Preface

TL;DRAbstract

Climate was long defined as the mean weather conditions in a given location. A corollary to this definition is that climate is an inherent and invariant aspect of environment. More and more, climate is being recognized instead as an environmental variable, and an overwhelming body of evidence points to accelerated rates of climate change during the past century. At the same time, unmistakable environmental changes have occurred in dryland regions in response to human behavior. Some of the human factors include the sedentarization of nomads, the continual increase in urbanization, population increase, land-use changes, and technological means of exploiting the environment. The result is worldwide changes in the land surface, soils, and vegetation. One of the future challenges is to understand the interplay between these various aspects of the environment and managing the environmental resources in ways that provide for human well-being while conserving and protecting the resources.

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