Toward sustainable desertification reversion: A case
study in Horqin Sandy Land of northern China |
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Authors: | XueYong Zhao ShaoKun Wang YaYong Luo WenDa Huang Hao Qu and Jie Lian |
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Institution: | Naiman Desertification Research Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China |
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Abstract: | Desertification reversion is an interactive process involving climate, land use change, and water processes. In order to
reveal the relationship between desertification reversion and these factors, we analyzed historical data on precipitation, air
temperature, desertified land changes, underground water tables, and water body changes in Naiman County in the central
part of Horqin Sandy Land. Our analysis showed that during 1961-2010 the annual precipitation fluctuated dramatically
and has decreased fairly consistently in recent years. The air temperature increased by 0.50-1.25 °C, and the minimum
temperature increased more obviously. The desertified land area increased from 42,300 km2 in 1959 to 62,000 km2 in 1985,
and then declined to about 50,000 km2 in 2010. The underground water tables have been lowered by about 10 m in the past
30 years, and declined more rapidly in recent years. Desertified land is significantly related to the amount of total cropland,
and underground water tables are significantly correlated with annual precipitation and the amount of irrigated cropland.
Therefore, it is necessary to pursue sustainable desertification reversion without compromising the capacity for local development
and restoration of degraded land, through application of appropriate management measures for improving water
availability in this region. |
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Keywords: | sustainable desertification reversion climate change land use water table Horqin Sandy Land |
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