Showing papers in "Journal of Arid Environments in 1979"

TL;DR: Many current topics are covered such as mesoscale meteorology, radar cloud studies and numerical cloud modelling, and topics from the second edition, such as severe storms, precipitation processes and large scale aspects of cloud physics, have been revised.

TL;DR: The Chihuahuan desert is one of the least-known regions in North America as discussed by the authors and the lack of scientific investigation by any discipline is reflected by the vague and inconsistent boundaries assigned to this arid zone.

TL;DR: In this article, aeolian sand grains were treated with saturated solutions of Na2SO4 in a climatic cabinet programmed to simulate a hot desert environment, and it was shown that silt-sized particles are produced under these conditions, the particles are angular and salt-crystal growth in cracks and other lines of weakness in the original particles may be responsible for the disintegration.

TL;DR: In this article, a review of gypsum crusts is presented, focusing heavily on information from north Africa and to some extent south-west Africa though literature from other areas is also examined.

TL;DR: The 1-year water loss from a weighing lysimeter containing a large creosotebush (Larrea tridentata (DC) Cav.

TL;DR: The area surveyed in this paper presents three main ecogeomorphological systems, which are differentiated into various habitats, and thirteen community types, recognized by features of plant growth and habitat, can be distinguished.

TL;DR: In this article, the amount of water gained by the tenebrionid beetles following intake of hygroscopic material was measured in field experiments and found to be substantial.

TL;DR: Arthropods were extracted from soil samples taken from around four perennial plant species in Rock Valley, Nevada, from January to December 1974 as discussed by the authors, and a model has been constructed to estimate population densities and biomasses.

TL;DR: The primary function of desert coloration is camouflage as discussed by the authors, both in offence and defence, and the thermal significance of colour is usually slight, unless found on black sands and lava flows, when it may have a cryptic function.

TL;DR: In this paper, the US/IBP Desert Biome was summarized to determine if photosynthetic groups of plants have a selective competitive advantage in desert environments, and to determine the relative magnitude of primary production efficiency for the perennial vegetation.

TL;DR: The effects of soil-dwelling desert detritivores on litter breakdown and decomposition are associated in varying degrees with rainfall.

TL;DR: In this paper, post-palaeolithic material excavated in the Lower Tilemsi Valley at Karkarichinkat suggest that the area was not occupied before c. 4000 b.p.

TL;DR: The impact of Australia's land administration policies on arid land development and use is discussed with reference to the arid zone as mentioned in this paper, and the experience gained from these lessons is discussed so that other countries may benefit from the mistakes which have been made and from the principles which underlie Australia's current policies.

TL;DR: In this study, both community type and season significantly influenced density in red kangaroos in the central Australian desert.

TL;DR: An explanation is offered for the parallel occurrence of orange elytra prior to their selection for aposematic and mimetic advantage for scarabs in the Namib Desert.

TL;DR: The shelter afforded by two predominant plant growth habitats is examined in relation to its use by insects as a refuge during daily thermal maxima in the desert.

TL;DR: Rhythmic activity was studied in four scorpion species, finding that the rhythmic activity of the mesic species indicates diurnal and crepuscular patterns, whereas the xeric species are mostly nocturnal.

TL;DR: In this article, temperature data from vertical profiles from 1 cm below the soil surface to 1 m above the ground are presented for selected diel cycles for each of the four seasons from mid-1973 until mid-1977.

TL;DR: In this article, a supplementary water balance index is proposed, in which positive values make distinctions between climates permitting soil moisture storage and negative values differentiate between climates producing year-around moisture deficit.

TL;DR: The role of weather, enemies and food in the ecology of Periscyphis granai, which lives in the western highlands of Saudi Arabia, was studied in this paper, where high mortality due to flooding was observed.

TL;DR: In this paper, seasonal variation in soil mycoflora from hillside and valley sites was determined from samples isolated by soil-baiting and dilution-plate techniques.

TL;DR: In this article, it is shown that the terraces are fluvial in origin and that they preserve a record of fluvia incision and arid interruption. But, although the first part of the hypothesis may be accepted, subsequent modification by deflation requires caution in the acceptance of the second.

TL;DR: Population dynamics of the woodlouse Periscyphis granai (Arcangeli) were studied from March 1976 to March 1978 in the western highlands of Saudi Arabia, showing that the population comprised primarily the two youngest age groups.

TL;DR: Measurement of the metabolic rates of eight species of Rajasthan desert rodents and of Rattus rattus at a moderately low temperature during winter has revealed that there is a significant negative correlation between metabolic rates and temperature.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated and surveyed three rangelands of Herat Province, in western Afghanistan, to provide data on livestock and pasture productivity; husbandry systems; and the size, major problems and attitudes to change of the various livestock-owning groups.