China's Horquin area in the northern farming–pastoral transition zone is undergoing rapid land degradation and rangeland modification that is impacting far broader areas as the source of material for dust storms. Multi-temporal Landsat images of the Horquin core area were used to generate a time series of land use covering about a 30-year period, 1975–2003. We show that the physical environment in Horquin deteriorated between 1975 and 2000, although this situation was more controlled after 2000.

Rapid urbanization together with policy ineffectiveness in controlling urban growth is often associated to soil and land degradation in both the developing and developed world. The present study analyses the relationship between urban expansion and soil degradation in an arid Mediterranean region (Attica, Greece) where the compact settlement pattern has been replaced by low‐density urban development. The study area is one of the most densely populated areas in the Mediterranean basin that has experienced an impressive growth in population during the last 60� yr.

Caragana microphylla Lam., a leguminous shrub, is a dominant native plant species widely planted to stabilize the moving and semi-moving sand dunes in the semi-arid Horqin sandy land of Northeast China. The objective of this study was to determine how C. microphylla plantations affected the physical, chemical and microbiological properties of a sandy soil. Soil samples at the depths of 0-10, 10-20, 20-30, 30-40, and 40-50cm were collected from the C. microphylla plantations with an age sequence of 0, 5, 10, and 23 years.

Li, Y., Han, J., Wang, S., Brandle, J., Lian, J., Luo, Y. and Zhang, F. 2014. Soil organic carbon and total nitrogen storage under different land uses in the Naiman Banner, a semiarid degraded region of northern China. Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 9–20. Accurate investigation of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) storage at a regional level is important for detecting changes in the C and N sequestration and emission potentials induced by land-use and cover type changes.

The Yangtze River is the China’s longest river and the third-longest river in the world. The river’s source region in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is especially sensitive to global environmental change because of its high elevation and cold environment. Under the influence of global warming, aeolian desertified land has expanded rapidly in this area. To assess the trends in aeolian desertification from 1975 to 2005, remote-sensing and GIS technology were used to monitor the extent of aeolian desertification in 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2005.

PURPOSE: Land use in dry lands can result in a final stage where land is completely depleted or entirely degraded causing the desertification phenomenon. The first part (part 1) of this series of two articles proposed a methodology to include desertification in life cycle assessment (LCA). A set of variables to be measured in the life cycle inventory, characterization factors, and an impact assessment method for the life cycle impact assessment phase were proposed.

Based on soil characteristics, watertable level, mineral composition of plant biomass, morphological/reproductive traits and carbon discrimination values, a new concept for the classification of halophytes was developed. Six main groups of halophytes have been described within the desert flora of Central Asia. Significant changes on chemical contents of ions: Cl⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, HCO₃ ⁻, Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺among 23 studied halophytic forage species were revealed.

This study aims to document various community efforts in land rehabilitation and assess their potential. Data were captured using interviews and focus group with 150 community members. A public participation index was used to establish the extent of community efforts in land rehabilitation. The study revealed that in the absence of proper management and dune stabilisation, large areas covered with mobile sand dunes continue to be a threat to grazing lands in northern Kenya. In recognition of this threat, the people of North Horr have launched several initiatives to contain the problem.

Recent increase in atmospheric concentration of CO₂ and decrease in land-based sink capacity are attributed to numerous anthropogenic activities including increase in severity and extent of soil degradation and desertification. There is a strong link between desertification and global warming with positive feedback of mutual reinforcement. The biophysical process is also driven by social, economic, political, and cultural factors such as overgrazing by local Bedouin population.

Human-induced soil degradation is a serious and complex environmental challenge in Iran. For a long time, human activities, namely the overuse of land, have been influencing the natural processes on and in soils; therefore, various types of soil degradation can be observed in many parts of the country. The understanding and the consideration of direct and indirect effects of human activities on soils are indispensable for the prediction of the human impact on soil degradation processes.

Spanish mountains have been affected by the expansion of shrubs and forests since the mid‐20th century. This secondary succession in vegetation has some positive effects, but also drawbacks, such as an increase in fire risk, loss of diversity in land use, a reduction in landscape and cultural value, less water available in river channels and reservoirs, constraints on livestock farming, a reduced number of local species and loss of biodiversity.

In coastal sandy soils, the establishment of a plant cover is fundamental to avoid degradation and desertification processes. A better understanding of the ability of plants to promote soil microbial process in these conditions is necessary for successful soil reclamation. The current study was to investigate the ability of four different plant species to regenerate the microbiological processes in the rhizosphere soil and to discuss which species were the most effective for the reclamation of the coastal zone.