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Conserving Biodiversity in Arid Regions pp 199–215Cite as

Aquatic Biodiversity in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones of Asia and Water Management

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Abstract

Contrary to the general impression, and paradoxical as it may appear, arid and semiarid regions are often quite rich in water resources and have many aquatic habitats. Some of the world’s large rivers such as Nile, Indus and Murray—Darling, pass through the arid regions though their source of water lies far outside the arid zone (Williams 2000). Many large and deep lakes, mostly brackish or saline, also occur within the arid regions; for example Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Dead Sea, Lake Chad, and the Great Salt Lake. There are hundreds of seasonal and ephemeral streams and thousands of shallow, freshwater and saline lakes (now better known as wetlands) of varying size and depth, many of which are permanent.

Keywords

  • Arid Region
  • Aquatic Habitat
  • Arid Zone
  • Semiarid Region
  • Agricultural Organization

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Brij Gopal

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  1. Brij Gopal
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of New England, Biddeford, ME, USA

    John Lemons

  2. Centre for Environmental Studies and Research, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman

    Reginald Victor

  3. Third World Academy of Sciences, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy

    Daniel Schaffer

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Gopal, B. (2003). Aquatic Biodiversity in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones of Asia and Water Management. In: Lemons, J., Victor, R., Schaffer, D. (eds) Conserving Biodiversity in Arid Regions. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0375-0_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0375-0_15

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