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UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL DESERTIFICATION: BIOPHYSICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF HYDROLOGY

  • Chapter
Dryland Ecohydrology

Abstract

Drylands are regions of the globe where the index of aridity (IA)—defined as the ratio of mean annual precipitation (P) to mean annual potential evapotranspiration (PET)—is less than 0.65 (see Chapters 1 and 8). If we restrict IA to the range of 0.05 to 0.65, drylands consist of arid, semiarid, and dry sub-humid regions, which together cover approximately 5.2 billion hectares or 40% of the land area of the world (Table 1). This definition excludes hyper-arid regions of the globe where IA < 0.05, such as the Atacama, Arabian, and Sahara deserts (ca. 0.98 billion hectares or 7.5% of global land area). Based on human land use, ca. 88% of drylands are classified as rangeland, with the remaining 12% used in agricultural production (3% irrigated cropland, 9% rainfed; Table 1). Combined, Asia and Africa contain 64% of all global drylands, dwarfing the amount of dryland area on other continents. In terms of importance, however, these numbers can be somewhat misleading. While Europe contains only ca. 5% of the world’s drylands, this represents over 32% of its landmass and is home to 25% of its population. Similarly, Australia contains about 10% of the world’s drylands but they cover over 75% of the continent and are home to 25% of its population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Duke University, Phytotron Bldg., Durham, NC, Box 90340, 27708-90340, USA

    Fernando T. MAESTRE & James F. REYNOLDS

  2. Unidad de Biodiversidad y Conservación, E.S.C.E.T., Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/ Tulipán s/n, Móstoles, 28933, SPAIN

    Fernando T. MAESTRE

  3. Division of Environmental Science and Policy, Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Science, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708-90340, USA

    James F. REYNOLDS

  4. 4Departamento de Ingeniería Ambiental y Manejo de Recursos Naturales, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (IPICYT), Postal 3-74 Tangamanga, San Luis Potosí SLP, 78231, MEXICO

    Elisabeth HUBER-SANNWALD

  5. 5USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range MSC 3JER, Las Cruces, NM, Box 30003, 88003-8003, USA

    Jeff HERRICK

  6. Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre, Alice Springs, NT, PO Box 2111, 0871, AUSTRALIA

    Mark STAFFORD SMITH

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Virginia, U.S.A.

    Paolo D'Odorico

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Turin, Italy

    Amilcare Porporato

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MAESTRE, F.T., REYNOLDS, J.F., HUBER-SANNWALD, E., HERRICK, J., STAFFORD SMITH, M. (2006). UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL DESERTIFICATION: BIOPHYSICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC DIMENSIONS OF HYDROLOGY. In: D'Odorico, P., Porporato, A. (eds) Dryland Ecohydrology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4260-4_18

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