Steppe desertification due to vehicle travel is a severe environmental issue in Mongolia. We studied natural vegetation recovery on abandoned vehicle tracks in the central Mongolia steppe through vegetation surveys and stable isotopic techniques. The following issues were addressed: (i) invasion of pioneering plant species, (ii) alteration of soil surface features, and (iii) contribution of revegetated plants to soil organic matter (SOM).

Desertification is one of the major obstacles to the development and utilization of oases in arid and semi-arid regions of China. Revegetation of oases is an effective means of protecting oases from sand invasion (the main cause of desertification) and enhancing the ecological stability of oasis. In order to assess the effects of revegetated plant communities, 21-year-old Haloxylon ammodendron shrubland (Shrubland), 28-year-old Populus simonii Carr. land (Poplar land) and 33-year-old Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv land (Pine land) were selected as study objects.

Atriplex nummularia has been extensively planted in Northern Africa to combat desertification. However, few studies evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions. This study aimed at assessing the dynamic performance of a number of Atriplex plantations located in the Marrakech province in terms of multitemporal dry biomass production. Three SPOT 5 images (2004, 2008 and 2012) and field biomass measurements were integrated to quantify the dry biomass production dynamics of plantations established from 1996 to 2007. Different plant ages covered the whole plant life cycle curve.

To study the magnitude of land degradation, desertification or resilience in Montenegro throughout the 20th and early‐21st centuries, we rephotographed the landscapes recorded on 48 historical photographs dating back to between 1890 and 1985, and analysed in a semi‐quantitative way the land use and cover changes that had occurred using an expert rating system (six correspondents). Time‐series of hydrology and population density were analysed for the period since 1948 and were compared with the changes observed using repeat photography.

Study of land use/cover change and its driving forces is one of the most significant fields in global environmental change research. Karst land is a type of important and unique terrain on the Earth's surface because of its extensive distribution, impressive landforms, and high ecological fragility. Recently, more and more researchers have realized that irrational land use practices are leading to a series of alarming environmental issues including rocky desertification in karst areas.

Soil erosion is one of the most important factors in land degradation and influences desertification worldwide. In 2001, the Spanish Ministry of the Environment launched the ‘National Inventory of Soil Erosion (INES) 2002-2012' to study the process of soil erosion in Spain. The aim of the current article is to assess the usefulness of this National Inventory as an instrument of control, measurement and monitoring of soil erosion in Spain. The methodology and main features of this National Inventory are described in detail.

The present study investigates the potential of pre-treatment of olive mill wastewaters (OMW) at laboratory and mill scale and their subsequent use in agriculture to satisfy irrigation and fertilisation needs for widely cultivated crops. The ultimate objective of this approach is the development of a feasible decentralized treatment scheme in parts of the Mediterranean region where most olive mills are small family businesses, soils have low organic matter and the risk of desertification is high.

Qinglong County in Guizhou, China is a typical karst canyon area. Using quadrat methods and a land use transfer matrix we studied the carbon storage spatial distribution pattern and evolution process over three independent periods (1988, 1999 and 2009) in this area. Based on the results we estimated the carbon pool capacity of the entire karst canyon area in Guizhou and contribution ratios. Carbon storage and average carbon density of the karst area in Qinglong decreased at first, and then increased over the sampling period.

Artemisia sphaerocephala and A. ordosica are two dominant shrub species in Mu Us sandy land (Inner Mongolia, China) and are widely used for vegetation restoration. However, there are two different conclusions about the effect of light on their germination: light promotes germination versus light inhibits germination. The aim of this study was to evaluate these two conclusions and relate the results to instances of failure of these two species to germinate well when air-dispersed in revegetation projects.

The interaction between land use/cover change and landscape pattern is pivotal in research concerning global environmental change. This study uses three different Landsat images of 1989, 1998 and 2009 to study the land use/cover and landscape pattern changes in the middle reaches of the Tarim River basin. envi®, erdas®, ArcGIS® and fragstats® software were used to analyse the land use/cover changes. The objectives of study were to map and study the changes in land use/cover and landscape pattern, and propose some possible factors in making the land use/cover changes from 1989 to 2009.