Desertification Research Research Articles

The Global Situation of Karst Desertification Research Based on Forest Ecology

Karst desertification (KD) is a major ecological and environmental problem threatening human survival and development in karst areas. In order to explore the research situation and development trend of KD based on forest ecology, this paper provides a systematic literature review based on the CNKI and WoS databases, which involves search, appraisal, synthesis, and analysis. We performed a statistical and visual analysis of 2955 studies acquired between 1 January 1995 and 30 June 2023, including the time distribution of the studies, hot research trends, pivotal research clusters, literature co-citations, main publishing trends, and keyword bursts. The results show the following. (1) The literature shows a fluctuating growth trend, and the research trends are divided into accumulation, development, and expansion stages. (2) The pivotal research clusters comprised three major aspects: study area and method, driving and genetic mechanisms, and control technology and models. (3) KD research forms a China-centered research network, dominated by institutions and scholars in southwestern China. (4) Future research needs to solve a series of related scientific issues and technological needs for forest ecosystem function optimization, ecological product supply capacity enhancement, ecological product value realization, ecological industry formation, and rural revitalization in KD control. The purpose of this paper is to reveal research trends relating to KD and highlight the future direction of KD research and control.

Bibliometric Analysis of Land Degradation Studies in Drylands Using Remote Sensing Data: A 40-Year Review

Drylands are vast and face threats from climate change and human activities. Traditional reviews cannot capture interdisciplinary knowledge, but bibliometric analysis provides valuable insights. Our study conducted bibliometric research of scientific production on climate change and land degradation in drylands using remote sensing. We examined 1527 Scopus-indexed publications to identify geographic and thematic hotspots, extracting leading authors, journals, and institutions. China leads in publications, followed by the US, Germany, and Australia. The US has the highest citation count. Collaboration networks involve the US, China, and European countries. There has been an exponential increase in remote sensing of land degradation in drylands (RSLDD) publications since 2011. Key journals include “International Journal of Remote Sensing” and “Remote Sensing of Environment”. The analysis highlights the growing interest in the field, driven by Australia, the US, and China. Key areas of study are vegetation dynamics and land use change. Future perspectives for this scientific field involve promoting collaboration and exploring emerging technologies for comprehensive land degradation and desertification research.

Comparative Analysis of Three Near-Surface Air Temperature Reanalysis Datasets in Inner Mongolia Region

Near-surface air temperature is important for climate change, agriculture, animal husbandry, and ecosystems undergoing climate warming in Inner Mongolia. Land surface reanalysis products feature finer spatial and temporal resolutions, that can provide important data support for the determination of crop growth limits, grassland biomass growth, and desertification research in Inner Mongolia. In this study, 119 in situ observed sites were collected to compare and evaluate the performance of near-surface air temperature in three reanalysis products from 2018 to 2020 in Inner Mongolia. The three reanalysis products included three widely used products derived from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Fifth Generation Land Surface Reanalysis (ERA5-Land), and U.S. Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), as well as the latest reanalysis product from the High-Resolution Land Data Assimilation System reanalysis product by the China Meteorological Administration (HRCLDAS). Results are as follows: (1) The three reanalysis temperature products all reasonably reflect the characteristics of spatial and temporal changes in surface temperature in Inner Mongolia. Compared with ERA5L and GLDAS, HRCLDAS is more consistent with the observed results. (2) For the evaluation period, HRCLDAS has a certain underestimation of temperature, while ERA5-Land and GLDAS have a significant overestimation of temperature. (3) During high-temperature processes, HRCLDAS is more accurate in simulating higher temperatures than ERA5-LNAD and can demonstrate the changes in high-temperature drop zones. The major conclusion of this study is that the HRCLDAS product demonstrates a relatively high reliability, which is of great significance for the study of climate, ecosystem, and sustainable development.

Oasification in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions of China: New Changes and Re-Examination

The “counter-trend” of oasification in China’s arid and semi-arid regions has attracted widespread attention against the backdrop of the rising global desertification risk, which endangers ecological safety and food security. This paper selects the pertinent literature from the CNKI and the WoS core collection databases and then uses bibliometric methods to comb the current status, key contents, and cutting-edge trends of oasification research. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) Compared to desertification research, research on oasification has not been sufficient and the understanding of oasification has not been raised to the same level of importance as desertification; (2) From the perspective of the literature, the oasification research hotspots have gone through four stages: “spatial and temporal evolution, ecological effects, driving mechanisms and sustainable development paths”; (3) Current research on oasification is mainly focused on the evolution of landscape dynamics, sustainable development, and ecological conservation. Research outlooks are as follows: (1) From the perspective of system theory, we construct a theoretical framework of “man and nature” harmonious community, and systematically study the alternating evolution process of “desert–oasis” in arid and semi-arid regions, and its effects; (2) The synergistic factors, development mechanism and preferred path of oasification sustainable development should be some of the key contents of future research; (3) Oasification management in arid and semi-arid regions is not the opposite of desertification management, and research on the oasification governance system, governance content and governance mechanism is necessary.

Accuracy of Vegetation Indices in Assessing Different Grades of Grassland Desertification from UAV.

Grassland desertification has become one of the most serious environmental problems in the world. Grasslands are the focus of desertification research because of their ecological vulnerability. Their application on different grassland desertification grades remains limited. Therefore, in this study, 19 vegetation indices were calculated for 30 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) visible light images at five grades of grassland desertification in the Mu Us Sandy. Fractional Vegetation Coverage (FVC) with high accuracy was obtained through Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification, and the results were used as the reference values. Based on the FVC, the grassland desertification grades were divided into five grades: severe (FVC < 5%), high (FVC: 5-20%), moderate (FVC: 21-50%), slight (FVC: 51-70%), and non-desertification (FVC: 71-100%). The accuracy of the vegetation indices was assessed by the overall accuracy (OA), the kappa coefficient (k), and the relative error (RE). Our result showed that the accuracy of SVM-supervised classification was high in assessing each grassland desertification grade. Excess Green Red Blue Difference Index (EGRBDI), Visible Band Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (V-MSAVI), Green Leaf Index (GLI), Color Index of Vegetation Vegetative (CIVE), Red Green Blue Vegetation Index (RGBVI), and Excess Green (EXG) accurately assessed grassland desertification at severe, high, moderate, and slight grades. In addition, the Red Green Ratio Index (RGRI) and Combined 2 (COM2) were accurate in assessing severe desertification. The assessment of the 19 indices of the non-desertification grade had low accuracy. Moreover, our result showed that the accuracy of SVM-supervised classification was high in assessing each grassland desertification grade. This study emphasizes that the applicability of the vegetation indices varies with the degree of grassland desertification and hopes to provide scientific guidance for a more accurate grassland desertification assessment.

An over review of desertification in Xinjiang, Northwest China

Desertification research in arid and semi-arid regions has always been actively pursued. In China, the problem of desertification in Xinjiang has also received extensive attention. Due to its unique geography, many scholars have conducted corresponding research on the desertification status of Xinjiang. In this paper, we comprehensively reviewed desertification in Xinjiang, and compared the underlying mechanisms of desertification and the status of desertification conditions after the implementation of ecological control projects. On a larger scale, desertification in Xinjiang can be divided into soil salinization inside oases and sandy desertification on the edges of oases. Human activities are considered the main cause of desertification, but natural factors also contribute to varying degrees. Research on the mechanisms of desertification has effectively curbed the development of desertification, but unreasonable use of land resources accelerates the risk of desertification. For desertification control, there are several key points. First, desertification monitoring and the early warning of desertification expansion should be strengthened. Second, monitoring and reversing soil salinization also play an important role in the interruption of desertification process. It is very effective to control soil salinization through biological and chemical methods. Third, the management of water resources is also essential, because unreasonable utilization of water resources is one of the main reasons for the expansion of desertification in Xinjiang. Due to the unreasonable utilization of water resources, the lower reaches of the Tarim River are cut off, which leads to a series of vicious cycles, such as the deterioration of ecological environment on both sides of the river and the worsening of desertification. However, in recent years, various desertification control projects implemented in Xinjiang according to the conditions of different regions have achieved remarkable results. For future studies, research on the stability of desert-oasis transition zone is also significantly essential, because such investigations can help to assess the risk of degradation and control desertification on a relatively large scale.

Key Areas of Ecological Restoration in Inner Mongolia Based on Ecosystem Vulnerability and Ecosystem Service

Inner Mongolia is located in China’s arid and semi-arid regions, with sensitive and fragile ecosystems at risk of increased desertification, necessitating ecological restoration. However, economic resources for large-scale ecological restoration are often scarce, so it is vital to identify key areas for ecological restoration. Previous desertification research has focused mainly on the condition and changes in soil or vegetation. However, not all changes in soil or vegetation directly impact humans. New perspectives are increasingly needed to bridge the gap between biophysical and human well-being. We construct a framework to identify priority restoration areas based on ecosystem services and ecosystem vulnerability over a long time series. The results show that: (1) soil conservation services in northeast and southwest Inner Mongolia have degraded. Sand fixation services in central and eastern Inner Mongolia have shown a degradation trend. Habitat quality has been generally stable and sporadic in the past 20 years. (2) The areas with higher ecosystem vulnerability are concentrated in the northeast, mainly due to higher climate exposure and climate sensitivity but relatively lower climate resilience in the northeast. (3) Compared with the results of ecological restoration areas identified based on the trends of traditional vegetation indicators (fractional vegetation cover and net primary productivity), we found a greater proportion of land in northeastern Inner Mongolia in need of restoration. Additionally, there was identified a decreased restoration proportion in southwestern Inner Mongolia to ensure the self-restoration and regulation of desert ecosystems, which is conducive to realizing nature-based solutions.

Diversity Relationship of Epilithic Bryophytes in the Rocky Desertification Area of Huajiang, Guizhou

In this paper, a total of 178 samples were collected for sampling and analysis of the rock surface mosses on both sides of the Huajiang Grand Canyon in the Huajiang rocky desertification area, and the results showed that there were 9 families, 12 genera and 20 species in the Huajiang rocky desertification research area, and the largest number of genera was the grey moss and the cluster moss, and the dominant family was Entodontaceae Kindb. and pottiaceae Hampe, the dominant species is Erythrodontium julaceum (Schwägr.) Paris accounted for 28.57%. In comparison between the two banks of the canyon, the species diversity on the south bank of the Huajiang River is higher than that of the north shore. The Epilithic Bryophytes on the surface of the study area are mainly interwoven types that are easy to peel off, supplemented by the cluster type, which shows the selective adaptability of bryophytes to the environment in the Huajiang Rocky desertification research area.

The Concept of Desertification, Its Causes and Effects, and Treatments

Since the United Nations General Assembly passed two resolutions in December 1974, the term "desertification" has become a part of international development discourse: The first is a call to all countries to pay attention to desertification research and work together to explore its causes and find strategies to prevent it. The decision to organize an international conference on desertification in 1977 was the second. From August 29 to September 9, 1977, the conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The term "desertification" seems to have taken the place of prior words like "desert encroachment." Perhaps what we witness when desert sand dunes creep over oasis communities and farms and fill them, as well as when sand dunes crawl over paved highways and trains, contributes to this picture. This is a genuine depiction, however it only depicts a small portion of the problem (less than 10%). The word "desertification" refers to the process by which productive land outside of the desert's natural limits deteriorates and loses its capacity to produce (agricultural crops, pastures, timber and fuelwood) and transforms into a desert that resembles a limited resource. Desertification, in other words, impacts productive lands in dry and semi-arid locations, agricultural fields (rain-fed or irrigated), and grazing lands. The degradation begins as little patches that get larger and more like expanding patches until they converge and combine, becoming an arid band that joins the deserts of the surrounding places as it becomes more like them.

Deep Learning Classification of Grassland Desertification in China via Low-Altitude UAV Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Efficiency and accuracy are major bottlenecks in conducting ecological surveys and acquiring statistical data concerning grassland desertification. Traditional manual ground-based surveys are inefficient, and aerospace-based remote sensing surveys are limited by low spatial resolution and accuracy. In this study, we propose a low-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) hyperspectral visible near-infrared (vis-NIR) remote sensing hardware platform, which combines efficiency and accuracy for high-precision remote sensing-based ecological surveys and statistical data collection on grassland desertification. We use the classical deep learning network models VGG and ResNet and their corresponding improved 3D convolutional kernels: 3D-VGG and 3D-ResNet, respectively, to classify the collected data into features. The results show that the two classical models yield good results for vegetation and bare soil in desertified grasslands, and the 3D models yield superior classification results for small sample features. Our results can serve as benchmarks for hardware integration and data analysis for remote sensing-based grassland desertification research and lay the foundation for further finer classifications and more accurate statistics of features.

A GIS-based study of desert classification in Dangxiong County

Desertification as an environmental problem, monitoring its development trend, grasping its dynamic change pattern, and assessing and grading the degree of land desertification have become important contents of international desertification research. Only in this way can we obtain accurate, timely and comprehensive information on the evolution of desertified land and services for the management and decision-making of control forecasting. In this study area, we used Landsat TM remote sensing data as the data source, the human-computer interaction visual interpretation method and the spatial analysis function of GIS to obtain desertification-type data. On this basis, we analyzed the current situation and dynamic changes in desertification in the study area.

Research Progress of Desertification and Its Prevention in Mongolia

Mongolia is a globally crucial region that has been suffering from land desertification. However, current understanding on Mongolia’s desertification is limited, constraining the desertification control and sustainable development in Mongolia and even other parts of the world. This paper studied spatiotemporal patterns, driving factors, mitigation strategies, and research methods of desertification in Mongolia through an extensive review of literature. Results showed that: (i) remote sensing monitoring of desertification in Mongolia has been subject to a relatively low spatial resolution and considerable time delay, and thus high-resolution and timely data are needed to perform a more precise and timely study; (ii) the contribution of desertification impacting factors has not been quantitatively assessed, and a decoupling analysis is desirable to quantify the contribution of factors in different regions of Mongolia; (iii) existing desertification prevention measures should be strengthened in the future. In particular, the relationship between grassland changes and husbandry development needs to be considered during the development of desertification prevention measures; (iv) the multi-method study (particularly interdisciplinary approaches) and desertification model development should be enhanced to facilitate an in-depth desertification research in Mongolia. This study provides a useful reference for desertification research and control in Mongolia and other regions of the world.

Hümik Asit Uygulamalarının Patates (Solanum tuberosum L.) Bitkisinin Gelişimi ve Kalite Özellikleri Üzerine Etkileri

This study was carried out in Konya Soil, Water and Combating Desertification Research Station in 2015 in order to determine the effect of humic acid applications in different amounts on the development and quality properties of some potato varieties in Konya ecological conditions. Three different potato varieties (Agria, VR808, Brooke) and four different humic acid doses (0, 3, 6, 9 L da-1) were used in this study, which was established in three replications according to "The Randomized Complete Block in a Split Plot Design". In the study, large, medium, small, discarded tuber yields per decare, protein content, specific gravity, chips yield, oil holding capacity of chips, dry matter content, starch content were investigated. It was determined that there was a significant increase in humic acid applications in large, medium, small and discarded tuber yields per decare. Oil holding capacity of chips was between 32.9 % and 46.2 %, starch content was between 11.7 % and 17.3 %, and the differences between humic acid applications were found to be statistically significant for these properties. In terms of chips yield and protein content, statistical significance was not determined among the applications. Considering all the properties examined, it was determined that increasing humic acid applications positively affected the yield of large, medium and small discarded tubers per decare and significant variations were obtained among some quality properties of the varieties.

Spatiotemporal change and drivers analysis of desertification in the arid region of northwest China based on geographic detector

The arid region of northwest China is a hotspot for global desertification research, because it is affected by the combined effects of climate change and human activities, and it has had a huge impact on human society in recent years. Based on multiple meteorological and spatial attribute data sets, NDVI-Albedo feature space principle and geographic detectors were used to analyze the main drivers to the spatiotemporal changes of desertification in the arid region of northwest China from 2003 to 2018. The results are shown that: (1) The area of severe desertification in the arid region of northwestern China shows a downward trend, and the area of high desertification and non-desertification regions increases correspondingly, the area of medium and low desertification remains basically unchanged. The desertification divided index (DDI) is the highest in the mid-altitude region. The DDI of middle and lower reaches of the Tarim River has the fastest rising rate, due to the impact of human agricultural activities and ecological water conveyance. (2) According to the analysis results of the geographic detector model, precipitation is the main factor driving the spatial distribution of desertification, especially the interpretive ability of the interaction between land use and precipitation is more than 50% for the spatial distribution of DDI. Land use change and its interaction with other factors have the highest degree of explanation for desertification changes. Therefore, human activities, especially land use and ecological water conservancy projects, are the most important factors to improve desertification in the arid area of northwest China. This study provides a scientific basis for agricultural management and ecological engineering construction in arid region.

Mismanagement of Covid-19: lessons learned from Italy

Maria Laura Ruiu is lecturer at Northumbria University (Newcastle upon Tyne). She has recently completed her second PhD in Social Sciences (Northumbria University). She also acted as post-doctoral researcher at the Desertification Research Centre (University of Sassari, Italy) investigating the adaptive capacity of some communities to climate change impact. This paper analyses the first phases of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak management in Italy by exploring the combination of political, scientific, media and public responses. A lack of coordination between political and scientific levels, and between institutional claim-makers and the media, suggests a mismanagement of the crisis during the first phases of the outbreak. The outbreak management suffered from the five communication weaknesses identified by Reynolds, related to i) mixed messages from multiple messengers; ii) delay in releasing information; iii) paternalistic attitudes; iv) lack of immediate reaction to rumours; and v) political confusion. This supports that the communication of uncertainty around an unknown threat should be accompanied by both political and scientific cohesion. However, both political and scientific dysfunctions caused the failure of several government efforts to contain the outbreak. This paper contributes towards informing policymakers on some lessons learned from the management of the Covid-19 in one of the most affected countries in the world. The Italian case study offers the opportunity for other countries to improve the management of the outbreak by limiting the spread of both chaos and panic.

Progress on Sandy Desertification Research and Future Combating Idea in Tibet, China

Progress on Sandy Desertification Research and Future Combating Idea in Tibet, China

Spatial Distribution and Dynamic Changes in Research Hotspots for Desertification in China Based on Big Data from CNKI

Desertification research plays a key role in the survival and development of all mankind. The Normalized Comprehensive Hotspots Index (NCH) is a comprehensive index that reveals the spatial distribution of research hotspots in a given research field based on the number of relevant scientific papers. This study uses Web Crawler technology to retrieve the full text of all Chinese journal articles spanning the 1980s–2018 in the Chinese Academic Journal full-text database (CAJ) from CNKI. Based on the 253,055 articles on desertification that were retrieved, we have constructed a research hotspot extraction model for desertification in China by means of the NCH Index. This model can reveal the spatial distribution and dynamic changes of research hotspots for desertification in China. This analysis shows the following: 1) The spatial distribution of research hotspots on desertification in China can be effectively described by the NCH Index, although its application in other fields still needs to be verified and optimized. 2) According to the NCH Index, the research hotspots for desertification are mainly distributed in the Agro-Pastoral Ecotone and grassland in Inner Mongolia, the desertification areas of Qaidam Basin in the Western Alpine Zone and the Oasis-Desert Ecotone in Xinjiang (including the extension of the central Tarim Basin to the foothills of the Kunlun Mountains, the sporadic areas around the Tianshan Mountains and the former hilly belt of the southern foothills of the Altai Mountains). Among these three, the Agro-Pastoral Ecotone in the middle and eastern part of Inner Mongolia includes the most prominent hotspots in the study of desertification. 3) Since the 1980s, the research hotspots for desertification in China have shown a general downward trend, with a significant decline in 219 counties (10.37% of the study area). This trend is dominated by the projects carried out since 2002. The governance of desertification in the eastern part of the Inner Mongolia-Greater Khingan Range still needs to be strengthened. The distribution of desertification climate types reflects the distribution of desertification in a given region to some extent. The Normalized Comprehensive Hotspots Index provides a new approach for researchers in different fields to analyze research progress.

Laboratory and Field Studies of &lt;i&gt;Trichoderma harzianum&lt;/i&gt;, Bacterial Strains and Imazethapyr on &lt;i&gt;Orobanche crenata&lt;/i&gt; Forsk Infesting &lt;i&gt;Vicia faba&lt;/i&gt;

A series of laboratory and field experiments were undertaken at the laboratories and experimental farm of Environment, Natural Resources and Desertification Research Institute, NCR and Shendi Research Station experimental farm, ARC, Sudan at season 2015-2016, to evaluate efficacy of Trichoderma harzianum, Bacillus megatherium var. Phosphaticum (BMP), Rhizobium leguminosarum (TAL1399) and the herbicide imazethapyr (pursuit) against Orobanche crenata infesting faba bean. Treatments were laid out in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) in laboratory experiment and in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in the field experiments with four replicates. Results of laboratory experiments showed that T. harzianum and Imazethapyr each alone or in combination significantly reduced O. crenata germination. Field results revealed that, application of T. harzianum, Imazethapyr and Imazethapyr + BMP+TAL1399 significantly delayed the days of O. crenata emergence in Shendi and Soba sites. T. harzianum alone or in combination with bacteria or imazethapyr significantly reduced number of O. crenata emergence and increased faba bean plant height as compared to the corresponding control in Shendi and Soba sites. T. harzanium alone or in combination with T. harzanium + BMP+TAL1399 significantly increased faba bean biomass, pod/plant and grain yield and 100 seed weight insignificantly as compared to the infested control in Shendi and Soba sites.

Information Extraction and Spatial Distribution of Research Hot Regions on Rocky Desertification in China

Rocky desertification is an important type of ecological degradation in southwest of China. The author uses the web crawler technology and obtained 9345 journal papers related to rocky desertification from 1950s to 2016 in China. The authors also constructed a technological process to extract research hot regions on rocky desertification and then a spatial distribution map of research hot regions on rocky desertification was formed. Finally, the authors compared the spatial distribution using the sensitivity map of rocky desertification to find the differences between two maps. The study shows that: (1) rocky desertification research hot regions in China are mainly distributed in Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi, especially in Bijie, Liupanshui, Guiyang, Anshun, Qianxinan Autonomous Prefecture, QianNan Autonomous Prefecture, Qiandongnan Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province, Hechi, Baise, Nanning, Guilin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Zhaotong in Yunnan Province. (2) The research hot regions on rocky desertification have good spatial consistency with the sensitivity regions of rocky desertification. At the prefecture level, the overlap rate of the two regions reached 85%. Because of the influence of topography, vegetation coverage, population distribution, traffic accessibility and other factors, there were regions that consisted of combinations of high sensitivity but low research popularity regarding rocky desertification; these sites included Qionglai Mountain-Liangshan Area of Sichuan, Wushan-Shennongjia Area of Hubei, Hengduan Mountain Area of western Yunnan and Dupangling Area of southern Hunan. (3) The research hot regions and sensitive regions cannot be matched completely in time, space and concept. Therefore, we can use their spatial distribution differences to improve the pertinence of planning, governance and study of rocky desertification.

Monitoring desertification processes in Mongolian Plateau using MODIS tasseled cap transformation and TGSI time series

Most remote sensing studies assess the desertification using vegetation monitoring method. But it has the insufficient precision of vegetation monitoring for the limited vegetation cover of the desertification region. Therefore, it offers an alternative approach for the desertification research to assess sand dune and sandy land change using remote sensing in the desertification region. In this study, the indices derived from the well-known tasseled cap transformation (TCT), tasseled cap angle (TCA), disturbance index (DI), process indicator (PI), and topsoil grain size index (TGSI) were integrated to monitor and assess the desertification at the thirteen study sites including sand dunes and sandy lands distributed in the Mongolian Plateau (MP) from 2000 to 2015. A decision tree was used to classify the desertification on a regional scale. The average overall accuracy of 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 desertification classification was higher than 90%. Results from this study indicated that integration of the advantages of TCA, DI and TGSI could better assess the desertification. During the last 16 years, Badain Jaran Desert, Tengger Desert, and Ulan Buh Desert showed a relative stabilization. Otindag Sandy Land and the deserts of Khar Nuur, Ereen Nuur, Tsagan Nuur, Khongoryn Els, Hobq, and Mu Us showed a slow increasing of desertification, whereas Bayan Gobi, Horqin and Hulun Buir sandy lands showed a slow decreasing of desertification. Compared with the other 11 sites, the fine sand dunes occupied the majority of the Tengger Desert, and the coarse sandy land occupied the majority of the Horqin Sandy Land. Our findings on a three or four years’ periodical fluctuated changes in the desertification may possibly reflect changing precipitation and soil moisture in the MP. Further work to link the TCA, DI, TGSI, and PI values with the desertification characteristics is recommended to set the thresholds and improve the assessment accuracy with field investigation.