Hot Deserts and Arid Shrublands

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1. The Deserts of the Middle East (G. Orshan). Introduction. Climate. Geology and geomorphology. Soils. Phytogeography. Vegetation. Animals. The ecosystems. References. 2. The Deserts of the Arabian Peninsula (A.A. Abd el Rahman). Introduction. Climate. Geology. Soils. Plants. Animals. Soil micro-organisms. Man. Land use. References. 3. The Thar Desert (R.K. Gupta). Definition: limits and subdivisions. Climate. Geomorphology. Soils. Plants. Wild animals. Domestic animals. Soil micro-organisms. Man. References. 4. The Desert and Arid Zones of Northern Africa (H.N. le HouÉrou). Definition of the area. Climate. Geology. Plants, flora and vegetation. Animals. Soil fauna and flora. Man. Appendix: Edaphic ecological groups in the Arid Zone. References. 5. Hot Deserts of Egypt and the Sudan (M.A. Ayyad, S.I. Ghabbour). Definition. Climate. Geomorphology and surface deposits. Vegetation. Soil microbiology. Fauna. Biogeography. Human impact. Appendix: The Sinai Peninsula. References. 6. The Sahel Zone North of the Equator (Th. Monod). Definition. Climate. Geomorphology. Soils. Micro-organisms. Flora and vegetation. Phytogeography. The animal population. Man in the Sahel. The Sahelian ecosystem. Summary. Appendix I: Some plant species of the Sahel. Appendix II: Some animal species of the Sahel. References. 7. The Namib Desert (H. Walter). Introduction. Geographical position. Climate. Geomorphology. Soils. Plants. Animals. Soil micro-organisms. Man. Structure and function of the whole ecosystem. References. 8. The Karoo and Southern Kalahari (M.J.A. Werger). Introduction. Climate. Geomorphology and geology. Soils. Plants. Animals. Man. The ecosystems. References. 9. The Arid Region of Madagascar (W. Rauh). Introduction. Morphological-physiological characteristics. The structure of the dry forests of southeast Madagascar. The plant associations. The fauna. Impact of man on the vegetation. References. 10. Hot Desert Ecosystems: An Integrated View (A. Shmida, M. Evenari, I. Noy-Meir). Introduction. Spatial variation. Poor resources. Rich resources. Plasticity. Competition. References. Systematic List of Genera. Author Index. Systematic Index. General Index.