Home to an estimated two billion people and widespread poverty, the world??'s drylands also host a surprising wealth of biodiversity ??? many plant, animal and fungal species have a remarkable ability to adapt to the prevailing harsh climatic conditions. In view of the exacerbation of desertification and its implications for the goal of poverty eradication, along with the threatened loss of biodiversity, the "2006 International Year of Deserts and Desertification" proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly aimed at raising public awareness and protecting local and indigenous...