Land Resources and Their Management for Sustainability in Arid Regions

DETAILS : 

• Author : A. S. Kolarkar
  
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scientific Publishers Journals Dept
  
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 October 1996
  
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
  
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
  
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8172331258
  
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8172331252
  
• Weight : 650 g 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Land Resources and Their Management for Sustainability in Arid Regions, edited by the distinguished environmental and soil scientists A. S. Kolarkar, Dinesh Chandra Joshi, and Amal Kar, is a seminal academic volume addressing the critical challenges of dryland ecology. Published by Scientific Publishers (India), Jodhpur, this comprehensive 316-page hardback text serves as an essential manual for understanding environmental preservation in dry climates. The foundational philosophy of this book is centered on harmonizing aggressive modern agricultural technologies with the natural vulnerabilities of fragile, arid ecosystems. It strongly advocates that sustainable development cannot rely on short-term high biomass yields that exhaust natural environments, but must instead be rooted in resource-base maintenance for future generations.

The book is systematically structured into 26 comprehensive, research-driven chapters that investigate the physical, chemical, and human-induced dynamics of desertification. The early sections outline the distinct climatic, water, and soil constraints that govern arid zones, utilizing advanced methodologies like Landsat Remote Sensing to map out severe soil degradation, wind stripping, sheet wash, and natural salinization. The secondary portion focuses entirely on actionable, field-tested alternative land management models. It provides complete blueprints for watershed management, sophisticated water harvesting systems, integrated nutrient distribution, and alternate land-use practices. These specialized chapters guide researchers through practical interventions across silviculture, arid horticulture, and pasture development, detailing how to maximize land-livestock interactions without causing irreversible environmental decay.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Anant Sadashiv Kolarkar, alongside his co-editors Dr. D.C. Joshi and Dr. Amal Kar, represents the elite cadre of researchers historically attached to institutions like the Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) in Jodhpur. For decades, their collective field studies have mapped the soil profiles, land-use shifts, and desertification hazards of Western Rajasthan and the broader Indian arid zones.

The editorial and writing style of Kolarkar and his colleagues is strictly empirical, scientific, and quantitative. The authors deliberately bypass superficial ecological commentary, opting instead to present rigorous analytical data, remote sensing interpretations, and exact physical-chemical soil metrics. Their vast contribution to dryland literature—validated by decades of institutional research—establishes this editorial team as a foundational authority on South Asian desert ecology and sustainable agrarian land design.