in flats and washes of the eastern Mojave Desert, White Mountains, Inyo Mountains, and areas of southern Nevada. Conservation , the conservation group NatureServe NatureServe, Inc. is a non-profit organization based in Arlington County, Virginia, United States, US, that provides proprietary wild ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
