 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Terraces Dryland Farming

   April 27, 2021

    Menashe_dryland_Picture1

    Menashe_dryland_Picture2

   Photographer:  Menashe Davidson
   Summary Author:  Menashe Davidson

   Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
   -  Albert Einstein

   ...and that's just what my wife and I did on a recent midwinter's walk
   among the  agricultural terraces and walls (top) of the  Judea
   mountain slopes. These walls were constructed using large local stones
   with gaps filled with smaller stones (bottom). The production of
   nutritional foods in  this environment is  a complex
   undertaking. Over the years, terraces have been developed to adapt to
   the presence or lack of moisture in a given  crop cycle. The purpose
   of these terraces was to create flat terrain plots, with deep
    fertile soil that serves as a reserve of  soil moisture. Flat
   plots avoid rainfall  run-off, and excess  soil erosion and
   allows infiltration of water. The  Mediterranean climate here in
   Israel produces almost all of the annual rainfall during the winter
   season. Without another source of water, farmers grew seasonal crops
   ( cereals,  legumes,  pumpkins, etc.) that received all their
   moisture prior to  harvest. Terracing permitted more intensive
   annual cropping than would otherwise be possible. Note that trees from
   modern planting exist only on the top of the mountain.
     * Judea Terraces, Israel Coordinates:  31.84614, 35.00159

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Applied Sciences Links

     *  BBC: World Water Crisis
     *  Indoor Air Quality
     *  Mathematics in Nature
     *  A Mathematical Nature Walk
     *  NASA: Applied Earth Sciences
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Geography Links

     *  Atlapedia Online
     *  CountryReports
     *  GPS Visualizer
     *  Holt Rinehart Winston World Atlas
     *  Mapping Our World
     *  Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
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Plant Links

     *  Discover Life
     *  Tree Encyclopedia
     *  What are Phytoplankton?
     *  Encyclopedia of Life - What is a Plant?
     *  USDA Plants Database
     *  University of Texas Native Plant Database
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     *  What Tree is It?

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   Space Research Association.

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