Related topics: climate change , weather
Drought
hideA drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region. Although droughts can persist for several years, even a short, intense drought can cause significant damage and harm the local economy. This global phenomenon has a widespread impact on agriculture. The United Nations estimates that an area of fertile soil the size of Ukraine is lost every year because of drought, deforestation, and climate instability. Lengthy periods of drought have long been a key trigger for mass migration and played a key role in a number of ongoing migrations and other humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel.
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News tagged with drought
Peat fires drive temperatures up
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Peatlands, especially those in tropical regions, sequester gigantic amounts of organic carbon. Human activities are now having a considerable impact on these wetlands. For example, drainage projects, in combination with the ...
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Venezuela turns to cloud-seeding to battle drought
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 29, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Hugo Chavez says he is starting to "bombard" clouds now that Cuba has provided Venezuela with cloud-seeding help in an effort to produce rain and alleviate the effects of a severe drought.
Researchers find long awaited key to creating drought resistant crops
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers have determined precisely how the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) works at the molecular level to help plants respond to environmental stresses such as drought and cold. ...
California's troubled waters: Satellite-based findings reveal major groundwater loss in Central Valley (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
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New space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California's primary agricultural region - the Central Valley - and its major mountain water source - the Sierra Nevada - have lost nearly ...
Newly identified enzymes help plants sense elevated CO2 and could lead to water-wise crops
Dec 13, 2009 |
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Biologists have identified plant enzymes that may help to engineer plants that take advantage of elevated carbon dioxide to use water more efficiently. The finding could help to engineer crops that take advantage of rising ...
Unique 'Climate One Stop' Web Site Unveiled in Copenhagen
Dec 15, 2009 |
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There's a storm brewing -- a storm of information, that is, in climate and environmental research. People are wading through the turbulence, trying to make sense of it all.
When roots lose contact
Nov 30, 2009 |
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Plant roots can shrink as a result of water deficit and lose contact with the surrounding soil. This effect has been suspected for a long time, but has only now been demonstrated for a fact with the help of ...
Long-Term Effects of Carbon Dioxide on Plants Studied
Dec 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Long-term, open-top chamber studies of how rising carbon dioxide (CO2) could affect crops, forests, and pastures reveal a wide range of impacts, according to Agricultural Research Service ...
Maryland Farmer grows plants for green roofs around nation
Dec 02, 2009 |
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It is a crisp fall day on Emory Knoll Farms as John Shepley stops at a raspberry bush, picks a few berries and pops them into his mouth on his walk to the greenhouses.
Governments turn to cloud seeding to fight drought
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 10, 2009 |
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(AP) -- On a mountaintop clearing in the Sierra Nevada stands a tall metal platform holding a crude furnace and a box of silver iodide solution that some scientists believe could help offer relief from searing ...
What's so funny about global warming?
Dec 10, 2009 |
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Ian Leung has wanted to do something about global warming for almost two decades. Ever since he switched careers in 1991 from science advisor to the Ontario Ministry of Environment to pursue a career as an actor, the environment-and ...
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