Arid Ecosystems is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research articles on desert and semidesert ecosystems and environment: systematic studies of arid territories: climate changes, water supply of territories, soils as ecological factors of ecosystems state and dynamics in different scales (from local to global); systematic studies of arid ecosystems: composition and structure, diversity, ecology; paleohistory; dynamics under anthropogenic and natural factors impact, including climate changes; studying of bioresources and biodiversity, and development of the mapping methods; arid ecosystems protection: development of the theory and methods of degradation prevention and monitoring; desert ecosystems rehabilitation; problems of desertification: theoretical and practical issues of modern aridization processes under anthropogenic impact and global climate changes. The journal welcomes manuscripts from all countries. PEER REVIEW AND EDITORIAL POLICY The journal follows the Springer Nature Peer Review Policy, Process and Guidance, Springer Nature Journal Editors' Code of Conduct, and COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer-reviewers. This journal follows a single-blind reviewing procedure. All manuscripts are registered, reviewed for compliance with the submission guidelines, and handled by the Editor responsible for the corresponding research area or journal section. Only those manuscripts that meet the requirements are sent for peer review. The Editor acts as an internal reviewer and also sends the manuscript for review to an independent expert, a specialist in a narrower field within the given research area that corresponds to the content of the article. If necessary, revisions to the articles are made until a reviewer concludes that the article can be published in the journal. The final decision on publishing the manuscript in the journal or rejecting it is made at an Editorial Board meeting after discussing it based on the Editor's presentation, accompanying reviews, and the reviewer's positive recommendation.