Short description:

Global Wild Edibles of Deserts: Food Security and Sustainability provides coverage of topics in food and health in desert rangelands, using an interdisciplinary approach that considers health not only in a functional and human sense, but also in terms of external factors including aridity.

Long description:

Global Wild Edibles of Deserts: Food Security and Sustainability provides coverage of topics in food and health in desert rangelands, using an interdisciplinary approach that considers health not only in a functional and human sense, but also in terms of external factors including aridity.

The plant diversity in desert ecosystems provide economic service benefits, such as sources of fodder, fuel wood, and traditional medicinal plants. This book documents wild edibles commonly grown in deserts that are hugely beneficial for the herbal industry for the socio-economic uplift of local communities. This book contains multiple field pictorial graphs of desert wild edible plants to help with their identification, and it gives detailed information on food security issues and sustainability measures in the world desert zones. It also focusses on the diversity of wild edibles in deserts across the globe, their nutraceutical importance, production-consumption trends, integration into food menus, and marketing and livelihood opportunities to the indigenous people.

A volume in the Exploring Medicinal Plants series, this book creates opportunity for policymakers to develop plans for the successful entry of wild edibles into herbal industries, and attracts farmers owning infertile lands to cultivate wild edibles in desert rangeland. The book is a valuable resource for researchers, conservationists, and policymakers seeking solutions at the intersection of food security and environmental sustainability.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1         Why are deserts trendy?

1.2         Extent of Climate Aridity in the Deserts

1.3         Sustainable Land Use and Desertification

1.3.1     Desertification: Causes and Impacts

1.3.2     Importance of Sustainable Land Use

1.3.3     Strategies for Combating Desertification

1.3.4     Case Studies in Successful Desertification Mitigation

a)                         The Loess Plateau, China

b)                         Israel Negev Desert

c)                          Great Green Wall, Africa

d)                         Rewetting Peatlands in Indonesia

e)                         Sustainable Land Management in Niger

1.3.5     Policy Frameworks and International Cooperation

1.4         Conclusion and Implications

              References

Chapter 2: Brief Overview of Deserts of the World (Ecology, Climate, flora, Population)

2.1         South Asian Deserts

2.1.1     Thar Desert

2.1.2     Cholistan Desert

2.1.3     Kutch Desert

2.1.4     Thal Desert

2.1.5     Cold Deserts

2.2         Central Asian Deserts

2.3         Arabic Deserts

2.4         African Deserts

2.4.1     Sahara Desert

2.4.2     Namib Desert

2.5         European Deserts

2.6         Latin American Deserts

2.6.1     Atacama Desert

2.6.2     Sonoran Desert

2.6.3     Chihuahuan Desert

              References

Chapter 3:   Traditional Wild Edibles (WEs) of the Deserts: Reservoir of Ethnomedicine

3.1         Desert legumes as a source of protein in human diets

3.1.1     Acacia jacquemontii Benth.

3.1.2     Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. ex Delile

3.1.3     Acacia modesta (Linn.) Wall.

3.1.4     Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth.

3.1.5     Prosopis cineraria (Linn.) Druce

3.1.6     Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub)

3.1.7     Crotalaria burhia Buch.-Ham. ex Benth.

3.1.8     Parkinsonia aculeata L.

3.1.9     Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC

3.1.10   Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers.

3.2         Prickly pear: Low-cost forage crop for supplementing food security

3.2.1     Opuntia dillenii (Ker Gawl.)

3.3         Ethnopharmacological status of WEs of family Capparaceae

3.3.1     Capparis decidua Edgew (Forssk.)

3.3.2     Capparis spinosa L.

3.3.3     Cleome brachycarpa Vahl ex DC.

3.4         WEs Cucurbitaceous species: Therapeutic effect on human health

3.4.1     Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad

3.4.2     Cucumis melo L.

3.4.3     Cucurbita maxima Duchesne

3.4.4     Luffa cylindrica (L.) M.Roem

3.4.5     Momordica charantia L.

3.4.6     Mukia maderaspatana (L.) M.Roem

3.5         Nutritional aspects of Drought-Resistance Rhamnaceous Wes

3.5.1     Ziziphus nummularia (Burm.f.) Wight & Arn.

3.5.2     Ziziphus jujuba Mill.

3.6         Biochemical therapeutic uses of Desert WEs of Zygophyllaceae

3.6.1     Fagonia cretica Linn.

3.6.2     Tribulus terrestris L.

              References

Chapter 4:  Economic Botany of the Deserts WEs: Source of Food and Nutrition

4.1         WEs: Combating Food and Health Security

4.1.1     Nutritional Benefits of WEs in Arid Regions

4.1.2     Sustainable Harvesting Practices for Desert Foraging

4.1.3     Cultural Significance and Traditional Knowledge of Wild Foods

4.1.4     Wild Edibles as a Strategy for Food Security and Ecological Resilience

4.1.5     Policy Recommendations for Promoting Wild Edibles in Desert Economies

4.2         WEs: Nutritional value and Dietary Requirements

4.3         Knowledge, Marketing and Finance of desert Wes

4.4         WEs:  Functional Foods and Health

4.5         Healthy sustainable diets of desert Wes

              References

Chapter 5: Deserts WEs, Climate Change and Ecological Transition

5.1         Desert Wild edibles can meet the needs of future generations

5.2         Global desert WEs nutritional initiatives for a healthier food system.

5.3         WEs: Sustainable management by indigenous communities of Desert

5.4         WEs Dietary development:  Ecosystem conservation and Sustainability

5.5         Unlocking desert WEs resources to promote sustainable agriculture

5.6         Promoting WEs in the Desert: Future Implications towards sustainable value chain

              References