Aridity and salinity limit sustainable biomass production and agricultural practices in desert areas. The capability of halophytes plantation with wind deposits containing around 10% gypsum was evaluated for reclamation of saline soil and its effect on the production of Sorghum bicolar L., in an arid area. Two substance treatments at concentrations of 25 and 50 ton ha⁻¹ gypsum and wind deposits at levels of 85 and 170 ton ha⁻¹ were applied. Biological treatments were applied using halophyte plantation as a pioneer species. Sorghum was cultivated for all substance treatments and the production of sorghum was determined for the different treatments. Results indicated that the method leads to a reduction of salinity from 139 to <4 dS m⁻¹ and SAR declined from 129.6 to 6.2 after a period of 15 months. The performance of wind deposits used in these experiments was higher than pure gypsum to reclaim saline soils. Maximum production of sorghum has been obtained by the treatment of 85 ton ha⁻¹ wind deposit. Results indicated land reclamation and biomass production of forage seems possible when using wind deposit in the study area and therefore the wind deposit can effectively be used for reclamation of saline soil and plant production in arid environments. This study evaluated the efficiency and environmental benefits of halophyte plantations incorporated with wind deposits resulting from wind erosion for saline-sodic soil reclamation. This approach illustrated the capability of the method as an eco-friendly and inexpensive method for biomass production in arid regions for the first time. The appropriate halophyte plants and optimum amount of wind deposit were evaluated in comparison to gypsum amendment for saline-sodic soil reclamation and biomass production.

Considering Arctic-Antarctic (North-South) carbon dioxide (CO2) dynamics over time, one can see a ripple of a Vegetation Signal [VRi] on an increasing baseline trend [BTr]. The VRi gradually disappears when moving southwards (towards the Antarctic). It is observed in CDIAC data that the [VRi], superposed on an increasing CO2 baseline trend increase disappears when traveling southwards. How so?The observation is intuitively obvious, since the Northern hemisphere contains approximately 68% of the Earth's landmass and is home to about 90% of the global population. In contrast the Southern hemisphere is left with 32% landmass and a tiny 10% of the global population. Due to these differences in landmass and population, the North South dynamics of carbon dioxide mixing ratios is primarily determined by the differences in vegetation density, human population density, and atmospheric circulation patterns, including a variety of factors of less impact on atmospheric CO2 dynamics.More sources of CO2 in the Northern hemisphere determine the global CO2 trend line over time on the condition that the atmosphere is well mixed in a short time interval. The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) acts as a barrier to the mixing of air masses from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. This makes CO2 dynamics in each hemisphere more distinct in a short-term time frame (seasons). The [BTr] is determined more by long-term CO2 emissions from anthropogenic origin (years).When comparing global trends in CO2 mixing ratios obtained with remote sensing estimates by NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) with measurements from the CDIAC CO2 monitoring stations over several years, the separation of [VRi] from [BTr] leads to interesting results. Ensuring the data are consistent, one is required to remove outliers and perform gap-filling if necessary. Subsequently one has to decompose the CDIAC CO2 time series into its [VRi] and [BTr] components. This can be done using techniques such as seasonal numerical decomposition of time series. The seasonal component [VRi] represents a regular annual cycle driven essentially by vegetation photosynthesis and respiration. The increasing trend component [BTr], reflects the more long-term changes in CO2 mixing ratio’s driven by anthropogenic and other sources of CO2 emissions. A harmonic model is fitted to the deseasonalized and detrended data to quantify the seasonal amplitude and phase of [VRi]. The seasonal amplitude represents the strength of [VRi] due to carbon fixation, while the phase indicates the timing of maximum uptake and release of CO2, depending on the latitude in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. To validate atmospheric CO2 dynamics of remotely sensed CO2 mixing ratios, the CDIAC measured CO2 mixing ratios are used in a comparison of both types of CO2 data. Only then, factors, such as climate, land cover and human population densities, can be understood better. It may allow to model the forcing processes determining RS observed and measured trends and variations of CO2 mixing ratios, and their impact on changes in climate.