News
Global Drylands
A vast study of semi-arid ecosystems or dry lands from every continent except Antarctica finds that biodiversity protects the soil and acts as a buffer against climate change. The findings reported in the Journal Science --> http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6065/174.summary are important because dry lands currently cover over 40 percent of the Earth’s land surface and support 40 percent of its human population.
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African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya. (Photo: Vicente Polo)
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Badlands in Morocco. (Photo: Cristina Escolar)
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Festuca orthophylla grassland in the high Andes of south Peru (Reserva Nacional de Salinas y
Aguada Blanca). (Photo: Jorge Monerris)
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Semi-arid steppe dominated by Stipa tenacissima near Carabaña, Spain. (Photo: Fernando T. Maestre)