There are many desert plants that are rich in unique biochemical compounds that can be used for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. For example, the Commiphora Gileadensis, that was mentioned in the Bible, has sap that can be used as an important essence for perfume. We have found specific anti-cancerous effects in the sap as well, for three different types of cancer.

Biosolids can help, but we have to do it in a controlled way using experience, knowledge, and specific soil crops and climate.

Almost all fruits and vegetables can be grown, if you are not looking for profit.

Almost all fruits and vegetables can be grown, if you are not looking for profit.

I like them all!

We focus on this mainly in semi-arid areas where grazing is a factor.

Water is a big concern for desert plants. The challenges they encounter include lack of water and nutrients, but also high temperatures. This is addressed in three manners: agrotech, genetics of the crop, and knowledge that has been gathered over years. Plants won’t grow without water, so water-use efficiency is crucial. However, some plants require a lot of water. One glass of wine needs 40L of water. One date needs 20 to 40L. In Israel today with desalination and intelligent water use, lack of water is no longer a big problem, but we still must think about these factors. These are challenges we face and think about on a daily basis.

Research positions are accessible both in industry and in academics. In Israel the academics is relatively limited, but you can find positions worldwide. From my experience, my students (I have had over 50) have found positions in agrotech and biotech industries. As long as you’re doing what you love, you will find something worthwhile.

Desert plants, like all plants, can use storage compounds but without photosynthesizing they will not continue to grow. Many plants can change from sinks to sources of CO2 depending on their physiological state. This is not specific to desert plants, but rather all plants.

It is an acacia tree. In Israel it lives in the harsh desert, the northernmost place in the world where it appears. There are three species of acacia in Israel.

It is possible but I am not sure it is recommended from an ecological perspective.

Desert and cold environments are similar in that they both lack available water. The desert lacks water and colder environments lack water in liquid form. So the plants adapt similarly.

It all depends on which desert. In many cases if you want intense agriculture it is better to use a detached platform. It also depends on the species. Some species such as date palms can be grown directly in the soil. Feeding with nutrients is important but you can also put legumes between rows of crops that will help enrich the soil with nitrogen and other nutrients, since legumes are symbiotic with bacteria that fix nitrogen from the atmosphere.

In regards to mycelium, it depends on the fungi species and the specifics of the soil and climate.

There are many options for growing plants, from dates to prickly pear to marula.

The plants that grow back may be similar to cacti, but many plants with many adaptations can exist in the desert. See CAM, C4, and C3 plants above. Deforestation enhances desertification. How long it takes for things to spring back depends on many factors, so it cannot easily be predicted.

Yes, there are many attempts to genetically engineer plants in this way. Today, the science is moving to Crisp R, which is gene editing involving targeted mutations. The attempts are very diverse, and success until now has been relatively small. The main attempts are in trying to create plants that are water-use efficient, as explained in my response about C4 plants, and that are high-temperature tolerant. There are also attempts using conventional breeding. In my opinion, what we call Crisp R or GMO is the same as using breeding. It is just a fast way of breeding that needs to be done carefully, but it is necessary in a changing environment. With conventional breeding, every plant or fruit we eat today has been modified. In my opinion, GMO relates to all food we eat today, so whether we do it faster or slower has no effect, but it must be done in a careful and controlled way.

I have not studied specifically the cacti in Montana. The adaptations that enable cacti to grow in the desert are the same that enable them to grow in extreme cold. The common factor between extreme cold and desert is drought. In the desert there is less water, and in freezing areas there is less water in liquid-form. The cacti are part of the CAM plant family, which open their stomata at night, thereby minimising water loss.

Plants absorb different nutrients depending on the chemical and physical composition of the soil. Desert soils are usually lower in all nutrients, and therefore desert plants are usually efficient in their nutrient use. Measuring the nutrient use is a very important tool for sustainable agriculture, and is at the forefront of today’s research. We can measure online in order to provide the farmer with accurate data, so he can use exact amounts of nutrients. This creates a sustainable practice - maximizing yield with minimal waste. Nutrients can be absorbed, assimilated, or stored depending on the specifics of the species and the conditions.

Water, nutrients, sunlight, and lots of love.

One great method is drip irrigation. These days we can even go further, and say drip fertigation, which is the combination of irrigation and fertilizer. Drip fertigation is spoon-feeding an individual plant and can be used to minimize water loss and fertilizer contamination of the soil. In addition, in many areas the soil can be too harsh to grow plants, and in such cases we can grow the plants in a detached platform. This enables us to control exactly what is given to the plants without contaminating the soil. In general, we need to do three things. The first is agrotechnology, such as drip irrigation and the platform. The second is genetics - using species and cultivars that are efficient in their water and nutrient use. The third is recruiting the knowledge that has been gathered over the past 20 to 40 years in arid regions.

We work closely with farmers in order to maintain economic agriculture which is also sustainable in the desert.

Plants in the desert are similar to others. There is a large variety in the desert, all different in their mechanisms. Many desert plants are C4 and CAM plants. CAM is an acronym for crassulaceae acid metabolism. C4 and CAM plants are considered to be more tolerant to arid conditions such as drought, salinity, and high temperatures. Cacti are just one group of CAM plants. Plants in general when they open their stomata to absorb CO2 they lose water. CAM plants open their stomata at night, thereby minimising water loss. In C4 plants the enzyme that first takes in CO2 from the atmosphere is more efficient and therefore the time that the stomata opens can be shortened. . An example of C4 plants in maize, or corn. There are also many C3 plants that have specific adaptations, from being an annual that only grows for a short time when there is rain, to being very tolerant to salinity, nutrition deprivation, high light, and many other such adaptations.

Here is an example from one of our previous responses: One annual plant in the Negev, called Salsola Inermis, was the first plant I studied as a researcher in the Negev. The uniqueness of this plant is that it is a summer annual desert plant, meaning it grows in summer months when there is no rain at all. It germinates at the end of March when there is minimal rain then grows to maturity in the summer, in an area that is very deprived of nitrogen. Two main factors for the plants in the desert is lack of water and nitrogen, making this plant special. With UC Berkeley we managed to find for the first time that this species uses water from dew. They distinguish dew from other water through the different chemical characteristics of hydrogen and oxygen in water. In addition, we found a unique three-way symbiosis between Salsola Inermis, weevils, and nitrogen fixing bacteria that live in the guts of the weevil. We showed that the weevils contribute nitrogen to the Salsola Inermis which they get from the bacteria, and the Salsola Inermis contributes sugars to the weevils in addition to water from the dew. All three organisms benefit.

Desert plants are amazing!

In the desert you will find a large variety of plants from annuals to perennials to flowers and many others - cacti are just one example. In deserts in Israel, cacti are a minority. Plants can be divided into three categories. The most common are C3 plants, which make up 85% of species and biomass. The rest of the species can be categorised into two groups: C4 plants and CAM plants. C3 plants get their name because the carbon product produced is a three carbon product. Similarly, C4 are called that because they produce a four carbon product. CAM is an acronym for crassulaceae acid metabolism. C4 and CAM plants are considered to be more tolerant to arid conditions such as drought, salinity, and high temperatures. Cacti are just one group of CAM plants. Plants in general when they open their stomata to absorb CO2 they lose water. CAM plants open their stomata at night, thereby minimising water loss. In C4 plants the enzyme that first takes in CO2 from the atmosphere is more efficient and therefore the time that the stomata opens can be shortened. . An example of C4 plants in maize, or corn. There are also many C3 plants that have specific adaptations, from being an annual that only grows for a short time when there is rain, to being very tolerant to salinity, nutrition deprivation, high light, and many other such adaptations. Other adaptations include unique symbiosis with the rhizosphere and other organisms. One annual plant in the Negev, called Salsola Inermis, was the first plant I studied as a researcher in the Negev. The uniqueness of this plant is that it is a summer annual desert plant, meaning it grows in summer months when there is no rain at all. It germinates at the end of March when there is minimal rain then grows to maturity in the summer, in an area that is very deprived of nitrogen. Two main factors for the plants in the desert is lack of water and nitrogen, making this plant special. With UC Berkeley we managed to find for the first time that this species uses water from dew. They distinguish dew from other water through the different chemical characteristics of hydrogen and oxygen in water. In addition, we found a unique three-way symbiosis between Salsola Inermis, weevils, and nitrogen fixing bacteria that live in the guts of the weevil. We showed that the weevils contribute nitrogen to the Salsola Inermis which they get from the bacteria, and the Salsola Inermis contributes sugars to the weevils in addition to water from the dew. All three organisms benefit.

Humans and plants have a mutual effect on each other. Just walking in the desert could have direct effects such as changes in soil structure and germination, as well as indirect effects in the rhizosphere. Anything from walking to building to the use of cars can have these effects.