**Meet the editors**

Dr. Hasan Arman is a professor at the United Arab Emirates University, College of Science, Geology Department, since 2008. He received his bachelor's degree from Hacettepe University, Turkey, in 1984, and his PhD degree from the University of Arizona, USA, in 1992. He worked as a postdoc at the University of Nevada, Reno, USA, from 1992 to 1993. He was a faculty member at

Sakarya University, Civil Engineering Department, Turkey, between 1993 and 2008. Dr. Arman has taught several different courses in undergraduate and graduate levels related to engineering, environment, and geology. His research interests include environmental degradation, sustainability, water resources, global warming, climate change, and renewable and sustainable energy sources. Dr. Arman has a number of publications in different peer-reviewed national and international scientific journals. In addition to be an editorial board member of several international journals, he also is acting as a scientific reviewer in many others. He was in organization committee of both 1st and 2nd International Conference on Renewable Energy: Generation and Applications (ICREGA) which was held in 2010 and 2012 in Al Ain, UAE.

Dr. Ibrahim Yuksel received his undergraduate degree from Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey, in 1988. His MSc degree was obtained from the MidKent College, Chatham, United Kingdom. In 2000, he completed his PhD degree at Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey. Since 2014, he has been teaching at Yildiz Technical University, Faculty of Civil Engineering, De-

partment of Civil Engineering, Hydraulics Division, Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Ibrahim Yuksel has over 30 years of experience in hydraulic engineering. His main interest is renewable and sustainable energy, especially hydro energy. He delivered a number of lectures in different European universities such as Italian, German, Portuguese, Hungarian, Polish, and Slovenian universities. Besides remarkable scientific experiences, he has administrative practices such as director, university board member, Erasmus coordinator, etc.

Contents

**Preface VII**

**Section 1 Land Degradation 1**

**Section 2 Arid Rangeland 21**

**Section 3 Climate Hazards 53**

Samwel J. Kabote

**Section 4 Water Resources and Policies 75**

and Flávio G. Oliveira

Hanan Isweiri and Yaling Qian

**Arid Regions 3** Selen Deviren Saygin

**Southwestern Texas 23**

Chapter 1 **Strategies to Enhance Sustainability of Land Resources in**

Chapter 2 **Simulating the Productivity of Desert Woody Shrubs in**

Sumin Kim, Jaehak Jeong and James R. Kiniry

Chapter 3 **Farmers' Vulnerability to Climate Change Impacts in Semi-arid Environments in Tanzania: A Gender Perspective 55**

Chapter 4 **Long-Term Effects of Effluent Water Irrigation on Soil Chemical Properties of Sand-Based Putting Greens 77**

> Antônio Heriberto de Castro Teixeira, Fúlvio R. Simão, Janice F. Leivas, Reinaldo L. Gomide, João B.R. da S. Reis, Mauro K. Kobayashi

Chapter 5 **Water Productivity Modeling by Remote Sensing in the Semiarid Region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil 93**
