https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Sustainable water management is an increasing concern in arid regions around the world, and scientists and regulators are turning to remote sensing tools like OpenET to help track and manage water resources. OpenET uses publicly available data produced by NASA and USGS Landsat and other satellite systems to calculate evapotranspiration (ET), or the amount of water lost to the atmosphere through soil evaporation and plant transpiration, at the level of individual fields. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-rigorous-remote-tool-accuracy-satellite.html Earth Sciences Tue, 16 Jan 2024 16:07:07 EST news624643624 Reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere will take more than cutting emissions—we will also need to capture and store the excessive volumes of already-emitted carbon. In an opinion paper published in the journal Trends in Plant Science on September 21, a team of plant scientists argue that arid lands such as deserts could be one answer to the carbon-capture problem. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-sequester-co2-re-greening-arid-scientists.html Plants & Animals Thu, 21 Sep 2023 11:00:01 EDT news614509259 Ants are pretty much everywhere. There are more than 14,000 different species, spread over every continent except Antarctica, and researchers have estimated that there are more than four quadrillion individual ants on Earth—that's 4,000,000,000,000,000. But exactly how ants evolved to take over the world is still a mystery. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-ants-world-prehistoric-forests.html Evolution Fri, 31 Mar 2023 09:00:01 EDT news599410750 By tweaking the genes of microbes in the soil, it may be possible to make arid ecosystems more resilient to climate change and overgrazing, according to a new study. The research is in early stages, and currently consists of theoretical work using computer models. But the models suggest that even relatively small changes to key organisms could have profound effects. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-bioengineered-soil-microbes-desertification.html Ecology Wed, 26 Aug 2020 10:04:02 EDT news517655010 Drylands cover about 41% of the Earth's land surface and host one in three humans inhabiting our planet. In these areas, life is highly influenced by aridity, i.e. the balance between the amount of rainwater and the water lost by evaporation. In this sense, aridity is increasing worldwide as a result of climate change. A study conducted by the Dryland Ecology and Global Change Lab at the University of Alicante (UA) led by Fernando T. Maestre and published in Science revealed for the first time that as aridity increases, dryland ecosystems on the planet undergo a series of abrupt changes. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-climate-abrupt-shifts-dryland-ecosystems.html Environment Fri, 14 Feb 2020 09:38:28 EST news500895505 A Spanish and French team of researchers including Universidad de Alicante (UA) researcher Santiago Soliveres, members of the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, the National Agronomy Research Institute of France (INRA) and the Spanish National Research Council has studied the multiple facets of vegetable biodiversity in 123 arid and semi-arid ecosystems across the planet. The results, which are compiled in an article published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), show the importance of scarce species and their evolutionary history to maintain land fertility and productivity in arid areas around the world. https://phys.org/news/2019-04-biodiversity-key-fertility-productivity-arid.html Evolution Thu, 04 Apr 2019 09:19:40 EDT news473588374 Researchers led by a Washington State University biologist have found that arid areas, among the biggest ecosystems on the planet, take up an unexpectedly large amount of carbon as levels of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere. The findings give scientists a better handle on the earth's carbon budget—how much carbon remains in the atmosphere as CO2, contributing to global warming, and how much gets stored in the land or ocean in other carbon-containing forms. https://phys.org/news/2014-04-arid-areas-absorb-unexpected-amounts.html Environment Sun, 06 Apr 2014 13:00:06 EDT news316006189 The Saharan cousin of Mediterranean olive trees remains largely unknown. However, this subspecies (called the Laperinne's olive tree) is of great interest for several reasons. IRD researchers and their partners showed that its longevity is ensured by its original vegetative reproduction. Extremely drought-resistant, this "relict" tree could act as a genetic resource to improve its domestic counterparts, provided conservation actions are implemented to prevent its disappearance. https://phys.org/news/2013-05-sahara-olive-tree-genetic-heritage.html Ecology Fri, 03 May 2013 09:16:54 EDT news286791405 Some arid lands in the American West degraded by military exercises that date back to General George Patton's Word War II maneuvers in the Mojave Desert should get a boost from an innovative research project led by the University of Colorado Boulder. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-degraded-military-ecological-boost-cu-led.html Environment Thu, 15 Nov 2012 15:15:32 EST news272214919 (PhysOrg.com) -- In the Mojave Desert winds howl across this hottest place in North America, blowing sands across Death Valley and through empty ghost towns, swirling across treeless land for hundreds of miles. But even in the otherworldly Mojave, life thrives. The Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia), an indicator species for this desert, defines the Mojave's boundaries. In spring when the rains come, brightly colored flowers bloom in profusion--nature's paintbrush on an otherwise monotone landscape. https://phys.org/news/2009-11-climate-nitrogen-loss-threaten-life.html Environment Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:10:05 EST news176660557