Effects of grassland restoration programs on ecosystems in arid and semiarid China

Huang, Lin; Tong, Xiao; Zhao, Zhenzhen; Cheng, Sun; Liu, Jiyuan; Shao, Quanqin; Fan, Jiangwen; Wang, Junbang

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.12.040

Cited by 67 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Government programmes in the Gobi have often been implemented with limited consideration of potential environmental constraints, an example being the late 20th century in-migration of millions of farmers to the Gobi despite limited water resources, a process resulting in noted degradation [59]. Similar efforts at state control are seen in China's major present-day programmes such as "Grain for Green", "Ecological Resettlement", "Great Green Wall" and "Control the source of the Beijing and Tianjin Sandstorms" that stress improving land conditions yet may have led to environmental deterioration [28,29,60]. NDVI may reflect an increase in degradation if it represents a decline in diversity or increase in unpalatable species whilst irrigation, deforestation, grazing and urbanisation have direct impact in the region [6].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Contraction of the Gobi Desert, 2000–2012

2015

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Deserts are critical environments because they cover 41% of the world's land surface and are home to 2 billion residents. As highly dynamic biomes desert expansion and contraction is influenced by climate and anthropogenic factors with variability being a key part of the desertification debate across dryland regions. Evaluating a major world desert, the Gobi in East Asia, with high resolution satellite data and the meteorologically-derived Aridity Index from 2000 to 2012 identified a recent contraction of the Gobi. The fluctuation in area, primarily driven by precipitation, is at odds with numerous reports of human-induced desertification in Mongolia and China. There are striking parallels between the vagueness in defining the Gobi and the imprecision and controversy surrounding the Sahara desert's southern boundary in the 1980s and 1990s. Improved boundary definition has implications for understanding desert "greening" and "browning", human action and land use, ecological productivity and changing climate parameters in the region. The Gobi's average area of 2.3 million km 2 in the 21st century places it behind only the Sahara and Arabian deserts in size.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Contraction of the Gobi Desert, 2000–2012

2015

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“…The GGW program has greatly improved vegetation cover and effectively reduced dust storm intensity in parts of northern China [8], but other researchers point to warmer temperatures and greater rainfall as being more important drivers of greening trends in the area [146], and the value of large-scale afforestation in controlling desertification and soil erosion in China has been questioned due to low tree survival rates [147]. Huang et al [148] report that rangeland restoration programs have resulted in a systematic increase in the area of grassland in most northern and western regions, but Su et al [149] warn that bush encroachment is an unexpected outcome of the grazing ban on sandy rangelands in Inner Mongolia.…”

Section: Contemporary National Regional and International Plansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sand and Dust Storms: Impact Mitigation

2017

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Sand and dust storms (SDS) play an integral role in the Earth system but they also present a range of hazards to the environmental and economic sustainability of human society. These hazards are of considerable importance for residents of dryland environments and also affect people beyond drylands because wind erosion can occur in most environments and desert dust events often involve long-range transport over great distances (>1000 km). This paper makes an assessment of the scale of SDS impacts by totalling the countries affected using an appraisal of peer-reviewed published sources, arriving at a conservative estimate that 77% of all parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) are affected directly by SDS issues. We then present a synthesis of the environmental management techniques designed to mitigate SDS hazards for disaster risk reduction and review policy measures, both historical and contemporary, for SDS impact mitigation. Although many SDS hazards are well-known, the processes involved and their impacts are not all equally well-understood. Policies designed to mitigate the impacts of wind erosion in agricultural areas have been developed in certain parts of the world but policies designed to mitigate the wider impacts of SDS, including many that are transboundary, are geographically patchy and have a much shorter history. Further development and wider implementation of such policies is advocated because of the recent marked increase in wind erosion and associated dust storms in several parts of the world.

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“…However, despite the importance of realising the 'new socialist countryside', these authors also conclude that degradation of natural grassland and wind erosion have become much more severe in recent decades. That said, Huang et al (2013) report that rangeland restoration programmes have resulted in a systematic increase in the area of grassland in most northern and western regions and that restored, ungrazed grasslands have contributed to intensified primary production in these dryland areas.…”

Section: Policies To Combat Desertificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rangeland management and climate hazards in drylands: dust storms, desertification and the overgrazing debate

Middleton

2016

Nat Hazards

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This paper examines the theory and supporting evidence for links between desertification, drought and dust storms with a particular focus on studies undertaken in and around the Gobi Desert. Overgrazing of rangeland by pastoralists has been the most commonly cited cause of desertification in global drylands for more than 30 years, but the evidence supporting this link is not always convincing. Nonetheless, overgrazing, desertification and dust storms are frequently connected, regardless. Drought is another wellknown and important driver of vegetation cover change. Distinguishing between vegetation cover adversely affected by drought and that reduced by grazing is imperative for policy makers because identifying the incorrect driver of vegetation change risks the development of inappropriate policy.

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Effects of grassland restoration programs on ecosystems in arid and semiarid China

Cited by 67 publications

References 39 publications

Contraction of the Gobi Desert, 2000–2012

Contraction of the Gobi Desert, 2000–2012

Sand and Dust Storms: Impact Mitigation

Rangeland management and climate hazards in drylands: dust storms, desertification and the overgrazing debate

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