ELI ZAADY

My interdisciplinary expertise in ecology and natural resource management uniquely integrates systems and landscape ecology to provide a comprehensive understanding of water-limited ecosystems, their function, and their sustainable utilization. My research in systems ecology focuses on elemental cycling, notably incorporating landscape heterogeneity and the functional role of animals. This approach is crucial for managing livestock in natural ecosystems by accounting for production variability, and within agroecology, it can significantly reduce the need for external fertilizers.

My expertise lies in integrating landscape ecology and natural resource management, with a core focus on arid regions and the critical role of biological soil crusts (biocrusts). My research has elucidated biocrusts' complex functionality—from nitrogen cycling and runoff generation to their impact on food webs—and their significance as a model for ecosystem development. This comprehensive understanding has directly facilitated large-scale biocrust restoration, contributing significantly to the functional recovery of arid ecosystems and establishing my international recognition in this specialized field."

Advancing Research and Understanding in Arid Ecosystems

As established experts, we have consistently engaged and inspired students to investigate and promote biocrust research. Our ongoing work continually yields novel discoveries, thereby advancing the understanding of this critical ecosystem component. Our foundational contributions to soil crust research represent a career-long endeavor, pioneering long-term studies both in Israel and internationally. This has been instrumental in recognizing biocrusts as an integral part of soil resource processes.

Complementing our work on elemental cycling and soil crusts, my extensive knowledge of arid regions has been applied to optimize ecosystem utilization through secondary production, specifically sheep grazing. We were pivotal in transforming the Migda Research Station into a dedicated grazing research facility within the Negev, integrating it into the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. The station's experimental framework facilitates a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between primary and secondary production in water-limited areas subject to significant climatic fluctuations. Recently, in response to climate change risks, we expanded the research scope of Migda Station. In collaboration with other researchers, we've implemented systems to study the effects of altered rainfall and runoff on primary and secondary production. Furthermore, the station now conducts frequency scans in remote sensing, employing satellite and drone-based monitoring.

Beyond the station's confines, our grazing research extends to monitoring herd movements and their impact on vegetation across the Negev Desert. In recent years, we've also focused on the intricate relationship between grazing patterns and wildflower distribution, particularly concerning anemones, given their significant contribution to Negev tourism.

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=_PL73lIAAAAJ&hl=en

Research interest:

1. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts), succession, soil stabilization, nutrient cycling, hydrology.

2. The relationship between soils, plants, and grazers.

3. Grazing systems in arid environments, grazing in pastoral lands and planted forests, in irrigated and organic farming systems.

4. Ecological restoration of fertilized soils (stabilization and prevention of erosion).

5. Biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and carbon in desert systems.

6. Aeolian erosion, micromorphology, and chemistry of particles in the atmosphere.

7. Monitoring the leaching of pesticides from agricultural fields and plantations into natural areas and the impact on pollinators.

8. Dynamics of patchiness after forest fires.