Is Sustainable Development of Deserts Feasible?
By Yuriy S. Polyakov, William B. Eimicke, Ibrahim M. Musaev, Sergey V. Polyakov Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Hot deserts cover about one-fifth of the Earth’s land area (1). They are usually characterized by the lack of moisture and the abundance of sunlight. Both factors generally make hot deserts unsuitable for living. One of the key global environmental problems is the rapid expansion of deserts into arable lands. According to UN estimates, one-third of the Earth’s land area is at risk of turning into desert wastela