Deserts and the planet
•Reduced visibility•Human diseases
Deserts Non-desertsDeserts Non-deserts
Cross-desert dust movement
Desert soilDesert waterDesert vegetation
Global wind system
Global environment and desert ecosystems
Why deserts matter?
Deserts and the rest of the globe
•Reduced visibility•Human diseases •Rainforest fertilization•Marine fertilization•Coral disease
Deserts Non-desertsDeserts Non-deserts
Cross-desert dust movement
Desert soilDesert waterDesert vegetation
Global wind system
Knowledge gaps• How frequent?• How far?Statistics on the frequency of dust • How much is “natural” and how much
is due to desertification?
Shifting sand dunes move from deserts to non-deserts?
Dune crest
Controlled grazing - stable dunes
Overgrazing - shifting dunes
Rangelands in arid drylands – satellite image (bottom right) and air photo
•Goods – the silk road, the perfume road the drug road (?)•Non-desert migratory birds
Cross desert migrations
Desert exports•Non-renewable resources•Bioprospecting – desert plant biochemicals•Warmth-requiring agricultural commodities
•Goods – the silk road, the perfume road the drug road (?)•Non-desert migratory birds
Cross desert migrations
Desert exports
•Non-renewable resources•Bioprospecting – desert plant biochemicals
•Fish•Warmth-requiring agricultural commodities
•Goods – the silk road, the perfume road the drug road (?)•Non-desert migratory birds
Cross desert migrations
Desert exports
•Non-renewable resources•Bioprospecting – desert plant biochemicals
Contribution of deserts to global science•Physiology•Ecology•Geology
•Fish
•Warmth-requiring agricultural commodities
•Solar energy
•By Carbon sequestrationSoil conservationAfforestation
•By reducing albedoVegetation conservation
Mitigation of global climate
Non-deserts affect deserts•Global warming and deserts•Tourism
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