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Study of spatial distribution of sandy desertification in North China in recent 10 years

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Abstract

Sandy desertification is a land degradation characterized by wind erosion, mainly resulted from the excessive human activities in arid, semiarid and part of sub-humid regions in North China. It is one of main kinds of desertification/land degradation as well as water-soil erosion and salinization in China. Rapid and continuous spread of sandy desertification during last 50 years has created a major environmental and socio-economic problem in North China. Remote sensing monitored results in 2000 showed that the sandy desertified land area has been 38.57 × 104 km2. The area of potential to slightly sandy desertified land is 13.93 × 104 km2, moderately land 9.977 ×104 km2, severely land 7.909 × 104 k2 and very severely land 6.756 × 104 km2. Sandy desertification mainly occurs in the semi-arid mixed farming-grazing zone and its northern rangeland zone, semi-arid dryland rainfed cropping zone and arid oasis-desert margin zone. The average annually developmental rate of sandy desertified land increased from 2,100 km2 · a-1 in 1976–1988 to 3,600 km2 · a-1 in 1988–2000. The basic status of sandy desertification in North China is “overall deterioration, while local rehabilitation”. Already achieved rehabilitation results and monitoring assessment show that about 60% of desertified land in North China can be restored under the conditions of rational land-use ways and intensity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 730000, Lanzhou, China

    Tao Wang, Xian Xue, Qingwei Sun & Guangting Chen

  2. Department of Environment Engineering, Peking University, 100871, Beijing, China

    Wei Wu

Authors
  1. Tao Wang
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  2. Wei Wu
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  3. Xian Xue
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  4. Qingwei Sun
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  5. Guangting Chen
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Correspondence to Tao Wang.

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Wang, T., Wu, W., Xue, X. et al. Study of spatial distribution of sandy desertification in North China in recent 10 years. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 47 (Suppl 1), 78–88 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1360/04zd0009

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1360/04zd0009

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