By
Walter Whitford, USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, U.S.A.
Description
Conventional wisdom considers deserts stark, harsh regions that support few living things. Most people also believe that water alone makes
the desert bloom.
Ecology of Desert Systems challenges these conventional views.
This volume explores a broad range
of topics of interest to ecosystem, population, community, and physiological ecologists. Climate, weather patterns, geomorphology, and
wind and water processes are examined as variables that affect the distribution of biota through fundamental ecosystem processes. Descriptions
of morphological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations of desert biota illuminate, through the lens of patch dynamics, principles
for understanding observed patterns of primary production, nutrient cycling, and the effects of consumers. Desertification, and the techniques
for monitoring and quantifying it, is examined within the framework of desert ecosystem patterns and processes.
Audience:
Undergraduate and graduate students, professionals, and scientists in environmental and natural resource management.
