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