[net-gold] INDOOR GARDENING : GARDENING : AGRICULTURE : FOOD SUPPLY: Agriculture Changes Deserts From The Ground Up
- From: "David P. Dillard" <jwne@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Net-Gold -- Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Educator Gold <Educator-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Net-Gold <Net-Gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, NetGold <netgold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K-12ADMINLIFE <K12ADMIN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, K12AdminLIFE <K12AdminLIFE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, MediaMentor <mediamentor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Digital Divide Diversity MLS <mls-digitaldivide@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, NetGold <netgold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Platinum <net-platinum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Sean Grigsby <myarchives1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Net-Gold <NetGold_general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple Gold Discussion Group <TEMPLE-GOLD@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Temple University Net-Gold Archive <net-gold@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Health Lists -- Health Diet Fitness Recreation Sports Tourism <healthrecsport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Health Diet Fitness Recreation Sports <healthrecsport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, HEALTH-RECREATION-SPORTS-TOURISM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Indoor Gardening -- Indoor Gardening and Urban Gardening <indoor-gardening-and-urban-gardening@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Indoor Gardening Urban <IndoorGardeningUrban@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 09:05:28 -0400 (EDT)
.
.
INDOOR GARDENING :
GARDENING :
AGRICULTURE :
FOOD SUPPLY:
Agriculture Changes Deserts From The Ground Up
.
.
Agriculture Changes Deserts From The Ground Up
By Caitlin Kight
September 9th 2011 08:45 AM
Science 2.0
http://www.science20.com/anthrophysis/
agriculture_changes_deserts_ground-82461
.
A shorter URL for the above link:
.
http://tinyurl.com/3ljhvlr
.
.
As human population numbers worldwide continue to increase, we are having
to be increasingly clever about finding ways to produce enough food for
all consumers. One potential technique is converting deserts into
agricultural landscapes. Anyone who knows their history will be aware that
this practice is by no means new, but modern technology allows desert
farming on much larger scales--not only creating larger agricultural
areas, but also producing greater quantities of food.
.
There have been several studies investigating the feasibility of
large-scale desert farming, but one variable that has not received much
attention is bacteria--specifically, the type and function of bacteria
that are present in desert soils. One thing that is known is that deserts
have much more bountiful and diverse bacterial communities than once
thought. This is impressive given that these creatures have to tolerate
extreme temperatures, the threat of desiccation, high soil salinity, low
nutrient levels, high summer UV radiation levels, and physical instability
caused by wind. But how will they fare against the introduction of
agricultural crops? If they form partnerships with plants (by living in or
near plant roots), might they have beneficial effects on crops by
buffering them from soil pathogens?
.
by collaborators from Austria's Graz University of Technology and Eypt's
SEKEM and Heliopolis University. The scientists collected soil samples
from in and around desert agricultural fields used to grow German
chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.), pot marigold (Calendula officinalis
L.), and Solanum distichum Schumach&Thonn. (an African herb in the
nightshade family). By subjecting the samples to different types of DNA
analyses and culturing techniques, they were able to compare bacterial
communities between farm and desert soil, identify particular species
groups and individual species present at the two types of site, and
investigate the potential anti-fungal capabilities of different soil
species.
.
snip
.
Desert agriculture has the potential to have many positive effects,
including generating more food in poor regions, producing renewable crops
for industrial application, and capturing/restoring carbon dioxide in the
soil. One of the known drawbacks of this method is the amount of water
required for irrigation; for example, approximately 5 billion cubic meters
of water is thought to be necessary for the 40% growth of desert farmland
forecast for Egypt over the next 6 years. On top of this, the current
study indicates that farming will also alter soil bacterial composition;
however, while some of the more extreme-habitat-loving bacteria
disappeared from agricultural soils, the overall diversity of the
bacterial community was actually higher in farm sites.
.
.
The complete article may be read at the URL above.
.
.
Cited Article:
Kerl, M., Mler, H., Ramadan, E.M., and Berg, G.
Desert farming benefits from microbial potential in arid soils and
promotesdiversity and plant health.
2011. PLoS ONE 6(9):e24452
.
.
.
Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@xxxxxxxxxx
http://daviddillard.businesscard2.com
Net-Gold
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold
http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html
Index: http://tinyurl.com/myxb4w
http://groups.google.com/group/net-gold?hl=en
General Internet & Print Resources
http://guides.temple.edu/general-internet
COUNTRIES
http://guides.temple.edu/general-country-info
EMPLOYMENT
http://guides.temple.edu/EMPLOYMENT
TOURISM
http://guides.temple.edu/tourism
DISABILITIES
http://guides.temple.edu/DISABILITIES
INDOOR GARDENING
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndoorGardeningUrban/
Educator-Gold
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Educator-Gold/
K12ADMINLIFE
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K12AdminLIFE/
The Russell Conwell Learning Center Research Guide:
THE COLLEGE LEARNING CENTER
http://tinyurl.com/yae7w79
Nina Dillard's Photographs on Net-Gold
http://tinyurl.com/36qd2o
and also http://gallery.me.com/neemers1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/neemers/
Twitter: davidpdillard
Bushell, R. & Sheldon, P. (eds),
Wellness and Tourism: Mind, Body, Spirit,
Place, New York: Cognizant Communication Books.
Wellness Tourism: Bibliographic and Webliographic Essay
David P. Dillard
http://tinyurl.com/p63whl
http://tinyurl.com/ou53aw
INDOOR GARDENING
Improve Your Chances for Indoor Gardening Success
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndoorGardeningUrban/
http://groups.google.com/group/indoor-gardening-and-urban-gardening
SPORT-MED
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/sport-med.html
http://groups.google.com/group/sport-med
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sports-med/
http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/sport-med.html
HEALTH DIET FITNESS RECREATION SPORTS TOURISM
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/healthrecsport/
http://groups.google.com/group/healthrecsport
http://healthrecsport.jiglu.com/
http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/health-recreation-sports-tourism.html
.
.
Please Ignore All Links to JIGLU
in search results for Net-Gold and related lists.
The Net-Gold relationship with JIGLU has
been terminated by JIGLU and these are dead links.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/30664
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/healthrecsport/message/145
.
.
Other related posts:
- » [net-gold] INDOOR GARDENING : GARDENING : AGRICULTURE : FOOD SUPPLY: Agriculture Changes Deserts From The Ground Up - David P. Dillard
