Severe Desertification Research Articles

Forest and Forestry Research and Education in Mongolia

Since 1990, after the dramatic change in Mongolia's political and economic system, human impact on forest resources highly increased and became continuously degraded due to improper exploitation, forest fire, mining, pest and disease, uncontrolled grazing, and inadequate management which negatively affect its environmental conditions causing severe deforestation, desertification, and ecological stress in some regions of the country. Forestry research and education became fragmented in Mongolia. Several institutions and universities conducted vague and in some cases duplicating research topics. Hence, this article aims to understand the current status and issues as well as to formulate possible solutions in strengthening and developing forest and forestry research and education in the country.

Genetic variation within and between populations of a desert poplar (Populus euphratica) revealed by SSR markers

& Backgroud Populus euphratica Oliv., a long-lived woody perennial plant, is the only forest species naturally distributed in desert regions. Severe desertification has resulted in this species becoming endangered, and its populations are seriously fragmented in northwest China. & Objectives We investigated the within-population and long-distance separated population diversity in northwest China using eight pairs of simple sequence repeat markers. & Results Our results reveal that this species has high overall genetic diversity with a mean of 12.125 alleles per locus; its expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.713 to 0.878. However, there was a high level of genetic diversity within the species (when compared within congeneric species) and low genetic differentiation between populations (average Fst=0.093). Analyses of molecular variance suggested that 5.21% of the total molecular variance was attributable to between-population diversity (P<0.001), while the remainder of the variance was associated with differences within populations. There was no distinct correlation between geographical distributions and genetic variation. & Conclusions We found no evidence to support our initial hypothesis of low genetic diversity within the species and high differentiation between populations separated by long distances. The recent fragmentations of this species due to anthropologic and environmental effects resulted in its endangered status.

Desertification Monitoring of Loess Plateau based on MODIS

Based on the MODIS satellite image data in 2001 and 2009,dynamic change of desertification in loess plateau was studied by employing methods of normalized difference vegetation index and the dimidiate pixel model principle.It focused on analyzing of the spatial distribution of the different desertification degrees and change in the area during both the August 2001 and 2008 by establishing a scientific classification system of desertification.The results show that desertification land area in the loess plateau exhibits over all a decreasing tendency since recent eight years,but development intensity continuously increased.The very severe desertification land area increases by 16.53 km2 with the growth rate of 28.36%.The severe and moderate desertification area decreases by 1.2×104 km2 and 7.0×104 km2 with the change rate of 32.97% and 29.19% respectively.9.0×104 km2 moderate and 1.2×104 km2 potential desertification land are turned into other types of desertification,and increases by 9.3×103 km2 and 7.3×104 km2 with the growth rates of 4.2% and 57.3% respectively.The developing area is 1.9×105 km2,steady area is 4.0×105 km2 and the reverse area is 2.8×104 km2.The developing area is 1.6×105 km2 larger than the reverse area,indicates that the environmental quality is continuously decreased,and the desertification degree is still expanding.

LANDSAT IMAGES REVEAL TRENDS IN THE AEOLIAN DESERTIFICATION IN A SOURCE AREA FOR SAND AND DUST STORMS IN CHINA'S ALASHAN PLATEAU (1975–2007)

ABSTRACTThe development and reversal of aeolian desertification have been widely recognised as the dominant causes of changes in the source areas of dust storms. The Alashan Plateau, which is near China's Hexi Corridor, is one of the major dust storm source regions in northern China. To investigate the relationship between climatic and anthropogenic factors and the development of aeolian desertification, we reconstructed the temporal and spatial evolution of aeolian desertification and the underlying processes from 1975 to 2007 using Landsat images and analysed the driving forces. The results show that aeolian desertified land in the study area covered 32 847·79 km2 in 2007, amounting to 11·3 per cent of the total area, with an initial period of desertification expansion from 1975 to 2000 and a reversal of desertification from 2000 to 2007. On the basis of the analysis of effects of climate changes and human activities in the region, aeolian desertification was principally driven by human activities in this area; climatic variations had little effect on the area of severe desertification. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Remote sensing-based temporal-spatial variability of desertification and driving forces in an agro-pastoral transitional zone of Northern Shaanxi Province, China

Desertification has been widely treated as one of the major environmental hazards in the world by scientific communities and the public. In order to assess temporal-spatial variability of desertification from 1986 through 1993 to 2003 in an agro-pastoral transitional zone of Northern Shaanxi, China, satellite images were interpreted and analyzed along with meteorological and socio-economic data. During the intervening 17-year period, desertification has decreased in severity and increased in extent. Temporally, severe desertification has decreased in area by 26.8% from 1986 to 2003. Desertification landscape patch quantities and fragmentation indexes have increased gradually. Spatially, desertification has increased in extent north of the Great Wall and decreased in extent in the Wudao river valley and north-western Shenmu County. The geographic centers of deserts in the study area have moved to the south-west and north-east. Climate change and human activities were somewhat responsible for the decrease in desertification severity but significantly affected the increase in desertification extent. The “Three north shelterbelt program” and “grain-for-green project” carried out by the governments were the dominant contributors to the desertification severity reversal. Desertification control is a difficult and gradually process and the government should continue to play a leading role in this process. Key words: Desertification, spatio-temporal variation, landscape patch quantities, geographic centers, agro-pastoral transitional zone

Can mobile sandy land be vegetated in the cold and dry Tibetan Plateau in China?

Desertification has taken place in the overgrazed grassland of the Tibetan Plateau, China, and the area of mobile sandy land has increased in recent decades. The challenging problem about desertification control is how to restore the vegetation of mobile sandy lands caused by severe desertification. Sand drifting is now regarded as the limiting factor of vegetation restoration in such lands. The initial phase of vegetation restoration is plant colonization, but it is often aborted due to sand drifting, and then vegetation restoration fails to proceed. For the sake of revegetation, the first step is to stop sand drifting to ensure plant colonization. In the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China, feasible approaches have been found through long-term experiments, and the vegetation is being restored satisfactorily with these approaches in experimental sandy lands. The approaches comprise three types: enclosure, mechanical barriers and biological barriers. Different sandy lands require dissimilar combinations of these approaches. Enclosures may be adequate to revegetate inter-dunes or degraded grassland even in cold regions like the Tibetan Plateau, China, but it is deficient for revegetation of the shifting sand dunes unless mechanical and biological barriers are established simultaneously.

Perceiving the Environment from the Lay Perspective in Desertified Areas, Northern China

Investigating local people's environmental perceptions can produce useful information that could be incorporated into decision making processes that help resolve environmental problems. Although China is undergoing severe desertification, the perceptions of the local people toward their degraded environment and the related issues have so far not been actively solicited. This article, which is a supplement to Lee and Zhang's (2004, 2005) studies, seeks to further investigate the lay public's general environmental attitudes, perceptions of desertification, interpretations of land-degrading activities, and particularly their interrelations in severely desertified areas. Minqin County in Gansu Province, northern China, was chosen to be the study area. Data was collected via a questionnaire survey (n=1138) administered in December 2002. Major findings were: (1) Most respondents had only weak altruistic environmental attitudes, with educational level to be a significant determinant. (2) Respondents' perceptions of desertification and interpretations of land-degrading activities were contingent on personal attributes, general environmental attitudes, and other conceptions related to desertification. It is recommended that the interrelations between the various aspects of the public's environmental perceptions should be thoroughly examined to facilitate their participation in environmental management.

Emergy analysis of cropping–grazing system in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China

An ecological energetic evaluation is presented in this paper as a complement to economic account for the cropping–grazing system in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in China in the year 2000. Based on Odum's well-known concept of emergy in terms of embodied solar energy as a unified measure for environmental resources, human or animal labors and industrial products, a systems diagram is developed for the crop and livestock productions with arms and sub-arms for free renewable natural resource input, purchased economic investment, yields of and interactive fluxes between the cropping and grazing sub-industries. In addition to conventional systems indices of the emergy yield ratio (EYR), emergy investment ratio (EIR), environmental load ratio (ELR) and environmental sustainability index (ESI) introduced for congregated systems ecological assessment with essential implication for sustainability, new indicators of soil emergy cost (SEC), self-support intensity (SSI) and self-support orientation (SSO) are defined to characterize the desertification and internal recycling associated with the special agricultural system. Extensive emergy accounting is made for the cropping-grazing system as a whole as well as for the cropping and grazing subsystems. The overall cropping–grazing system is shown with outstanding production competence compared with agricultural systems in some other provinces and the national average in China, though confronted with severe desertification associated with soil loss. The production of crops has higher emergy density and yield rate per unit area as well as higher rate of soil loss than grazing system. The soil emergy cost defined as the soil loss emergy divided by the yield emergy is estimated to be of the same value for both of the subsystems, but the grazing activity is with less extraction intensity, leaving rangeland to rest and rehabilitate. Suggestions with regard to the local sustainability and national ecological security in northern China are explored for land-use policy making.

Plant species as indicators of the extent of desertification in four sandy rangelands

AbstractWe examined the distribution of plants in sandy rangelands with different degrees of desertification in (i) Horqin and Mu Us sandy lands in north China, (ii) Darfur district in north‐west Sudan and (iii) southern Tunisia. The severity of desertification in these areas was classified as light, moderate, severe or extreme. The following vegetation changes were observed with increasing severity of desertification: a decrease in the number of plant species, an increase in drought‐tolerant plants, a decrease in the proportion of palatable grasses and the occurrence of some species in only one category of desertification, whereas other species occurred in several categories. Plant species with unique niche requirements were identified and recommended as indicators of the degree of desertification for particular areas. We discuss the characteristics of species in areas with severe desertification and the method of using plant species as indicators of the extent of desertification.

Estimated Holocene soil carbon-soil degradation in Nevada and Western Utah, USA

There is much interest in predicting future carbon-soil degradation and that occurring today. We have National Soil Survey Laboratory data to assess some of the soil carbon degradation in the Great Basin and western Utah. For this we included data on 32 Nevada and Utah soils on Pleistocene geomorphic surfaces at elevations of 973 to 3172 m. Their mean annual precipitation (MAP) ranges from 20 to 55 cm and mean annual soil temperatures (MAST) from 5 to 12 °C. The MAP and MAST closely correlate with elevation (E) ( r = 0.96 and − 0.97 respectively). Mountain big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana (Rydb.) Beetle) dominates vegetation at the higher, colder elevations. Wyoming big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle and Young) and juniper ( Juniperus L.) dominate at intermediate elevations. Little sagebrush ( Artemisia arbuscula Nutt.) and related desert species dominate at the lower, warmer elevations. We used acid dichromate digestion and FeSO 4 titration to analyze for soil organic carbon (SOC) and bulk density and coarse fragments in the soils to put the data on a volume basis. The soils are well drained and uncultivated. Accumulation of organic carbon in each pedon (OCp) is correlated to MAP and MAST ( r = 0.81, and − 0.78 respectively). We predicted OCp from the relationship, (1) OCp = − 0.942 + 2.546 ⁎ ( MAP / MAST ) , r 2 = 0.64, S.E. = 1.30, n = 32. The soil OC degradation that may have occurred through the Holocene ranges from 35% at sites of the present Aridisols and Vertisols to 22% for the sites of the Mollisols and Alfisols. Eq. (1) shows that today, MAST rises of 1 to 3 °C would produce further OCp degradation from today's levels of 1% to 13% in Aridisols and Vertisols and 12% to 25% in the Mollisols and Alfisols respectively. It also shows that if the MAST drop of 6 °C predicted for the Pleistocene occurred, many of the Aridisols and Vertisols likely would have been Mollisols or Alfisols during the Pleistocene. A temperature rise of 1 °C in a century would likely move the Mollisol–Aridisol boundary from its present 2300 m elevation to an elevation of about 2900 m. A temperature rise of 3 °C in a century would likely move the Mollisol–Aridisol boundary from its present 2300 m elevation to elevations of the highest elevations in Nevada and to the middle of Idaho. Increasing the temperature by 3 °C will likely also increase the area affected by severe desertification in the southern Great Basin north by about 20%.

THE ROLE OF LAND USE CHANGES ON DESERTIFICATION IN IMAM KHOMEINI AIRPORT REGION-IRAN FROM 1956 TO 2003

The kind of land use and intensity of its change is considered as important desertification indices in different models. Land use change is one of the main anthropogenic factors in the desertification. The current research was carried out around Imam Khomeini airport, with an area of 32000 km2, in order to evaluate mentioned area's land use changes effects during 1955-2003 on desertification. To study the changes, aerial photos of 1955 (1:55000) and 2003 (1:40000), in addition to IRS (Pan and LISS III) and ETM images of 2003 were used. Boundaries of different land uses were determined based on aerial photos and satellite images. In the next stage, boundaries were controlled in the field. Five kinds of land uses including agricultural land, abandoned agricultural lands, rangelands, industrial regions and complex, were distinguished in the study area. The extent of land uses areas, except to complex, has been changed during the 48 years. Rangeland has least change (1.5%), while 14% of agricultural areas have been changed into abandoned and industrial areas. This research showed that biomass has been decreased to 24355.6 ton during the last 48 years. This leads to the decrease of organic matter and decline of soil quality, which in turn causes a 32.9% increase of area regions with severe and very severe desertification intensities.

Evapotranspiration over the Grassland Field in the Liudaogou Basin of the Loess Plateau, China

Abstract Severe desertification on the Loess Plateau of China since the 17th century as a result of improper land use has caused critical soil erosion and water shortages in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. To prevent further soil erosion, it is very important to cover the bare land surface with natural vegetation. Evapotranspiration (ET) over the grassland ( Stipa bungeana ) in Shenmu County of the Loess Plateau during the growing season is estimated to be about 1 mm day –1 , and the ratio of ET to reference Evapotranspiration (ET/ET 0 ) is below 0.3. Evaporation from the bare soil surface simulated by a three-layer soil model is less than ET; that is, ET is 1.5 times greater than evaporation from the soil surface during the growing season. This study examines the relationships among the surface resistance r s in the Penman–Monteith equation, solar radiation, vapor-pressure deficit, temperature, wind speed, and soil water content. Surface resistance ( r s ) is strongly affected by the vapor-pressure deficit and soil water content.

Dendroecology of Prosopis flexuosa woodlands in the Monte desert: Implications for their management

In the Monte desert of Argentina open woodlands of several species of Prosopis occur in areas with accessible underground water. The great latitudinal extent of the Monte (26–43°S) exhibits strong climatic gradients involving temperature, rainfall seasonality, and wind regime. Prosopis woodlands have been a source of subsistence for human communities for several centuries and continue to be exploited by the local inhabitants. The “mining” of this resource has led to severe desertification and consequent impoverishment of the local people. In order to suggest strategies for the better management and recuperation of these woodlands we studied the population structure and productivity of Prosopis flexuosa from multiple plots at Pipanaco (27°58′S), Telteca (32°20′S), and Ñacuñán (34°03′S). For each plot we measured the density of P. flexuosa trees, number of stems, basal diameter (DAB), height and canopy diameter of each tree. Tree ring data were used to determine the growth rates, annual wood production and biological rotation age for each area. The ecological structure of the woodlands differs between the three sites. Along this north–south transect, there is a decrease in adult tree density, mean basal diameter, mean tree height, canopy cover, productivity and total wood biomass. Consequently, the potential sustainable use of these woodlands varies. Only the northern, Pipanaco, woodlands have the potential for lumber production. In contrast, the short, multi-stem and low-productivity trees in the Telteca and Ñacuñán areas can only sustain a combination of local firewood production and activities such as extensive grazing by livestock. The present, uniform regulations for harvesting wood in these areas must be changed to acknowledge these differences in order to optimize wood production in, and conservation of, these woodlands.

Dune sand transport as influenced by wind directions, speed and frequencies in the Ordos Plateau, China

The Ordos Plateau in China is a region with extensive wind erosion, severe desertification and various aeolian sand hazards. In order to determine aeolian sand transport in this region, the relationship between the sand transport rate and wind speed at 10 min frequencies was established by field observation in both the Qubqi Sand Desert and the Mu Us Sandy Land. Threshold wind speeds (2 m above the ground) for mobile, semi-fixed and fixed dune surfaces were estimated by field observations. The sand transport rate increased with the increase of the bare land ratio and near-bed wind speed. High-resolution meteorological 10 min average wind velocity data at 10 m above the ground were converted into velocity values at a height of 2 m to calculate sand transport potential based on three specific parameters decisive for sand transport: wind speed, duration and direction. The quantity of aeolian sand transported was calculated for various wind speed levels and directions, and the overall characteristics of sand transport on different dune surface types were determined by vector operation techniques. Sand transporting winds took place mainly in springtime. The prevailing wind directions were W, WNW and NW, with a frequency of more than 60% in total, and sand transport in these directions made up more than 70% of the total transport, corresponding to a general southeastward encroachment of aeolian sand in the study area. The relationship between wind frequency and speed can be expressed by a power function. High magnitude strong winds had a low frequency, but they played a dominant role in aeolian sand transport.

Soil degradation and restoration as affected by land use change in the semiarid Bashang area, northern China

The Bashang area, located in the semiarid agropastoral zone, represents a typical degraded ecosystem under intensified human activities. This region has undergone profound land use changes during the past century. Natural grasslands had been progressively cultivated, and subsequently, part of cultivated lands had been abandoned by farmers due to severe desertification. In this study, we collected soil samples (0–20 cm depth) from four farmlands on both flat and gentle slope lands where cultivation had occurred for 0, 8, 30, and 50 years to assess the effects of grassland cultivation on soil degradation. In addition, soil samples were taken and plant species were investigated from eight sites in age sequence of 0- to 50- year-old abandoned field to assess natural restoration process following field abandonment. The results showed that cultivation of grassland result in a significant soil degradation which is manifested by the coarsening in soil texture and the losses in organic C and nutrients. After 50 years of cultivation, soil organic C, total N, and total P concentrations had declined 73–79%, 60–70%, and 67–68% in the 0–20 cm plough layer, respectively. Over half of these losses occurred during the first 8 years of cultivation, and subsequent was slow. After fields were abandoned, vegetation got self-restoration, and plant species composition moved toward that of the natural grassland community with time. Soil organic C, total N, and total P levels gradually improved with increasing years of land abandonment, with a faster restoration rate in the early vegetation recovery stage and a slower rate in the late succession stage. The results suggested that soil degradation may occurred drastically by inappropriate land use and management with a short time, while soil restoration for a degraded ecosystem may take long period of time, especially in this fragile ecosystem. From the perspective of soil resource management and desertification control, conservational tillage and management for farmlands and proper grazing management for recovered grassland should be taken into account in this area.

Spatial distribution of sandy desertification change in the west of Jilin Province

The sandy land of the western part of Jilin Province is located in the ecotone of semi-humid and semi-arid area in the temperate zone of China. The sandy desertification has widely spread in the region because of the vulnerable natural conditions and the unreasonable human activity; as a result of this, the precious land resources and the economic development in the area have been seriously impacted. In this paper, the sandy land ecologic environment geographic information system is established based on the multi-spectral, multi-temporal Landsat TM images and field investigation. The comprehensive indexes of sandy desertification extent assessment which include vegetation degradation, wind erosion extent and soil depth are presented to classify the sandy land in western Jilin into three levels-slight, moderate and severe sandy desertification with the support of GIS platform. The results demonstrate that the sandy desertification has been partly controlled in the past twenty years, except some small sites. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that there is nothing for more concern. The two main causes of sandy desertification have not been eliminated yet, one is its natural factor, especially the physical and chemical characters of sandy soil and dry climate; another is the immoderate economic activity of human being that has highly accelerated the sandy desertification process.

Causes and consequences of desertification in Kuwait: a case study of land degradation

Desertification in Kuwait is a process of environmental degradation under fragile ecological conditions and intensive human activities and the consequences of Gulf War. In Kuwait, very severe desertification prevails, due to increasing formation of new active sandy bodies, deterioration of many areas of natural vegetation cover to less than 10%, and limited water resources for large-scale forage production. Average annual desertified land in Kuwait is estimated to be 285 km2. In Kuwait, three indicators of land degradation are encountered. These are vegetation, soil, and surface hydrological changes. Based on field measurements of soil compaction and vegetation changes, in the west Jahra area in the northern part of the country, degradation levels were assessed. Results of these measurements show that the average infiltration rate in compacted soil decreased by 53.8% in comparison with non-compacted soil, while the average soil penetration resistance in compacted soil increased by 154.1% in comparison with non-compacted soil. The bulk density in open sites was 23.4% higher than that in protected sites. The percentage of litter in open sites decreased by 77.3% in comparison with protected sites, while the percentage of total vegetation in open sites decreased by 6.1% in comparison with protected sites.

The study of land desertification in transitional zones between the MU US Desert and the Loess Plateau using RS and GIS?a case study of the Yulin region

In this study, the land desertification of transitional zones of desert loess in the Yulin region (China) is studied from TM images in a geographical information system (GIS). It is found that the desertification in Yulin is still severe. The desertified land accounts for 67.7% of the total land areas. The distribution of desertified land shows obvious spatial imbalance, with severe desertification in northwestern regions and slight desertification in southeastern regions. This imbalance is related to the difference in physical factors and land-use pattern. The process of desertification in Yulin areas shows a steady and even reversed trend between 1987 and 1999, as a result of positive efforts. At the end of the paper the cause of desertification is discussed. It is believed that the interaction and confliction between the natural process and human activities may lead to the development of desertification.

WATER UTILIZATION OF NATURAL AND PLANTED TREES IN THE SEMIARID DESERT OF INNER MONGOLIA, CHINA

We used stable isotope techniques to investigate water utilization of two native trees, Sabina vulgaris Ant. and Artemisia ordosica Krasch., and one introduced tree, Salix matsudana Koidz., in the semiarid Mu-Us desert, Inner Mongolia, China. The study site was in a region where there has been a decline in agricultural productivity, caused by severe desertification over the past several decades. S. matsudana is used extensively for reforestation to protect farms and cultivated lands from shifting sand dunes. We identified water sources for each tree species by comparing the stable isotopes δD and δ18O in water in stems, soil, and groundwater. We also measured δ13C levels in leaves to evaluate the intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUE) of each plant. Comparison of isotopes showed that S. vulgaris and S. matsudana consume relatively deep soil water as well as groundwater, whereas A. ordosica uses only shallow soil water. The δ13C measurements indicated that S. vulgaris has exclusively high WUE, whereas that of the other species was typical of temperate-region C3 plants. The water source data plus WUE data suggest that planted S. matsudana uses groundwater freely, whereas native plants conserve water. Thus, reforestation with S. matsudana might cause irreversible groundwater shortages. Corresponding Editor: E. A. Holland.

Sandy desertification in the north of China

With the economic and social development, desertification exerted increasingly profound influences on natural environment and social development and attracted widespread attention of international communities. China, as one of the countries facing severe desertification problems, has witnessed some progress in understanding and combating the process of desertification through many years of hard work. Based on the experiences and research achievements, this paper briefly discusses the causes, developmental processes, damage assessment and control mechanism of desertification in the north of China so as to provide some basic experiences for the further study of desertification.