Abstract
Desertification is a global phenomenon caused by various processes, including climate change, vegetation processes, and human activities. The need to combat desertification is increasing in many countries. A reasonable assessment of the vulnerability or sensitivity of land cover to desertification at national scales is crucial to formulate appropriate strategies or policies for combating it. The main purpose of this work was to quantitatively assess the sensitivity of land cover to desertification in Mongolia using the MEDALUS approach. The MEDALUS method is a widely known technique for assessing desertification in the Mediterranean area. In this study, the method was adjusted to be applied to Mongolia, while the numerical methods of the MEDALUS remained the same. The modified MEDALUS method used nine factors from 2003 and 2008 to quantify the sensitivity of land to desertification. As a result, our study resulted in the calculation and spatial distribution of the Environmental Sensitive Area Index (ESAI), produced throughout Mongolia. In 2003, the middle region of the southern Mongolia had the highest sensitivity to desertification, while sensitivity in 2008 increased in the western area. Mongolia’s area with the highest ESAI range increased approximately five times, indicating rapid desertification occurring throughout Mongolia from 2003 to 2008.
Highlights
Desertification is defined as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities
This region borders the northwestern part of China, where it is the main area of land desertification (Plit et al 1995)
This study presented a methodology to quantify the sensitivity of land to desertification using the modified Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) method
Summary
Desertification is defined as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. The effects of desertification are the degradation of ecosystems, adverse effects on human health such as respiratory problems, and a reduction in cropland, leading to food availability issues. To lessen such adverse effects, combating desertification should begin with considering the assessment of desertification based on reliable data and approaches (Bouabid et al 2010), so that it may later be utilized to set an appropriate management policy
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
