Chinas Experience in Combating Desertification and Greenifyng the Country: History, Outcomes and Prospects

In the 21st century, despite the international community’s activism in addressing global problems, environmental issues continue to be of particular relevance. The state of the environment, as never before, becomes decisive at the most important stage of implementation of the macroeconomic policy of the state - determination of its strategic development goals. The period of industrialization has left a legacy of air pollution, land degradation, desertification and deforestation on the planet, both for knowledge-intensive, post-industrialized developed countries and for developing ones that continue to rely on raw materials. Ignoring them could block any alternatives of further economic development of national economies and increase their human capital. China is a striking example of a country, whose leaders at the end of the last century began to pay serious attention to environmental issues, first of all, to combating desertification and the subsequent implementation of forestation programs in the country. Thanks to its sound environmental policy, China has succeeded in increasing the proportion of its forest cover from 8,6 % in 1949 to 23,04 % by 2020. The purpose of the article is to provide a retrospective analysis of the complex activities in various provinces and regions of China aimed at transforming the country into a green space. Adopting the relevant experience of other countries could be a trigger in settling the still burning environmental issue.

Desertification, environmental, climatic change and role of trees, shrubs and green areas

Background: Desertification exacerbated and raised by climate change and represents one of the greatest environmental challenges of our times. Also, Desertification and climate change are an old phenomenon has not been a threat to life people, in the past so as to provide the natural ecological balance back then, but because of the range of the factors, we will recall it. The desertification and climate changes has started to worsen and its negative effects have increased at all levels, Economic, social and development. Trees, woody shrubs and ornamental plants represent an ever-important group in that they are the raw source for many important industries such as the manufacture of wood, food and medicine, health care (alternative medicine) and as windbreaks, and they play an important role in improving the environment, especially in light of the current climate changes. Main body: During recent years, the interest in planting woody trees and ornamental plants has increased, and its role has remained confined to a narrow range. It's important and fundamental role as a primary locomotive in combating desertification, sand encroachment and sand dunes, resisting successive climate changes, improving the environment and protecting it from pollution, as well as its prominent role in addressing the big problems that result from The movement of sand dunes and their threat to industrial and residential facilities, roads, farms,.... etc. Conclusion: The role of plants, trees, green areas are combating desertification and climate change, these trees does not depend on protecting farms only, but extending them to protecting urban communities and new cities from sand, which may lead to completely covering homes and establishments, but also to destroy the entire infrastructure (roads, tunnels, electricity, irrigation lines, railways ... It also plays a role in protecting the beaches and coastal areas from the high waves.

Combating Desertification through Enhancement of Woody Floral Diversity in the Drylands of Kenya: Analysis, Milestones, and Strategies

Desertification remains one of the most challenging phenomena in the drylands of Kenya, where it affects about 80% of the country. This is because of persistent degradation of these areas by climatic variations, human activities, and overgrazing by livestock and wildlife. In these areas, inhabitants suffer from widespread acute poverty and other adverse effects of drought. In order to effectively and efficiently combat desertification and reduce the impacts of further degradation, the Government of Kenya and partners are committed to developing and implementing methods, approaches, strategies, and mechanisms that would slow down or reverse this phenomenon. This chapter covers an in-depth review of advances made so far in the area of woody resources restoration and sustainable management in the drylands of Kenya through biodiversity assessments, conservation, rehabilitation, afforestation, and reafforestation initiatives and research. Achievements, challenges, and opportunities encountered are highlighted for sustainable development and wise utilization of dryland woody and allied resources.

Preface

The ICDS conference intends to bring together junior and senior, international and national researchers, scientists and scholars interesting in the field of desertification combat and water harvesting in desert regions. We think the conference will offer an excellent opportunity for networking with other members and exchange knowledge and explore the most recent developments in the desertification combat such as Water Resources Management in Desert Regions, Ecosystem and Biodiversity of Desert, Geology and Remote Sensing for Combating Desertification, Recent Agricultural Techniques Serving in Desert Soil Management, and Desert Regions Exploitation for Agricultural Production Regards. ICDS-2021 is a prestigious event organized by the Center of Desert Studies in cooperation with the College of Agriculture, University of Anbar, with a motivation to provide an excellent international platform for academicians, researchers, engineers, industrial participants and budding students around the world to share their research results with the global experts. We cordially invited participants from all over the world who wish to share their best practices and research findings in ICDS-2021 and enlighten their new ideas to make this event growing from strength to strength. Participants will be offered the opportunity to contribute to the conference in various roles: they can discuss keynotes, produce a poster presentation and submit full research or review articles. Articles submitted to the conference should report original high-quality and previously unpublished results. Submission of a manuscript implies that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All submitted articles will be subjected to a double-blind peer-review process. Novelty, relevancy, language standards, references, and many other factors are considered for the evaluation process. The conference nominated Prof. Dr. Prof. Dr. Amir Ibrahim (College of Agriculture & Life Science Texas A&M University, U.S.), Prof. Dr. Medhat M. Elsahookie (College of Agriculture, University of Baghdad, Iraq), and Prof. Dr. Wadid Erian (Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt) as keynote speakers. ICDS-2021 will be held basically via physical attendance (In-person) for two days 17-18 November, 2021 in Ramadi, Anbar, Iraq. Each participant will be given approximately 10 minutes to view the most important findings of his/her research, and 5 minutes to discuss these results. Sincerely yours, Prof. Dr. Nihad Mohammed Aboud Director of the Center of Desert Studies/University of Anbar The Chairman of ICDS-2021 List of Committees (ICDS-2021) are available in this pdf.

High Spatial Resolution Topsoil Organic Matter Content Mapping Across Desertified Land in Northern China

Soil organic matter (SOM) content is an effective indicator of desertification; thus, monitoring its spatial‒temporal changes on a large scale is important for combating desertification. However, mapping SOM content in desertified land is challenging owing to the heterogeneous landscape, relatively low SOM content and vegetation coverage. Here, we modeled the SOM content in topsoil (0–20 cm) of desertified land in northern China by employing a high spatial resolution dataset and machine learning methods, with an emphasis on quarterly green and non-photosynthetic vegetation information, based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE). The results show: 1) the machine learning model performed better than the traditional multiple linear regression model (MLR) for SOM content estimation, and the Random Forest (RF) model was more accurate than the Support Vector Machine (SVM) model; 2) the quarterly information regarding green vegetation and non-photosynthetic were identified as key covariates for estimating the SOM content in desertified land, and an obvious improvement could be observed after simultaneously combining the Dead Fuel Index (DFI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the four quarters (R2 increased by 0.06, the root mean square error decreased by 0.05, the ratio of prediction deviation increased by 0.2, and the ratio of performance to interquartile distance increased by 0.5). In particular, the effects of the DFI in Q1 (the first quarter) and Q2 (the second quarter) on estimating low SOM content (<1%) were identified; finally, a timely (2019) and high spatial resolution (30 m) SOM content map for the desertified land in northern China was drawn which shows obvious advantages over existing SOM products, thus providing key data support for monitoring and combating desertification.

Current Social and Rangeland Access Trends among Pastoralists in the Western Algerian Steppe

In the western Algerian steppe, the public authorities have carried out actions aimed at rural development (agricultural development programs) and combating desertification (grazing reserves) to counter the significant and rapid loss of vegetation cover of pastures by overgrazing, and the consequent impacts on local livelihoods. In the Rogassa area, these actions have impacted land tenure and the ancestral and collective way of land use and access. These changes have caused transformations in lifestyle and pasture management. This research aims to characterize how such changes are affecting local pastoralists and what their perceptions are about them. A selective sampling of 150 agropastoral households was carried out by interviewing their heads, analyzing socioeconomic, land tenure and government perception variables. Most agropastoralists access land under tribal tenure, conditioned by local social structures. Pastures are prevailingly perceived by pastoralists as insufficient, and the perception of grazing reserves is largely negative. Pastoralists are worried about land degradation and declining grazing lands, and are looking for solutions and alternatives. However, state interventions have been uncoordinated and have not considered their customary land rights. The generalized awareness of environmental deterioration points to the need for better communication and intervention strategies to be developed by authorities in the future that involve the inhabitants of these lands.

Combating Desertification through the Wine Industry in Hongsibu, Ningxia

Land desertification is a global environmental problem, leading to the deterioration of the ecological environment and is an issue that threatens humans. Hongsibu, located in Ningxia, northwest China, is a semi-desert area with the largest domestic single-site ecological resettlement area for poverty alleviation based on the wine industry. Here, we quantified the value of the ecosystem services of the wine industry in Hongsibu and used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to quantitatively evaluate the comprehensive benefits of the wine industry for resolving desertification. We found that winegrapes significantly increase vegetation cover, while significantly decreasing blowing sand and generating a total annual value of ecosystem services of 6.13× 108 RMB. The evaluation score of the comprehensive benefits is 81.85%, with grape growers and chateaus obtaining large economic benefits from the wine industry. In conclusion, the wine industry’s development not only enhances the economic level of grape growers but significantly resolves desertification in impoverished areas—thus alleviating poverty and land degradation, contributing to sustainable development. Therefore, this may be an effective strategy for sustainable development in other parts of the world.

Africa: Combating Desertification in Plans and Actions

The article raises the problem of desertification in Africa and the expansion of the largest African deserts. The essence of desertification is defined as the degradation of land areas suitable for agricultural activities, which is expressed in the deterioration of soil properties, salinization of ground water, reduction of biological productivity, loss of the ability of the ecosystem to recover. The author considers that the desertification is caused by the negative impact of anthropogenic activities, lack of water resources, deforestation, salinization of soils, degradation of pastures and land, and climate change. Examples of international contacts in combating desertification and of the activities of the local population in this direction are given. Among the harmful consequences of the expansion of the desert zone the author mentions negative changes in the way of life of the local population that has existed for centuries, the increase in the flow of forced migrants to regions with a milder climate, cities or outside their States. The problem of desertification came to the attention of the international community in the 1970s after the disastrous drought in the Sahel in the late 1960s and mid-1970s. The package of measures proposed to eliminate the consequences of droughts and fight the onset of sand primarily included humanitarian assistance. Measures to improve the local environmental management system, which required significant technical resources and material investments, were carried out partially. The results of numerous regional and international symposiums devoted to desertification issues are usually a statement of the existence of the problem itself and a resolution of a recommendatory nature. In addressing this issue, the governments of the African countries concerned rely on the assistance of the international community or individual states with highly qualified personnel and the necessary technical equipment. The main aspect of combating desertification is the development of international norms and rules that should reflect ways to restore soil fertility and contain scientific planning methods for the use of new agricultural land. Obstacles to the implementation of concrete measures to curb desertification include the economic weakness of the states concerned, the lack of clear environmental plans and reliance on national human resources.