Showing papers in "Journal of Arid Environments in 1983"

TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed analysis of runoff collecting conduits shows that most conduits are located within the steepest part of rocky and very stony slopes, whereas extensive gentle and stoneless loessial slopes are generally devoid of ancient agricultural farms.

TL;DR: In this article, the average composition of sand, sand, 62 per cent silt and 6 per cent clay was found to constitute 80 per cent of the average dust fallout in the northern Arabian Gulf region.

TL;DR: Rodent excavating activity increases rates of decomposition and organic matter turnover and may effect the distribution of ephemeral plants in warm desert ecosystems as discussed by the authors, however, the results were limited.

TL;DR: It is concluded that desert spiders belong mainly to two ecological groups: Mygalomorphae and large, long-lived tube-dwelling Lycosidae and Sparassidae and K-selection species and small, short-lived, nomadic hunting spiders of the families Gnaphosidae, Salticidae and Thomisidae.

TL;DR: In this article, the species numbers, guild, and trophic structure of carrion arthropod communities were examined for 18 mammalian carcasses of varying mass in the northern Chihuahuan desert from May to September 1980.

TL;DR: Experiments showed that the germination temperature responses of non-dormant seeds of the two species were broadly similar: they germinated over a wide range of constant temperatures and at various fluctuating temperature regimes simulating temperature cycles that prevail during both the rainy and dry seasons.

TL;DR: In this paper, a thin, light-colored, silt-rich deposit covers soils of various ages on the California Channel Islands and data on its particle size distribution, particle morphology and mineralogy suggest that it is of aeolian origin.

TL;DR: The Khadin is a land-use system developed centuries ago in the Jaisalmer district of Western Rajasthan as discussed by the authors, where runoff from the catchment is stored in the lower valley floor enclosed by an earthen "bund" and any surplus passes out through a spillway.

TL;DR: The taxonomic richness was low in springheads and increased in middle and lower reaches, presumably a result of unfavorable physico-chemical conditions in spring sources, and amelioration of these factors downstream.

TL;DR: In this paper, three vegetation types were recognized in a 7·5 km transect at Thewel on the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast, namely: (i) mangal, dominated by Avicennia marina; (ii) salt marsh dominated by Halopeplis perfoliata, Aeluropus massauensis and Zygophyllum coccineum; and (iii) coastal desert dominated by Panicum turgidum and Acacia tortilis.

TL;DR: Jackrabbits, Lepus californicus, prune stems from creosotebushes Larrea tridentata during the dry winter months, eating the previous season new woody stems allowing the leaves and old wood to fall to the ground.

TL;DR: In this article, the response to fog of six tenebrionid beetles was found to be correlated with the water balance of the individual adult beetle, the characteristics of a fog and the climate occurring between fogs.

TL;DR: Woodland vegetation in the Asir mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia was quantitatively surveyed to delineate development patterns associated with topography and elevation and species segregate on the basis of ecological importance depending on slope aspect, elevation, and human impact.

TL;DR: In this article, the effects of 8-year-old shelterbelt plantations indicate a general reduction in wind velocity, wind erosion and evaporative loss of moisture from fields protected with Prosopis juliflora, Cassia siamea and Acacia tortilis.

TL;DR: Guayule plant temperature measurement with infrared thermometers was investigated as a means for estimating water stress in guayule in this article, which was found to be ideally suited for determining the onset, duration and relief of moisture stress.

TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between basal metabolic rates (BMR) and thermal conductance (C) of small burrowing desert rodents has been investigated and it was shown that the combination of high BMR and low C values in very small mammals may compensate in thermoregulation for a high surface-mass ratio.

TL;DR: In a greenhouse experiment, unstressed agave (Agave americana L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) had TRs of 114 and 133, respectively, under stress, the TR of corn increased to 166, but remained at 114 for agave as mentioned in this paper.

TL;DR: The life history tactics of two sympatric species of desert snails are compared and it is concluded that the two species have adopted different strategies to cope with their harsh environment: Sphincterochila boissieri is closer to the K ‘syndrome’ of the K–r continuum, while Trochoidea seetzeni is closer.

TL;DR: It was demonstrated that leaf quantity and structure are controlled by the moisture status of the environment and the existence of phenotypic plasticity in Z. quatarense was thus suggested.

TL;DR: A population of Tropidurus peruvianus was studied using Barber traps along an elevational transect in the Lomas of southern Peru from April 1974 to May 1975; the more important items in the diet were adult and larval beetles, ants, and flies.

TL;DR: In this paper, the nature of intensity-duration relationships of desert storms for a range of recurrence intervals at Avdat, Israel, is determined, and a family of intensity and duration curves converging to a common intensity for the maximum recorded storm duration is found realistically to reflect the dimensions and variability of desert showers.

TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of crop growth stage, the amount of rainfall on biological water harvesting and its possible effect on intervening drought periods, are discussed in maize and sorghum canopies.