Dryland Biodiversity: The International Arid Lands Consortium Contributions to the Status of Knowledge

Abstract

The International Arid Lands Consortium (IALe) supports research, development, and demonstration projects that lead to better management of fragile dryland ecosystems for sustainable human use. Importantly, management for specific benefits can entail changes in biodiversity at a given scale. Understanding the scales of biodiversity continues to challenge managers attempting to sustain proper ecosystem function, opti,?ize yields of valuable plant and animal species, or maintain niches for threatened or endangered species. The IALC projects reviewed in this paper share the goal of understanding, fostering, and sustaining biodiversity in arid and semi-arid lands of the world collectively called dry land regions. Research in biodiversity supported by the IALC must help te solve not only theoretical problems, but also the pressing problems of management in the dryland of the world. The IALC experience in encouraging the linkage of biodiversity research with management illustrates a microcosm of· the problems and potentials of addressing human needs more directly through research in biodiversity.