Download or read book Arid Land Ecosystems: Volume 2, Structure, Functioning and Management written by D. W. Goodall and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-03-19 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume was first published in 1981. The history of man's use of arid lands is a sad record of deterioration of the natural resource base and of low and declining living standards for the 300 million people who live in them. One prerequisite to meeting the challenge of reversing the deterioration and of raising living standards is a sound knowledge of the natural ecosystems.