Desertification Prevention Research Articles

Proactive policies are the key to reversing desertification in the main stream of the Tarim River in the past 30 years

The main stream of the Tarim River is a crucial part of China's ecological security strategy within the "two screens and three belts" framework, serving the "northern sand control belt" and the ecological civilization corridor. Evaluating and understanding desertification dynamics and driving factors is essential for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and promoting ecological civilization. This study, based on the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, quantified the desertification process of the Tarim River's main stream from 1990 to 2020 using Landsat series satellite imagery from Google Earth Engine. Additionally, we employed panel data models to analyze the driving roles of climate change, socio-economic factors, and policies in desertification.Results indicate that between 1990 and 2020, desertification in the main stream of the Tarim River initially intensified, with 15% of the area experiencing desertification between 1990 and 2000. However, this trend was subsequently reversed, with only 0.6% of the area undergoing desertification over the 30-year period. Extensive economic development (−37.2%) and population growth (−48.7%) were the predominant factors exacerbating desertification in the initial period (1990–2000), whereas positive policies (55.3%) were the key to reversing desertification in the main stream of the Tarim River over the past 30 years.We also explored whether policies necessarily play a positive role in combating and preventing desertification. Based on this, we suggest actively engaging in interdisciplinary research and linking research outcomes with practical situations to formulate scientifically sound policies and measures for desertification prevention and control.

Matching and driving mechanism analysis of the supply and demand relationships of soil conservation services in karst peak-cluster depression basin in Southwest Guangxi, China

The karst peak-cluster depression basin in southwestern Guangxi, characterized by a fragile ecological environment and intensive human activities, is characterized by rocky desertification and ecological function degradation. This degradation not only impairs the region’s ecological integrity but also limits its ecological and welfare benefits. Traditionally, the estimation of soil conservation service supply and demand in karst areas relies on internationally recognized models, which often exclude the critical factor of karst desertification. This omission introduces significant uncertainty in the assessment of soil supply and demand in karst terrains. To address this gap, our study employs an adapted revised universal soil loss equation model tailored for karst regions to conduct a quantitative analysis of the soil supply–demand relationship in southwestern Guangxi. We explore its spatiotemporal evolution and spatial matching characteristics utilizing geographic detectors to identify the driving factors influencing the ecological supply-to-demand ratio (ESDR). Our findings revealed the following: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the soil conservation supply–demand ratio in the study area showed a fluctuating upward trend, with an overall increase of approximately 63.29%. Specifically, there was a fluctuating increase from 2000 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2020, while a downward trend was observed from 2009 to 2012. (2) The predominant matching pattern of the soil conservation services in the research area was “low supply, low demand”, which was primarily located in the southeastern part of southwestern Guangxi. (3) The supply–demand relationship of soil conservation services is significantly influenced by factors such as vegetation coverage, slope, soil type, and lithology, with each factor exhibiting a marked interactive effect on the ESDR. This study evaluates and reveals the supply–demand relationship and driving mechanisms of soil conservation services in the karst region of southwestern Guangxi, which contributes to the precise formulation of strategies for rocky desertification prevention and ecological restoration.

High resolution remote sensing recognition of elm sparse forest via deep-learning-based semantic segmentation

Elm (Ulmus pumila L.) sparse forest plays an vital role in maintaining local ecological stability and security in the Otingdag Sandy Land area. Prior studies on elm canopy extraction have predominantly relied on manual parameter configuration, resulting in unsatisfactory levels of generalization. To meet the needs of high-precision and rapid recognition of elm sparse forests in large areas, this study proposed a recognition method for elm sparse forest that orients to high spatial resolution remote sensing imageries, using deep-learning-based semantic segmentation techniques. It can automatically learn features that are conducive to segmenting the canopy of elm trees, and retains good generalization ability on the Gaofen-2 imageries obtained in different regions. First, we constructed a dataset specialized for elm canopy semantic segmentation task, and annotated over 130,000 elm canopies based on Gaofen-2 imageries. In addition, we trained 7 deep-learning semantic segmentation model candidates. Among them, MANet showed the best performance, with its F1-score reaching 81.44%. Lastly, we applied edge detection to the elm canopy coverage area, and automatically extract the elm canopy. The proposed method can provide technical support for the investigation and monitoring of elm sparse forests, while facilitates local desertification prevention efforts in the entire Otingdag Sandy Region.

The dominant influencing factors of desertification and ecological risk changes in Qinghai Area of Qilian Mountains National Park: Climate change or human activity?

Transitional features of desert environments partially determine the risks associated with ecosystems. Influenced by climate change and human activities, the variability and uncertainty of desertification levels and ecological risks in the Qinghai Area of Qilian Mountain National Park (QMNPQA) has become increasingly prominent. As a critical ecological barrier in northwest China, monitoring desertification dynamics and ecological risks is crucial for maintaining ecosystem stability. This study identifies the optimal monitoring model from four constructed desertification monitoring models and analyzes spatiotemporal changes in desertification. The spatial and temporal changes in ecological risks and their primary driving factors were analyzed using methods such as raster overlay calculation, geographic detector, cloud model, and trend analysis. The main conclusions are as follows: The desertification feature spatial model based on GNDVI-Albedo demonstrates better applicability in the study area, with an inversion accuracy of 81.24%. The levels of desertification and ecological risks in QMNPQA exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity, with a gradual decrease observed from northwest to southeast. From 2000 to 2020, there is an overall decreasing trend in desertification levels and ecological risks, with the decreasing trend area accounting for 89.82% and 85.71% respectively, mainly concentrated in the southeastern and northwestern parts of the study area. The proportion of areas with increasing trends is 4.49% and 7.05% respectively, scattered in patches in the central and southern edge areas. Surface temperature (ST), Digital Elevation Map (DEM), and Green normalized difference vegetation index (GNDVI) are the most influential factors determining the spatial distribution of ecological risks in QMNPQA. The effects of management and climatic factors on ecological risks demonstrate a significant antagonistic effect, highlighting the positive contributions of human activities in mitigating the driving effects of climate change on ecological risks. The research results can provide reference for desertification prevention and ecological quality improvement in QMNPQA.

Spatial-Temporal Process of Land Use/Land Cover and Desertification in the Circum-Tarim Basin during 1990–2020

The problem of desertification in the Tarim Basin, an area with a unique geography and climatic conditions, has received extensive research attention not only in China but also around the world. Between natural factors and human activities, the latter are considered the main cause of desertification, with the excessive use of land resources accelerating its risk. This study classified the degree of desertification into five types, no, light, moderate, severe, and extremely severe desertification, and focused on the spatio-temporal changes in LULC, desertification development, and their relationship in the Circum-Tarim Basin during the period of 1990–2020, and the results indicated the following. (1) Over the 30-year study period, farmland development was frequent in the basin. The total farmland area increased significantly by 1.40 × 104 km2, which resulted from the occupation of grassland (mainly low-covered and medium-covered grassland) and unused land (mainly saline–alkali land). (2) There was a general alleviation of the effects of desertification, but also local deterioration. The area of no-desertification land has significantly increased (an increase of 2.10 × 104 km2), and the degree of desertification has shifted significantly to adjacent lighter degrees, but the area of extremely severe desertification in certain regions has increased (an increase of 7.89 × 104 km2). (3) There was an inseparable relationship between LULC and desertification. Oasisization and desertification were two processes that interacted and were interrelated. There was an approximately 54.42% increase in no-desertification land area mainly occurring in the region where LULC types changed (Region II), although this area only accounted for 9.71% of the total area of the basin. There was an approximately 98.28% increase in the area of extremely severe desertification occurring where there were no changes in LULC types (Region I). Region II demonstrated the best effects of desertification prevention and control in the 30-year study period in the Circum-Tarim Basin. Land development and oasis expansion have led to concentrated water use, resulting in water scarcity in certain areas, which cannot support the needs of vegetation growth, thus aggravating the degradation. Hence, “adapting measures to local conditions, rational planning, zoning policies, precise prevention and control” will be the way forward for desertification control in the future in the Circum-Tarim Basin.

Policies and Regulations for Desertification Prevention and Control in Mongolia

Desertification is a transnational, cross-regional, and global eco-environmental problem that seriously restricts sustainable socioeconomic development. As Mongolia is a typical arid and semi-arid region, the evolution of desertification in the country is closely related to major global issues such as climate change, global carbon cycling, and biodiversity. In this article, we analyze the background, development process, limitations, and other aspects of Mongolia’s desertification prevention and control policies and regulations and conclude that Mongolia needs to formulate a “Desertification Prevention and Control Law.” In particular, it needs to clarify the responsibility subjects, beneficiaries, interest compensation subjects, and illegal punishment subjects for prevention and control, as well as the responsibilities and obligations of relevant legal subjects. The research results show that it is important to form a solution mechanism in legal research on the joint prevention and control of desertification between Mongolia and China. We propose a concept of best future practice, highlighting the urgent need to establish a framework for the joint prevention and control of desertification via a cooperative mechanism between Mongolia and China and for the two countries to jointly promote global cooperation in combating this important environmental issue.

Analysis of Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Land Desertification in Qilian Mountain National Park Based on Google Earth Engine

Notwithstanding the overall improvement in the ecological condition of the Qilian Mountains, there are localized occurrences of grassland degradation, desertification, and salinization. Moreover, timely and accurate acquisition of desertification information is a fundamental prerequisite for effective monitoring and prevention of desertification. Leveraging the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform in conjunction with machine learning techniques, this study aims to identify and extract the spatiotemporal dynamics of desertification in the Qilian Mountain National Park (QMNP) and its surroundings (QMNPs) spanning from 1988 to 2023. Results show that based on the random forest algorithm, the multi-index inversion methodology achieves a commendable overall accuracy of 91.9% in desertification extraction. From 1988 to 2023, the gravity center of light desertification shifts southeastward, while centers characterized by moderate, severe, and extremely severe desertification display a westward retreat with fluctuations. The area of sandy land shows an expansion trend in the medium term, but after 2018, desertification in QMNPs reversed. As of 2023, the sandy land area measured 16,897.35 km2, accounting for 18.29% of the total area of QMNPs. The insights garnered from this study provide a valuable reference for regional desertification prevention and control in the future.

Transforming desertification patterns in Asia: Evaluating trends, drivers, and climate change impacts from 1990 to 2022

Owing to the combined effects of climate change and human activities, the type of desertification in the arid regions of Asia has undergone profound changes, and the problem of desertification has become increasingly prominent. To help address this problem, this study clarifies the transformation trends and characteristics of desertification types across Asia and discusses key areas for desertification prevention and control. Based on a series of Landsat satellite images, combined with the classification method of the desertification degree and a machine learning model, the desertification types, trends, and conversion degrees in the arid regions of Asia were systematically evaluated. In addition, the impact mechanism of climate change on the conversion between desertification types was evaluated. The primary results were as follows: (1) Various desertification types in the arid areas of Asia from 1990 to 2022 exhibited evident time series characteristics. Extremely severe desertification expanded from 1990 to 2009 and subsequently shrunk; (2) The degree of desertification in the arid regions of Asia exhibited different change characteristics in different periods, and the converted area of the same conversion type was different in different periods; (3) Different desertification conversion types in different periods have different drivers; however, overall, soil moisture has the greatest contribution to desertification conversion type. These results provide a scientific reference for the formulation of reasonable desertification prevention and control policies.

Evolution and implementation pathways from desertification prevention and control to sandy land management and use in China

The construction of ecological civilization emphasizes holistic protection of "mountain-water-forest-farmland-lake-grassland-sand", which has become an important concept of desertification prevention projects in arid and semi-arid areas of China. In the past, sandy land management and use have been neglected in desertification prevention and control, in that the links have not been effectively connected and the long-term and efficient desertification prevention has not been realized. Therefore, combining Qian Xuesen's understanding of "deserticulture", we comprehensively discussed the "long-term achievements" of China's desertification control miracle from the perspective of the historical evolution of the interaction of technology and practice, and the strategic development of policy guidance. Further, we defined the concepts of desertification prevention, desertification control, and sandy land management and use. We analyzed the coupling and coordination relationship between the four links and the scientific principle based on the development of ecological industry chain. Finally, we put forward the policy and market realization pathways, with efficient sandy land management as the core, desertification prevention as the basis, desertification control as the channel, and long-term sandy land use as the foundation. We expected to provide theoretical and practical guidance for creating a new miracle of China's desertification prevention and control.

A 20-Year Analysis of the Dynamics and Driving Factors of Grassland Desertification in Xilingol, China

Grassland desertification stands as an ecological concern globally. It is crucial for desertification prevention and control to comprehend the variation in area and severity of desertified grassland (DGL), clarify the intensities of conversion among DGLs of different desertification levels, and explore the spatial and temporal driving factors of desertification. In this study, a Desertification Difference Index (DDI) model was constructed based on albedo-EVI to extract desertification information. Subsequently, intensity analysis, the Geo-detector model, and correlation analysis were applied to analyze the dynamics and driving factors of desertification. The results showed the following: (1) Spatially, the DGL in Xilingol exhibited a zonal distribution. Temporally, the degree of DGL decreased, with the proportion of severely and moderately desertified areas decreasing from 51.77% in 2000 to 37.23% in 2020, while the proportion of nondesertified and healthy areas increased from 17.85% in 2000 to 37.40% in 2020; (2) Transition intensities among different desertification levels were more intense during 2000–2012, stabilizing during 2012–2020; (3) Meteorological factors and soil conditions primarily drive the spatial distribution of DDI, with evapotranspiration exhibiting the most significant influence (q-value of 0.83), while human activities dominate interannual DDI variations. This study provides insights into the conversion patterns among different desertification levels and the divergent driving forces shaping desertification in both spatial and temporal dimensions in Xilingol.

Effects of Ecological Restoration and Climate Change on Herbaceous and Arboreal Phenology.

With global climate change, changes in vegetation phenology have become increasingly evident. Horqin Sandy Land is located near the eastern part of the West Liaohe River. It is the largest sandy land in China and its ecological environment is fragile. Investigating the changes in vegetation phenology in these sandy areas and determining the relationship between vegetation phenology and meteorological factors are of great importance for predicting the impacts of future climate change and understanding the response mechanisms of ecosystems. In this study, we used the time series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from 2000 to 2021 and extracted the vegetation phenology in the Horqin Sandy Land using high-order curve fitting methods, including the start date of the growing season (SOS), the end date of the growing season (EOS), and the length of the growing season (LOS). We analyzed their temporal variation and used partial correlation analysis to determine their relationship with meteorological factors (temperature and precipitation). In addition, we compared the phenology and microclimate of forest and grassland within the study area. In the Horqin Sandy Land, the vegetation SOS was concentrated between the 115th and 150th day, the EOS was concentrated between the 260th and 305th day, and the LOS ranged from 125 to 190 days. Over the past 22 years, the SOS, EOS, and LOS of vegetation in the Horqin Sandy Land showed trends of delay, shift, and extension, with rates of change of 0.82 d/10a, 5.82 d/10a, and 5.00 d/10a, respectively. The start date of the growing season in the Horqin Sandy Land was mainly influenced by precipitation in April of the current year, while the end date was mainly influenced by precipitation in August of the current year. Overall, the SOS in the forested areas of the Horqin Sandy Land was slightly later than in the grasslands, but the EOS in the forested areas was significantly later than in the grasslands, resulting in a longer LOS in the forests. In addition, annual precipitation and the rate of precipitation increase were higher in the forested areas than in the grasslands, but soil temperature was higher in the grasslands than in the forests. Vegetation phenology in the Horqin Sandy Land has undergone significant changes, mainly manifested in the delayed end date of the growing season, the extended length of the growing season, and the differences between forest and grassland. This indicates that climate change has indeed affected phenological changes and provides a theoretical basis for subsequent ecological restoration and desertification prevention efforts in the region.

Research on the Resilience Evaluation of Rural Ecological Landscapes in the Context of Desertification Prevention and Control: a Case Study of Yueyaquan Village in Gansu Province

Research on the Resilience Evaluation of Rural Ecological Landscapes in the Context of Desertification Prevention and Control: a Case Study of Yueyaquan Village in Gansu Province

Establishment of an Efficient and Rapid Regeneration System for a Rare Shrubby Desert Legume Eremosparton songoricum.

Eremosparton songoricum (Litv.) Vass. is a rare and extremely drought-tolerant legume shrub that is distributed in Central Asia. E. songoricum naturally grows on bare sand and can tolerate multiple extreme environmental conditions. It is a valuable and important plant resource for desertification prevention and environmental protection, as well as a good material for the exploration of stress tolerance mechanisms and excellent tolerant gene mining. However, the regeneration system for E. songoricum has not yet been established, which markedly limits the conservation and utilization of this endangered and valuable desert legume. Assimilated branches derived from seedlings were cultured on several MS mediums supplemented with various concentrations of TDZ or 6-BA in different combinations with NAA. The results showed that the most efficient multiplication medium was MS medium supplemented with 0.4 mg/L 6-BA and 0.1 mg/L NAA. The most efficient rooting medium was WPM + 25 g/L sucrose. The highest survival rate (77.8%) of transplantation was achieved when the ratio of sand to vermiculite was 1:1. In addition, the optimal callus induction medium was MS + 30 g/L sucrose + 2 mg/L TDZ + 0.5 mg/L NAA in darkness. The E. songoricum callus treated with 100 mM NaCl and 300 mM mannitol on MS medium could be used in proper salt and drought stress treatments in subsequent gene function tests. A rapid and efficient regeneration system for E. songoricum that allowed regeneration within 3 months was developed. The protocol will contribute to the conservation and utilization of this rare and endangered desert stress-tolerant species and also provide a fundamental basis for gene functional analysis in E. songoricum.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Drivers of Wind Erosion during 1990–2020 in the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin, Southern Tibetan Plateau

Wind erosion is recognized as one of the main environmental issues and seriously threatens ecosystem services in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin (YZRB), southern Tibetan Plateau. Exploring the spatiotemporal dynamics and drivers of wind erosion is crucial for improving regional ecosystem services and sustainable development. This study was conducted to examine the spatiotemporal patterns of soil wind erosion modulus (SWEM) in YZRB from 1990 to 2020 by using the revised wind erosion equation (RWEQ) and to identify the influence of climate change and anthropogenic activities on wind erosion dynamics. The results showed that temporally, the overall SWEM presented a significant downward trend (−0.912 t·hm−2·a−1) and a continuous downward trend in the key implementation areas of ecological engineering. Spatially, the severe area of wind erosion is mainly concentrated in the flat and broad river valley, where sand sources are widely distributed. Significant SWEM differences were found among various land use/cover (LULC) types. Exceeding 90% reduction rates in SWEM occurred in forests, grasslands, and cultivated land. Additionally, the influence analysis showed that climate change was the dominant factor driving the variations in wind erosion due to the reduction of wind speed. By contrast, the contribution of anthropogenic activities is relatively less, accounting for 43.50% of wind erosion change, which closely matches the transfer of LULC to grassland and forest land with the implementation area of ecological engineering projects. This study provides useful information on the driving mechanism of wind erosion, prevention service changes, and determining priority zones for desertification prevention in YZRB. We suggest that eco-restoration activities should be endorsed in the future, as well as the adaptive management that is required to control wind erosion and improve ecosystem services and human well-being for people in the YZRB region.

The Effect of Plantation on Sand Dust-storm Weather Near Newly Planted Forest Based on Geographic Information System: A Case Study in Tongliao City, China

As desertification has become a vital environmental problem in recent years, incidental natural disasters such as sandstorm weather and greenhouse effect harm human life and increase. To ease the problem, various methods of sand fixation have been applied. Among them, the regeneration of plantations is thought to be the most effective and widely used worldwide. This study takes Tongliao city as an example, and applies the technology of GIS and satellite images as well as extreme weather data to analyze the plantations effect on sand fixation and desertification prevention. Results show that plantation positively affects sand fixation, because sand storm weather decreases significantly as the plantation rate increases gradually. But for further protection, special areas such as saline soil area, where planting trees is not applicative, methods such as adding chemical reagent and planting applicable plants are used to improve soil quality and was proved to be useful. Also, discovering and applying plants that are suitable for desert growing environment can be a solution to the problem.

Investigation and Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Land Desertification Control in Yili Area, Xinjiang

At present, land desertification is still a serious ecological environment problem in China. Xinjiang is the administrative region with the largest desertified soil area in China and the most severe wind and sand damage. This paper chooses Yili area of Xinjiang as an example to study the situation of soil desertification prevention and control, and summarizes the control mode of soil desertification, and uses comparative analysis method to analyze its soil desertification prevention and ecological benefits. Propose the effectiveness of improving and controlling land desertification, and improve the level of land desertification control in Yili from the perspective of management and technology.

The Expected Effect of Korea-Mongolia FTA and EPA

On December 30, 2021, the Mongolian government enacted a “New Revitalization Policy” to accelerate economic development and enhance the effectiveness of the long-term development policy “Vision 2050” after the COVID-19. Mongolia is currently a member of the Japan-Mongolia Economic Partnership Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement(APTA). The joint research on the Economic Partnership Agreement with Korea-Mongolia and Mongolia-China are completed. Joint research of a free trade agreement with Mongolia and EEU(Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan) is in progress. Economic cooperation between Korea and Mongolia is not showing good results compared to current political, social, and cultural cooperation. The expected effects of the conclusion of the Economic Partnership Agreement can be summarized as follows. First, if the tariff barriers on Korea-Mongolia trade are gradually resolved through the conclusion of the economic partnership agreement, the volume of trade is expected to increase significantly. Second, the inclusion of special information on investment in the bilateral economic partnership agreement is expected to improve Korea’s FDI environment with Mongolia, and increase investment in mining, agriculture and infrastructure and SMEs. As the tree planting campaign is a nationwide campaign, demand for forestry machines, equipments, and irrigation systems is expected to expand gradually. Korea has become a representative country that has succeeded in foresting project of Mindungsan(bald mountain). Korea’s forest diplomacy also played a major role in fields such as greening projects, desertification prevention projects, carbon emissions, and global warming climate countermeasures on the international stage. The “Planting 1 Billion Trees” campaign to respond to climate change in Mongolia can be an opportunity for Korean companies.

On Question of Sustainable Water use Ensuring in Russia and CIS Countries

Water resources under conditions of intense anthropogenic pressure and climatic changes are becoming one of the critical factors in the mankind development and the world economy. Improving the water resources use efficiency in agriculture in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries is closely related to land reclamation. The conditions for the agricultural production water resource supply improving and the water use efficiency increasing during irrigation were considered, the measures required for this were determined, as well as the directions of the CIS countries joint research in the field of water resources use and protection, land desertification prevention.

Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Sandy Land and its Impact on Soil Wind Erosion in the Kubuqi Desert in Recent 30 Years

Continuous remote-sensing monitoring of sand in desert areas and the exploration of the spatio–temporal evolution characteristics of soil–wind erosion has an important scientific value for desertification prevention and ecological restoration. In this study, the Kubuqi Desert was selected as the study area, and the Landsat series satellite remote sensing data, supplemented by satellite remote sensing data such as GE images, SPOT-5, ZY-3, GF-1/2/6, etc., integrated object-oriented, decision tree, and auxiliary human–computer interaction interpretation methods, developed the Kubuqi Desert area dataset from 1990 to 2020, and established a soil erosion intensity database of the past 30 years based on the soil–wind erosion correction equation. The results show that the application of the training samples obtained by a high-score collaborative ground sampling to land use/cover classification in desert areas can effectively improve the efficiency of remote-sensing mapping of sand changes and the accuracy of change information identification, and the overall accuracy of the classification results is 95%. In general, the sandy area of the Kubuqi Desert area has decreased year by year, during which the mobile sand in the hinterland of the desert has expanded in a scattered distribution. The overall soil–wind erosion intensity showed a downward trend, especially since 2000; the ecological improvement trend after the implementation of desertification control projects is obvious. Changes in the sand type contributed the most to the reduction of soil–wind erosion intensity (contribution 81.14%), ecological restoration played a key role in reducing the soil–wind erosion intensity (contribution 14.42%), and the increase of forest and grass vegetation covers and agricultural oases played a positive role in solidifying the soil- and wind-proof sand fixation. The pattern of sandy land changes in desert areas is closely related to the national ecological civilization construction policy and the impact of climate change.

Drought and water-use efficiency are dominant environmental factors affecting greenness in the Yellow River Basin, China

Revegetation is accelerating globally because of its benefits in terms of ecosystem restoration, desertification prevention, and warming mitigation. The Yellow River Basin (YRB), as an ecological barrier in northern China, has implemented revegetation projects (such as the ‘Grain for Green’ program) for over two decades. However, a consensus on whether a significant change in greenness has been achieved and to what extent have environmental factors contributed to this change, as well as their importance ranking, is lacking. Leaf area index (LAI) is a critical indicator for estimating global greenness and projecting the dynamics of climate change. Herein, we apply four methods (Geodetector, random forest, multiple linear regression, and structural equation models) to explore the contribution of different environmental factors to greenness using the LAI in the YRB. We found that greenness has been increasing (greening over 67.22% (p < 0.05; 47.7%) of the YRB) with great spatial heterogeneity in the entire basin since 2000. Specifically, the greening process differed with elevation and slope. Temperature vegetation dryness index (TVDI) and water-use efficiency (WUE) dominated the greening; however, the three subregions evaluated revealed differing performance. In the upstream region, LAI increased by 0.031 y−1. The primary positive factors of greening change were WUE and the annual highest value of daily minimum temperature; the negative factors were TVDI and the highest number of consecutive days when precipitation <1 mm. In the midstream region, LAI increased by 0.025 y−1; greenness was mainly affected by the negative interaction of TVDI and the positive interaction of WUE. Annual maximum consecutive 5-day precipitation and annual count when daily minimum temperature < 0 °C had a great indirect impact on greenness, mainly through TVDI and WUE. In the downstream region, LAI increased by 0.045 y−1, and the main driving factors were the annual lowest value of daily minimum temperature with a negative influence and the annual lowest value of daily maximum temperature with a positive influence. In addition, we found that the effect of the interaction of any two driving factors on greenness was greater than or equal to the single effect of a driving factor. This study concludes that drought and WUE are important predictors to evaluate the greenness in arid and semi-arid regions. We emphasise that the selection and assessment of greenness factors should follow a scientific and rigorous process rather than experience, and increased attention should be paid to the interaction of multiple factors. Furthermore, the perspective of system analysis will deepen our understanding of vegetation change in a vulnerable ecosystem.