Zero net livelihood degradation – the quest for a multidimensional protocol to combat desertification

Easdale, Marcos Horacio

doi:10.5194/soil-2-129-2016

Cited by 23 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 51 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Land degradation has received considerable interest from academic scholars and governments, mainly paying attention to issues of desertification and deserts as fragile ecosystems, the loss of forest lands, and environmental changes in scrublands (Vieira et al, 2015;Easdale, 2016;Keesstra et al, 2017;Lucas-Borja et al, 2016). However, grasslands also play an important role in global ecosystems, and grassland degradation therefore deserves further attention Hu et al, 2016;Mekonnen et al, 2016) Grasslands are important as a feed source for livestock, as a habitat for wildlife, for environmental protection, and for the in situ conservation of plant genetic resources (FAO, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Ecological Construction Programs on Grassland Conservation in Inner Mongolia, China

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A series of Ecological Construction Programs have been initiated to protect the condition of grasslands in China during recent decades. However, grassland degradation is still severe, and conditions have not been restored as intended. This paper aims to empirically examine the effectiveness of these programs for protecting the grassland condition in the extensive pastoral areas of China. We focus on one major program that has been implemented widely on the grasslands, the Subsidy and Incentive System for Grassland Conservation (SISGC). The normalized difference vegetation index, measured with remote sensing technology, is used to quantify the grassland condition between 2001 and 2014. With data from 54 counties in the pastoral areas of Inner Mongolia, we estimate the impact of SISGC on the grassland condition. A fixed effects model is employed to control for livestock production, climate, time trends, and time‐invariant heterogeneity between counties. The model results provide quantitative evidence that the condition of the grasslands has improved significantly because of SISGC; but that the effectiveness of SISGC was offset to some extent by other socio‐economic and climate factors, such as increased producer prices and high temperature. This may explain why the actual grassland degradation has not been prevented as effectively as was expected. In addition, the impact of SISGC was stronger in counties with worse initial grassland condition. Furthermore, the effects of producer prices and climate changes were also more pronounced in these counties. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Ecological Construction Programs on Grassland Conservation in Inner Mongolia, China

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Land degradation is the most challenging environmental problem in drylands (Easdale, 2016). In the past decades, over two thirds of arid and semiarid areas have experienced desertification, leading to 19-29 Pg (10 15 g) of soil carbon loss (Lal, 2004;Li et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of vegetation rehabilitation on soil organic and inorganic carbon stocks in the Mu Us Desert, northwest China

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In arid and semiarid areas, the importance of soil inorganic carbon (SIC) is at least as high as that of soil organic carbon (SOC) in affecting the regional carbon budget following vegetation rehabilitation. However, variations in SIC have been uncertain, and few studies have analyzed the interactions between the SOC and SIC pools. We measured SIC, SOC, δ13C‐SIC, and δ13C‐SOC after planting Mongolian pine (MP) and Artemisia ordosica (AO) on shifting sand land (SL) over 10 years in the Mu Us Desert, northwest China. The results showed that, compared to SL, SIC stocks at 0–100 cm in MP and AO lands significantly increased by 12.6 and 25.8 Mg ha−1, respectively; SOC stocks in MP and AO lands significantly increased by 24.0 and 38.4 Mg ha−1, respectively. Both δ13C‐SIC and δ13C‐SOC in the 2 plantation lands were significantly lower than those in SL were. All 315 samples exhibited a negatively linear relationship between SIC content and δ13C‐SIC (R2 = .70, p < .01) and showed positively linear relationships between SIC content and SOC content (R2 = .69, p < .01) and between δ13C‐SIC and δ13C‐SOC (R2 = .61, p < .01). The results demonstrated that vegetation rehabilitation on SL has a high potential to sequester SIC and SOC in semiarid deserts. The reduction in δ13C‐SIC and the relationship of SIC with δ13C‐SIC following vegetation rehabilitation suggested that SIC sequestration is likely caused by the formation of pedogenic inorganic carbon. The relationships between SIC and SOC and between δ13C‐SIC and δ13C‐SOC implied that the pedogenic inorganic carbon formation may be closely related to the SOC accumulation.

show abstract

“…Loss of top soils as the most productive part of a soil column results in reduced yield; recultivation is difficult, and in some cases, damages are irreversible. It is a widespread process that is mostly triggered by human activity and leads to increasing economic damage due to restoration costs or total loss of arable land (Easdale, 2016;Ries, 2010;Smiraglia, Ceccarelli, Bajocco, Salvati, & Perini, 2016;Sutton, Anderson, Costanza, & Kubiszewski, 2016;Xie et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing uncertainties in interpreting soil surface changes by multitemporal high‐resolution topography data across scales

Kaiser

Erhardt²,

Eltner

2018

Land Degrad Dev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Extensive amounts of water erosion combined with the magnitude of on‐site and off‐site impacts have led to considerable reduction in soil fertility and increased production costs in agriculture. Digital elevation models are a useful and established tool to better understand surface processes and to quantify damages. Ongoing developments in camera‐based 3D reconstruction allow non‐expert users to produce high‐quality elevation models. Multitemporal surveys allow geomorphic change detection serving as a valuable tool for geomorphologists and erosion researchers. Despite various benefits, these recent developments are accompanied by novel challenges in the form of small‐scale nonerosive surface processes (e.g., swelling/shrinking, consolidation/compaction, and aggregate breakdown). If neglected, these alterations can sum up to distinct errors in soil loss quantification. However, as yet, there have been no studies discussing their influence on surface data sets in erosion research. We present an across‐scales approach of visualising and quantifying detailed soil physical changes and their influence on surface morphology at submillimetre resolution. The data sets were acquired at field scale from an unmanned airborne vehicle, at plot scale during an artificial rainfall simulation on an agricultural site, and at microplot scale in a laboratory set‐up. Resulting high‐precision data sets enable the desired insights in soil movements and surface alterations without preceding particle transport and soil loss. Surface changes sum up to 260 m3/ha on an Andalusian test site and could be falsely interpreted as soil loss (of 286 t/ha). These results recommend cautious interpretation of high‐resolution topography in soil erosion research.

show abstract

Zero net livelihood degradation – the quest for a multidimensional protocol to combat desertification

Cited by 23 publications

References 51 publications

The Impact of Ecological Construction Programs on Grassland Conservation in Inner Mongolia, China

The Impact of Ecological Construction Programs on Grassland Conservation in Inner Mongolia, China

Effects of vegetation rehabilitation on soil organic and inorganic carbon stocks in the Mu Us Desert, northwest China

Addressing uncertainties in interpreting soil surface changes by multitemporal high‐resolution topography data across scales

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About