Session 08:30-10:30

Yoel Forterre, Laboratoire IUSTI, CNRS, Aix Marseille University, France
Unifying Impacts in Granular Matter from Quicksand to Cornstarch

Itamar Procaccia, The Weizmann Institute of ScienceMechanical failure in amorphous solids: Scale-free spinodal criticality

Yasmine Meroz, Tel Aviv University, IsraelIntermittent Granular Dynamics at a Seismogenic Plate Boundary

Leonid Prigozhin, Ben-Gurion University, IsraelScaling in modeling sand surface evolution

Yoav G. Pollack, Weizmann Institute of Science, IsraelEmergent Many-body Interactions in Amorphous Solids

Bruno Andreotti, ESPCI Paris Tech, FranceFormation and non-linear growth of dunes

Hezi Yitshak, Ben-Gurion University, IsraelThe origin of the transverse instability of aeolian megaripples

Francisco Pugnaire, Estacion Experimental de Zonas Aridas, Almeria, Spain
Plant-soil interactions and plant community dynamics

Tarin Paz-Kagan1, Philip Brodrick2, Nicholas R. Vaughn2, Adrian J. Das3, Nathan L. Stephenson3, Koren R. Nydick 4, and Gregory P. Asner21 Department of sensing, information and mechanization engineering, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Volcani Center, Israel;2Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA; 3U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center;4Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, USA
What mediates tree mortality during drought in the southern Sierra Nevada?

Joh R. Henschel1*, Theo. D. Wassenaar2, Keir Soderberg3
1: South African Environmental Observation Network, Arid Lands Node, P.O.Box 11040, Hadison Park 8306, Kimberley, South Africa.;2: Gobabeb Research and Training Centre, P.O.Box 953, Walvis Bay, Namibia; 3: Princeton University, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton, NJ, USA.
What can roots tell us about desert ecohydrology? A closer look at long-lived Welwitschia mirabilis

Moran Segoli, Ramat Negev Desert Agro-Research Center & Southern Research and Development Center, Israel
The limiting effect of water and nitrogen on pasture yields in the grazing lands of northern Australia

Ilan Stavi, Hezi Yizhaq, Amgad Hijazen, Reut Berger-Tal, Shimon Rachmilevitch, Golan BelDead Sea and Arava Science Center, Israel
Geodiversity decreases shrub mortality and increases ecosystem durability to prolonged droughts and climate change

Liang Chen, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Modeling and analysis of the potential impacts on regional climate due to vegetation degradation over arid and semi-arid regions of China

Gerald Mills, School of Geography, University College, Dublin
Urban climatology: current status and prospects

Shai Kaplan, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Surface’, ‘Satellite’ or ‘Simulation’: mapping intra-urban microclimate variability

Hadas Saaroni, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Climatic Stress Index as a tool for synoptic classification of the summer season

Adi Vulkan, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Planning, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Modelling the potential for PV installation in residential buildings in dense urban areas

Jayne Belnap and YuanMing ZhangU.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, U.S.A; Key Laboratory of Biogeography and Bioresource in Arid Land, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Urumqi, PR China
Assembly rules and patterns in dryland vascular plant communities: biological soil crusts can play an influential role

Roberto De Philippis, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy
New insights on the structure and the role of the exopolysaccharidic matrix in biocrusts

Barger, N.N. 1, Faist, A.2, Antoninka A.J.3, Giraldo Silva, A.4, Velasco Ayuso, S.4, Bowker, M.A.3, Reed, S.C.5, Duniway, M.5, Garcia-Pichel, F. 4, Belnap, J. 5
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80305 USA;2Animal and Range Sciences, New Mexico State University ;3School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 USA;4School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona;5Canyonlands Research Station, US Geological Survey, Moab, Utah SA
Biocrust inoculum development and soil stabilization strategies to promote biocrust restoration

aZaady Eli, bUngar Eugene D., aShuker ShimshonDepartment of Natural Resources, Agricultural Research Organization, Gilat Research Center, 85280 Negev;bDepartment of Natural Resources, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Research Center, Israel;
Biological soil crust restoration; A case study from the northern Negev Desert

Nadav Oren1, Hagai Raanan1,2, Omer Murik1, Nir Keren1 and Aaron Kaplan11Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
2Present address: Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Institute of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Rutgers University, USA
Dawn illumination serves as a signal preparing desert cyanobacteria towards forthcoming dehydration

Sonia Chamizo, Department of Agrifood Production and Environmental Sciences (DISPAA), University of Florence, Firenze, Italy.
Increasing soil stability and fertility through cyanobacteria inoculation to combat land degradation processes in drylands

Ornit Avidar, African Division, Politics and Government Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
Analysis of Access to Clean Water in Rural Siaya, Kenya
Naomi Caplan and Michal Bruck, NALA- NTD Advocacy, Learning, Action , Israel
Toward the Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Ethiopia: ngaging the community in behavioral change education and WASH improvements

Sivan Yaari, Innovation Africa, IsraelUnleashing Africa’s Water Using Israeli Technology
Avihai Ilan, Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra, Israel
Mini nursery: a water saving solution for the production of quality vegetable plants by smallholder farmers

Clive Lipchin, Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, Israel
Solutions for Off Grid Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Needs in Arid Lands

Isabel Portugal, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.
Women Empowerment in Sustainable Agriculture and Biotechnology for Dryland Systems (WESAB) Project

Naama Raz-Yaseef, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, USA, and Muonde Trust
Pump it Up for the Community Gardens of the Women of Zimbabwe

Angela Moreno, National Institute of Agrarian Research and Development, Cabo Verde
Improving the use fo Drip Irrigation Systems in an Arid Climate: Challenges and Solutions for Water – Over-Use by Smallholder Farmers in Cabo Verde

Haberfeld Alon, Fair Planet, IsraelBridging the seed gap.
Isabel Portugal, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Women Empowerment in Sustainable Agriculture and Biotechnology for Dryland Systems (WESAB) Project

Session 11:00-13:00

Izak Smit1,2, Corli Wigley-Coetsee1 and Cathy Greaver1
1 Scientific Services, South African National Parks; 2 School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Lessons learned from drought – a case study from the Kruger National Park, South Africa

Omer Tzuk [1], Merav Seifan [2], Ehud Meron [1,3]Physics Department, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Marco and Louise Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, SIDEER, BIDR, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics, SIDEER, BIDR, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Precipitation and seasonality regulate plant ecohydrological strategies along climatic gradients

Uri Roll et al., University of Oxford, England and Ben-Gurion University, IsraelReptiles illuminate deserts and drylands as a missing component of global conservation priority schemes
Dror Hawlena and Gideon SzametRisk-Management Ecology Lab, Department of Ecology, Evolution & Behavior, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Predation regulates Nitrogen cycling in a desert ecosystem

Itamar Giladi1, Gilad Ben Zvi1, Nataly Levine1, Marie Konečná2 and Merav Seifan11Marco and Louise Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; 2Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, ČeskéBudějovice, The Czech Republic
Deserted in the desert – mismatch in local distributions of a plant and its seed disperser in desert populations.

Osvaldo Sala, Laureano GherardiGlobal Drylands Center, Arizona State University, USA
Effects of climate change on ecosystems through directional changes in amount and variability of precipitation

Wolfgang Durner, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Geoecology, Soil Science and Soil Physics, Germany.
The contribution of capillary, film, and vapor flow to water transport in soil: Model conceptualization, parametrization, and application

Dani Or, Dept. Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.
Surface evaporative capacitance – soil type and rainfall characteristics used to bound soil evaporation estimates

Gerrit H. de Rooij, Soil Physics Department, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH – UFZ, Germany.
Simulating groundwater recharge in deep vadose zones: effects of climate and the importance of the soil hydraulic parameterization

Shmuel Assouline, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel.
Impact of ambient conditions on evaporation from porous media

Alex Furman, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel.
Hydraulic properties of unsaturated biofilm-affected soils

Jiaguo Qi1, Steven Pueppke2 and Xi Chen3Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, Michigan State University, East Lansing;Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing,USA;Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China
Multi-source remote sensing for water-energy-food nexus of Ili-Balkhash basin

Ben DeVries, Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, USAWhen the well runs dry: Monitoring surface water dynamics in drylands using virtual constellations of Earth Observation satellites
Jisung Chang, Technion, Israel
Synergetic effect of radar polarization properties and ecological pattern properties in desert fringe ecosystems

Son Nghiem, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USAMulti-Sourced Land Imaging of 3D Urbanization in Dryland Environments
Mutlu Ozdogan, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Quantifying the changes in Syrian agriculture associated with drought and conflict using multi-source remote sensing

Alan Grainger, University of Leeds, UK
Multi-Source Options for Monitoring Desertification

Hanna Huryna, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Sharpening land surface temperature over vineyards using Sentinel platforms

Jacob Moran-Gilad, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Introduction

Ruth Herschberg, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
Adaptation to Prolonged Resource Exhaustion and the Antibiotic-Independent Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

Kornelia Smalla, Julius Kühn-Institut, Braunschweig, Germany.
The transferable resistome in environmental bacteria – implication for dessert agriculture

Nadav Davidovich, Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
From Anti-Microbial Resistance to Access to Water: Public Health, Water Policies and Health Equity in Israel

Oded Swade, Mekorot Israel National Water Carrier.
Microbial Water Quality in Israel and in Mekorot

Zubaida Ezery .Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
Inadequate Wastewater Infrastructure’s Effect on the Health and Environmental the Bedouin Population in the Negev

Session 14:30-16:30

Eric Higgs, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.
Novel and Designed Ecosystems.

Tal Alon-Mozes, Technion, Israel
The cultural significance of the discourse on plant origins Natives and Non-native species in the designed landscapes of Israel.

Orna Reisman-Berman. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
A conceptual Framework for Dryland Afforestation: Increasing Ecosystem Services with Maintaining Ecosystem Integrity

Yannai Zausmer. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, IsraelTesting Invasiveness and Invisibility Potentials in Ziziphus Species. Candidates for Dryland Afforestation.
Tamar Keasar, University of Haifa – Oranim, IsraelFlowering phenology and pollinator visits in Ziziphus spina-christi, a desert forest tree
Giovanni G. Vendramin, Institute of Biosciences and BioResources, National Research Council, ItalyMolecular markers, population genomics and adaptation to climate changes of forest tree species
José Grünzweig. Agriculture Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Israel
Ecosystem process in Native and non-Native Forests
Tamir Klein, Weizmann Institute of Science, IsraelCambial growth in hyper-arid acacia coincides with the hot, dry summer
Hagar Fox, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel
Transcriptome and hormone profiling coupled with physiological response during drought stress and recovery in Pinus halepensis

George Ogendi.University, Egerton, Kenya
Rangeland Rehabilitation Using Natural Regeneration and Dryland Afforestation Techniques at Chemeron, Baringo County,

Stefan Leu, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
Local and global implications of forestation mediated ecosystem restoration in
degraded arid farmland

Claire Quinn, Natural Resources Management, Deputy Director, University of Leeds
Knowledge and framework perspectives for uptake of agricultural innovation: agro-waste operations in dryland systems

Eran Friedler, Technion, Israel
On-site sanitation, opportunities, risks and interactions with existing infrastructure

Peter van der Steen, Department of Environmental Engineering and Water Technology, The Netherlands
Photo-Activated Sludge: efficient wastewater treatment and resource recovery in relatively simple photo-bioreactors

Nader Al Khatib, WEDO, Palestinian Authority
Wastewater Status in Palestine

Yoram Gerchman, Samer Kalbouneh, Abeer Albalawneh, Hassan Azaizeh,
Oranim College and University of Haifa, BERC, PA; NCARE, Jordan; The Galilee Society and Tel Hay College, Israel
Combining constructed wetlands with low-cost UV systems for efficient water reuse

Yuval Alfiya, Friedler Eran, Gilboa Yael, Cheruti Uta, Dubowski Yael., Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technion, Israel.
Removal of emerging micropollutants from greywater using vacuum-UV/UV-C flow-through photoreactor – Triclosan as a case study

Jisung Chang, Technion, Israel
Polarimetric Radar Parameters for Ecological Pattern Properties in Desert Fringe Ecosystems

Chana Sara Ivgi, Temple University, USAQuantifying changes in connecting along a shrub-grass ecotone using LiDAR: Implications for desertification control

Sinkyu Kang, Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, South KoreaRegional factors of climate-induced massive livestock loss (Dzud) in nomadic pasture landscapes of Mongolia: a satellite-based assessment

Hannelore Kusserow, Freie Universitaet Berlin, GermanyDesertification and Re-greening in the African Sahel – A matter of the observation period?

Tarin Paz-Kagan, Agricultural Research Organization, IsraelLandscape-scale Variation in Canopy Water Content of Giant Sequoias during Drought

Offer Rozenstein, Agricultural Research Organization, IsraelDiurnal Emissivity Dynamics in Active Sand Dunes vs. Dunes Stabilized by Biocrust

Micha Silver, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, IsraelVegetation damage after the Ashalim dam breach: a remote sensing approach

Shahar Weksler, Tel Aviv University, IsraelMapping quartz content of soil surface using airborne hyperspectral remote sensing in the longwave-infrared region

Silas Osinde, The Directorate of Resources Surveys and Remote Sensing, KenyaParticipatory Three Dimensional Mapping (P3DM) Modeling as a tool for biodiversity monitoring: Application of Indigenous Knowledge and GIS Technology

Yuval Zelnik, Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling, CNRS – Theoretical and Experimental Ecology Station, France
Gradual Regime Shifts in Namibian Fairy Circles

Nichole Barger, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, USAThe role of soil resources and wildlife grazing in the maintenance of fairy circles

Mike Cramer, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, South AfricaThe role of aeolian processes in generating landscape nutrient heterogeneity associated with long-term vegetation patterning

Stephan Getzin, Department of Ecosystem Modelling, University of Goettingen, GermanySelf-organized fairy circles versus common termite circles: the differences in spatial patterns matter!

Sujith Ravi, Temple University, Philadelphia USAOn the ecohydrologic interactions within “fairy circles” in the Namib Desert

Efrat Sheffer, The Robert H. Smith Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Hebew University, IsraelCauses and consequences of multi-scale regular vegetation patterns in drylands

Olfa Jaibi, Institute of Mathematics, Leiden University, The NetherlandsMathematical Tales of Fairy Circles

Valaire Yatat, Cameroon, Department of Mathematics, University of Yaounde, CameroonModelling boundary dynamics in vegetation mosaics experiencing fire events as travelling waves

David Mutekanga, African Rural University, Uganda
The practice of the three masteries: creative processes, systems thinking and sustainable development based on the visionary approach in leaving in rural drylands: the case of Kagadi District, Uganda.

Wanjira Mathai, wPower Project, KenyaLandscape Restoration and Renewable Household Energy

Jane M. Mutune, University of Nairobi, KenyaSocial-Economic Dimensions of Kenyan Smallholder Based Agriculture and Food Security: Gender and Generational Aspects of Sustainable Intensification
Tefera Mengistu Woldie, National Coordinator, Forest Sector Development Program, UNDP/Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of Ethiopia

Basit Afzal, Sher-E Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Faculty of Horticulture, Division of Agricultural Engineering, India
How to turn adverse desert conditions to conditions for abundance:
Artificial glacier formation as sustainable solution for water provision in cold arid regions

Wisam Sedawi, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, IsraelPlace-based environmental education through the scientific observation of birds: reflections from a Bedouin student’s perspective.

Session 17:00-19:00

1,2Philip J. White, 3Martin R. Broadley, 4Hamed A. El-Serehy, 1Timothy S. George, 1,3Konrad Neugebauer1Ecological Science Group, The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee UK; 2Distinguished Scientist Fellowship Program, King Saud University, Riyadh Saudi Arabia; 3Plant and Crop Sciences Division, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, UK; 4Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Effects of Drought and Salinity on the Functional Ionome of Plants

Asher Bar-Tal*1, Beeri Kanner1,2, Daniel Kurtzman1, Escain Kiwonde1,2, Krishna Kumar Choudhary1,3, Ido Nitsan11 Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, The Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO);2 The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Food Agriculture and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot;3 Centre for Plant Sciences, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, Punjab, India
Does Chloride Concentration Influence Plant Response to Nitrogen Fertilization

Erel R1,2., A. Dag1, A. Schwartz2, A. Ben-Gal1, U. Yermiyahu1
1Agricultural Research Organization, Gilat Research Center; 2Institute of Plant Sciences and Genetics in Agriculture, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, ISRAEL.
Potassium and sodium levels mitigates photoinhibition by increasing carbon assimilation and respiration

Moshe Halpern12, Uri Yermiyahu1, Asher Bar-Tal3, Nitsan Lugassi4, Aiman Egbaria4, David Granot4.
1 Gilat Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel,2 Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Environment and Food Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot,,3 Department of Soil Chemistry, Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences; 4Department of Vegetable Research, Institute of Plant Sciences, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Rishon LeZion, Israel
The role of limited N uptake and assimilation in photosynthetic acclimation to elevated CO2 in tomato plants

Hagai Yasour and Dan Hamus Cohen, Agricultural Research Organization, Israel
Plant nutrition as a tool for improving vegetable crops performance under heat stress conditions

Nirit Bernstein, The Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Israel
Environmental and nutrition effects on production and secondary metabolite profile in medical cannabis