About This Project and Website

This website is the result of a demonstration project funded by the International Arid Lands Consortium to design and create a WWW site for information on soils of arid regions of the U.S. and Israel.

Management of soil resources requires understanding the complex nature of soils, and the understanding and management of aridic soils is particularly important given the fragility of desert environments. If aridic soils are not managed appropriately, they can be so damaged that even decades of careful use cannot reclaim them. Considerable information already exists within the United States and Israel which can guide soil scientists, farmers, land developers, and policy makers to plan uses of the land which conserve this valuable natural resource.

This project, then, was designed to provide information to assist those who would manage their impact on the soils of arid regions for sustainability. For further details, see the Project Proposal.