ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to show the significance of ecological knowledge in settling the desert. It presents three aspects of ecological studies that have been carried out in the Negev Desert; species richness, life history strategies, and ecological flow chains. These aspects of desert ecology are useful in dealing with various kinds of management problems including pest control, nature reserve management and understanding limitations in the long term efficient development of the area. The chapter identifies some important ecological problems that require further investigation in the future. A desert community consists of many species with different population fluctuations and interactions with each other. Thus, the first ecological question should be concerning which species of plants and animals live in a particular desert community. The consequences of desert settling are that man is constantly changing the structure and organization of the biotic community.
