Journal of Arid Environments (1997) 37: 419–432

Characteristics of desertification and its rehabilitation

in China

Yong Zha* & Jay Gao†‡

*School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing

210097, People’s Republic of China
†Department of Geography, University of Auckland, Auckland Private
Bag 92019, New Zealand

(Received 20 March 1997, accepted 16 June 1997)

The definition of desertification and its causes in the Chinese literature are
reviewed and compared with those in international publications. Both
Chinese researchers and their western counterparts have difficulty in reaching
a generally accepted definition for desertification and an agreement upon the
exact role played by human activities and environmental settings in
desertification initiation and development. Tremendous efforts in China have
gone into rehabilitating desertified land into productive uses with great
contribution to existing knowledge in reclaiming desertified land. The early
biological-oriented measures based solely on economic return have recently
been replaced by a much more successful, multi-disciplinary approach of
rehabilitation combined with preventive measures that follow sound eco-
logical principles.
©1997 Academic Press Limited

Keywords: desertification; causes of desertification; severity assessment;

rehabilitation of desertified land; land reclamation; China

Introduction

With a territory of 9·6 million km2, China is one of the most severely desertified
countries in the world. Desertification is threatening the lives of close to 400 million
people and has affected about 3·3 million km2 of land (Chen et al., 1996). It is thus
very important to study desertification and rehabilitate desertified land into productive
uses. Although sand transport and sand dune movements were studied in the 1960s
(Zhu et al., 1964; Wu, 1965), these efforts were highly limited in their scope and
quantity. Spurred by the United Nations Conference on Desertification (UNCOD)
held in Nairobi, Kenya in 1977, immense research on desertification and its
rehabilitation has been carried out with fruitful results. In this paper the characteristics
of desertification in China are identified through a review of published papers. The
literature cited, with a few exceptions, comes chiefly from journals and books recently
published in Chinese. Wherever relevant, the issues under consideration are discussed
‡Corresponding author.

0140–1963/97/030419 + 14 $25.00/0/ae970290 © 1997 Academic Press Limited

420 Y. ZHA & J. GAO

in a wider scientific context through citing articles published internationally in English

books and journals.
According to UNCOD (1978), desertification refers to the ‘diminution or
destruction of the biological potential of the land that can lead ultimately to desert-like
conditions.’ Increasingly, it has been agreed that the term ‘desertification’ should be
restricted to dryland environments only (Thomas, 1993). Therefore, land degradation
in humid regions is beyond the scope of this paper. The various definitions of
desertification are first presented, followed by consideration of its spatial extent and
the magnitude of the desertification problem. The causes of desertification and its
development are discussed next. Efforts to monitor desertification and to rehabilitate
desertified land into productive uses are reviewed. Finally, the outcome of the
rehabilitating efforts are summarized.

Definition of desertification

Coined by the French botanist and ecologist Aubréville (1949) nearly half a century
ago, the term ‘desertification’ has undergone numerous modifications in its meaning
since then. More than one hundred definitions have appeared in the English literature
so far (Glantz & Orlovsky, 1983). For instance, Rapp (1974) defined it as ‘the spread
of desert-like conditions in arid or semi-arid areas due to man’s influence or to climatic
change.’ However, no single definition is generally accepted (Dregne, 1983). Much
confusion in the literature has occurred as a result of its unscrupulous use (Thomas &
Middleton, 1994) in three aspects: (a) indiscrimination between the process of
desertification and its state; (b) non-consensus regarding the geographic regions to
which it applies; and (c) its exact causes. Recently, Rhodes (1991) and Thomas (1993)
suggest that the concept of desertification be revised in light of renewed scientific
advances that have enhanced our understanding of the problem. Namely, natural
fluctuation in environment causing long-term detrimental impact must be distin-
guished from land degradation caused by human actions.
The concept of ‘desertification’ was not introduced into the Chinese literature until
after the UNCOD in 1977 (Chen et al., 1996). Prior to that, the term tudi shahua (land
sandification) was in common use (Dong & Liu, 1993). It refers to the coarsening
process of the land surface after fine sandy and nutrient particles are lost to aeolian
erosion. Though close to desertification in meaning, it at most forms a stage in the
development of desertification (Zhu et al., 1989). Another related term is called
fengshahua (aeolian sandification). It refers to the process of forming desert-like
landforms by sand outside arid and semi-arid zones (Zhu, 1986). However, Li (1988)
argued that this process should be called strictly land degradation.
Profoundly affected by its constantly changing international meaning, desertification
has been dissimilarly defined by Chinese researchers. Zhu & Liu (1981) referred to it
as ‘the process of environmental degradation in non-sandy areas where the fragile
ecology is disturbed by excessive human activities’. It was defined by Yang (1987) as
a series of climatic and geomorphologic processes in arid, semi-arid, and some semi-
humid sandy areas under the influence of various conditions at diverse time scales.
According to Chen (1991), desertification is the contemporary process of land
degradation that is caused mainly by sand in a fragile ecosystem and forms a desert-like
landform. It is ‘the process of environmental change that is characterized by
sandblasting and forms a desert-like landform in formerly non-sandy areas’ (Dong et
al., 1988). Apparently, these definitions differ from one another widely in the process
and time scale involved.
Lack of agreement in defining desertification originates in part from its confusion
with desertization because of inappropriate translation. Referring to desert encroach-
ment in arid and semi-arid areas of non-desert landforms due to improper human
 DESERTIFICATION AND REHABILITATION, CHINA 421

activities, desertization was translated as shamohua (desertification), whereas desertifi-

cation was translated as huangmohua (barrenification) in Chinese. Zhou & Pu (1996)
argued that the international definition was by no means perfect and had to be altered
to suit desertification peculiarities in China. The term huangmohua should be used in
its broadest sense to encompass desert creeping, land degradation in the forms of soil
erosion, waterlogging and soil salinization to avoid confusion.
Unlike the international ones, these Chinese definitions place a much greater
emphasis on the material (sand) that is essential in desertification initiation than on
climatic, especially precipitation, variables that are incorporated in the definition
implicitly. All sandy deserts and lands are located in northern China that has an arid
or semi-arid climate (Fig. 1). The proposed adoption of huangmohua will undoubtedly
make the concept of desertification in Chinese closer to its international meaning.

Severity of desertification

Historically, many parts of China are susceptible to desertification. All of them are
concentrated in the north-western, northern and north-eastern (‘Three North’)
dryland (Fig. 2). Some of these historical events of desertification have been
documented by various scholars. Zhu et al. (1986) cited notable instances of
widespread desertification in the semi-arid steppe (A in Fig. 2) dating back to the Han
Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220). Dong et al. (1988) found that the Mu Us Sandy Land (B
in Fig. 2) has existed since the Quaternary, even though its size fluctuated over the
years. It has been subject to the southward encroachment of a sandy desert since the

Figure 1. Distribution of sandy deserts (1–8) and lands (9–12) with respect to climatic zones in
China. Sandy deserts and sandy lands are differentiated because the latter is formed out of
human activities (Source: modified from Fullen & Mitchell, 1994).
422 Y. ZHA & J. GAO

Tang Dynasty (AD 618–906) (Guo et al., 1989). As a remarkable example of

desertification in Chinese history, the Ordos Plateau (Fig. 2) contains 120,000 km2 of
land that were desertified during the prehistoric period (Guo et al., 1989). At its
southern fringe a belt of migratory sand about 60 km wide formed along the Great Wall
during the last three centuries. The history of desertification in the Taklimakan Desert
(1 in Fig. 1 and F in Fig. 2) can be dated back to 31,000 years ago (Wang & Dong,
1994).
At present China still faces a serious problem of desertification. Approximately 13%
of the territory comprises of deserts and desertified land (Qu, 1980). It is estimated
that 3·3 million km2 have been affected by desertification, accounting for 34% of total
land area (Chen et al., 1996). Desertified land in China totals 1·1 million km2 by the
account of Zhu & Cui (1996), but 2·2 million km2 by the account of Zhou & Pu
(1996). None of the authors provided accuracy for their estimates. The sheer scale of
the desertification problem, combined with its complex causes, makes accurate
estimates impossible (Fullen & Mitchell, 1994). The massively disparate figures
reported are attributed to three reasons: (a) definition of desertification. The land
affected by a specific type of degradation was included in one figure, but not in
another. Guo et al. (1989) reported a total of 1·3 million km2 of desert and desertified
land without specifying the quantity for desertified land alone; (b) types of desertified
land. Some authors included desertified land in arid and semi-arid areas whereas
others also counted the land degraded by erosion in humid and semi-humid areas. Zhu

Figure 2. Distribution of historical and contemporary desertification in China. Numbers

represent sandy deserts/lands; for their names refer to Fig. 1 (Source: modified from Sheehy,
1992).
 DESERTIFICATION AND REHABILITATION, CHINA 423

and Cui (1996) included desertified land by water erosion (0·37 million km2) and the
areas affected by physical and chemical erosion (0·38 million km2) in their estimate.
The figure given by Zhou & Pu (1996) included land affected by soil erosion (1·79
million km2) and salinization (0·065 million km2); and (c) degree of desertification.
Areas already affected by desertification were included in one figure whereas areas
vulnerable to desertification were also counted in another. For instance, Zhu et al.
(1989) included 81,000 km2 of land susceptible to desertification in their estimate.
According to Thomas (1993), hyperarid environments should not be considered
desertified because they are desert-like in their natural state. Furthermore, vulnerabil-
ity to desertification should be distinguished from desertification itself (Rhodes, 1991).
The amount of desertified land estimated by different authors converges at around
33·4 million ha (Fig. 3) if the revised international definition of desertification by
Rhodes (1991) is adopted. This trend of drastic reduction confirms that ‘previous
assessments of desertification may have over-estimated the worldwide extent of the
phenomenon’ (Thomas, 193), at least for China.
Desertified areas are widely scattered in a few clusters in northern drylands (Fig. 3).
The most prominent cluster is formed by 207 agropastoral counties in 13 ‘Three
North’ provinces where 109·5 million ha of land have been desertified, accounting for
9·2% of the total area in China (Hou, 1985). In this zone alone, 26·9% of the affected
land is severely desertified, 25·7% strongly under development, and 47·4% under
development. Characterized by a landform of partially stabilized sand dunes covered
with shrubs, these areas are usually located at the periphery of a desert, oasis, or the
lower stretch of a rive (Figs 2 and 3) (Guo et al., 1982). All of them have a patchy and
fragmented pattern of spatial distribution (Zhu & Cui, 1996).

Figure 3. Distribution of contemporary desertification in China separated into actual and

potential categories (Source: modified from Zhu, 1992).
424 Y. ZHA & J. GAO

The problem of contemporary desertification has worsened in a number of areas. In

North China 50,000 km2 of land were desertified in the second half of this century
(Guo et al., 1989). In the agropastoral zone (Fig. 2) desertified land increased from
137,000 km2 in the late 1950s to 176,088 km2 in the 1970s, with another 158,000 km2
potentially vulnerable to desertification (Wang, 1990). In the 1980s desertified areas
expanded at an annual rate of 2103 km2 (Shou et al., 1992). Desertification of steppe
grazing land throughout North China has reached crisis proportions (Sheehy, 1992).
The percentage of desertified land in the Korqin Steppe (A in Fig. 2) grew from 20 in
the 1950s to 52 in the late 1970s (Zhu et al., 1984a). Sandy land in Uxin Qi (an
administrative unit equivalent of county), Inner Mongolia (Fig. 1) increased from
4193 km2 in 1957 to 5685 km2 in 1977 (Lin et al., 1983). Mobile and semi-mobile
sand dunes encroached upon the oasis in the Gurban Tunggut Desert (2 in Fig. 1),
Xinjiang Autonomous Region, by 0·5–2·6 m annually during 1958–1986 (Anon,
1987).
Affecting millions of people over a vast area, desertification has caused colossal
environmental detriment and economic loss. Its direct destruction includes reduced
soil fertility, degraded soil structure, and deteriorated vegetation quality (Zhu & Cui,
1996). Loss of soil nutrients by aeolian erosion totals 5600 tons, or the equivalent of
fertilizers worth 17 billion yuan (Luo et al., 1994). It causes a direct economic loss
estimated between US$2–3 billion (Anon, 1994; Chen et al., 1996). The indirect loss
associated with desertification is 2–3 times more.

Causes of desertification

Internationally, the causes of desertification have been identified as overcultivation,

overgrazing, deforestation, and salinization (Goudie, 1990; Thomas & Middleton,
1994). These human-related factors have also been reported to cause desertification in
China. Destructive human activities range from overcultivation, overgrazing of
livestock, excessive gathering of fuelwood and plants for medicinal purposes, mining,
to construction of transportation routes (Zhu et al., 1981; Sheehy, 1992). Under the
same natural settings, plowing sandy land accelerates aeolian erosion by tens, even
hundreds of times (Dong et al., 1987). Frequent ethnic wars, recurrent conversion and
reversal of land use from crop to pasture triggered desertification 30 km south of the
Great Wall in the 1670s (Fig. 2) (Bao et al., 1984). In addition, human errors in policy-
making were responsible for rapid desertification in drought-prone sandy lands
between the mid-1960s and mid-1970s (Zhu & Cui, 1996). Of the 3·4 million ha
newly desertified land in the agropastoral north, 42·9% was caused by overcultivation,
31·1% by overgrazing, 22·2% by excessive collection of fuelwood, and the rest by
mining and construction (Zhu et al., 1994b).
Although not explicitly identified as a separate factor, overpopulation is the reason
for most of the excessive human activities mentioned above. Zhu et al. (1984b)
recommended that population be controlled to prevent desertification from worsening.
Dong (1992) identified a close correlation between changes in desertification and
populations of human beings and livestock. However, he questioned whether
overpopulation caused desertification, a process arising from multiple elements. No
quantitative relationship between population growth and desert expansion has been
established yet.
Unlike human-related factors, the environmental settings conductive to desertifica-
tion in China are quite unique. Commonly identified ones include sandy, loose
surfacial sediment deposits and the coincidence of droughts with the windy season
 DESERTIFICATION AND REHABILITATION, CHINA 425

(Zhu & Cui, 1996). The former provides the materials to be transported, and the latter
fuels the power to move them.
No consensus has been reached regarding the exact role played by the two categories
of factors. On the one hand, Dong (1992) argued that historical desertification was
caused mainly by natural factors, especially climatic fluctuation. It was found that
desertification in the Mu Us Sandy Land (9 in Fig. 1) was caused primarily by climatic
fluctuation during the Ice Age, and secondly by modern tectonic activities and
inappropriate human activities (Dong et al., 198). According to the Expedition Team
of Academia Sinica (1978), desertification in ancient agricultural areas resulted from
the worsened physical environment, especially climate change. On the other hand,
many others are of the opinion that human factors are more important. The main
reason for desertification in the Ordos Plateau (Fig. 2) lies not in climate change but
in human activities (Hou, 1985). Human activities are largely responsible for
desertification in arid and semi-arid China (Zhu, 1982). Desertification worsened in
all areas heavily influenced by human activities in north-east Urümqi (Fig. 1), but
remained little changed wherever human influence was small or nil (Liu & Jiang,
1996). After correlating the desertification rate in the Mu Us Sandy Land (9 in Fig. 1)
with yearly precipitation, Luk (1983) found that droughts did not always lead to desert
expansion, but excessive clearing of land for cultivation and grazing did. Sites of ruined
ancient cities in the Mu Us Sandy Land convinced Lin et al. (1983) that desertification
was not problematic in historic times. Instead, large-scale cultivation and grazing since
the mid-seventeenth century triggered rapid desertification.
The seeming contradiction of these findings can be resolved by a simultaneous
examination of both categories of factors. Anthropogenic factors are intrinsically
interacting with environmental settings in desertification initiation and evolution.
Neither of them can function independently without the other, and thus they should
be analysed simultaneously. Based on the results from principal component analysis,
Dong (1992) found that human factors accounted for 60% of the variation in
desertification, and natural ones 40%. Feng (1987) reported that only 10% of the
desertified land in China was caused by natural factors such as droughts and aeolian
erosion, and the remaining 90% by human activities.
Results published in the English literature contribute little to elucidate the debate.
Le Houérou (1992) thought that global warming could accelerate the process of
desertization. Similarly, Wang & Dong (1994) found that global warming would cause
desertification in the Taklimakan Desert (1 in Fig. 1) to continue, and the process
would be accelerated by human impact. Rising temperatures and declining rainfall for
a period of 30–50 years in Sudan may accelerate desertification there (Alvi, 1994).
Because of the limited length of climatic records and thus the difficulty in establishing
long-term prediction of climate, the question whether continual climate change gives
rise to desert expansion cannot be answered with confidence (Anon, 1977). Indeed, it
is difficult to separate human- and climatically-induced changes. Desertification
research in the revisionist era requires an ongoing awareness of anthropogenic vs.
climatic influences on dryland resources (Rhodes, 1991). More detailed studies on the
extent of desertification and its long-term monitoring at regional and national levels are
needed for the realistic assessment of roles played by desertification-triggering factors
(Thomas, 1993).
In the absence of convincing evidences from the western literature, the conflict of
opinions is reconciled by taking into account the differential temporal and spatial
scales of desertification initiation and development. While environmental conditions
and physical factors created a fragile ecosystem and initiated the formation of deserts,
human elements were principally responsible for their deterioration and expansion
(Dong & Liu, 1993). Natural variables played a major role in historic desertification.
Anthropogenic elements such as improper land management practices taking
precedence over ecological principles are blamed for contemporary desertification. At
426 Y. ZHA & J. GAO

the regional level the physical elements are more important than the human ones
whose importance becomes increasingly larger as the scale is progressively reduced to
a local one.

Desertification rehabilitation

The history of rehabilitating desertified land in China is essentially the history of

converting it into productive uses in sandy areas (Chen et al., 1996). Most of the
rehabilitating efforts concentrated on the agropastoral zone (Fig. 2) because 55 million
people and 10 million ha of cropland and pasture have been affected by desertification
(Guo et al., 1989). A prerequisite of a successful rehabilitation scheme is the
identification of desertified areas and assessment of desertification severity.

Monitoring and assessment of desertification

Historically, desertification information is obtained from ground surveys and

expeditions. Such inefficient methods of information acquisition have gradually been
replaced by the increasing use of small-scale aerial photographs (Zhu et al., 1984b;
Shou et al., 1992). As a supplementary means, field trips are carried out occasionally
to verify the results obtained from photointerpretation and to assess their accuracy
(Zha, 1989; Guo, 1990; Liu & Jiang, 1996). Since the emergence of space-borne
remote sensing, satellite images such as Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and
TM have been utilized to delineate the extent of desertified areas (Luk, 1983; Guo,
1990; Liu & Jiang, 1996). At a spatial resolution of 30 m, TM data enable them to be
mapped at an accuracy level comparable to that from aerial photographs (Liu & Jiang,
1996). Desertification severity levels mapped from TM images are consistently within
90% of those obtained from colour infrared aerial photographs (Guo, 1990). Despite
these high accuracy levels, satellite images have not completely eliminated the need for
aerial photographs. The results interpreted from historical aerial photographs guided
the mapping of desertified land from MSS data (Luk, 1983). Two methods have been
used to process the remotely sensed data, manual interpretation for aerial photographs
and satellite images, and digital analysis for satellite data (Luk, 1983; Guo, 1990; Liu
& Jiang, 1996).
Desertification monitoring comprises identification of changes in desertified areas,
which can be accomplished by overlaying time-sequential data such as remotely sensed
images. Comparison of one 1977 MSS image with one 1989 TM image revealed the
shrinkage of vegetative cover in a 2100 km2 area near Urümqi (Fig. 1), Xinjiang, and
the southward shift of a sandy desert (Liu & Jiang, 1996). Since satellite images were
not available prior to the early 1970s, historical aerial photographs were relied upon to
determine the expansion of desertified land (Bao et al., 1984). In the absence of
historical aerial photographs, ground survey results were used as a surrogate (Lin et al.,
1983). Comparison of the two sets of results could indicate the general trend of
desertification change, but not the location where the changes had occured.
Overlay of multiple images or maps is ideally carried out in a Geographic
Information System (GIS). So far GIS has found limited applications in identifying
desert expansion. Zha & Gao (1997) overlaid two desertification distribution maps of
Yulin County (Fig. 1), Shaanxi Province, to identify the areas desertified or converted
to productive uses between 1960 and 1987. The acquired spatially-based information
facilitated the identification of desertification causes at some sites inside the study area.
Wang & Kang (1990) outlined a prototype microcomputer-based information system
for desertification rehabilitation, dynamic monitoring, and trend forecasting at the
 DESERTIFICATION AND REHABILITATION, CHINA 427

country level. However, no further progress has been reported on the planned
research.
Various criteria have been proposed to assess desertification severity. Bao et al.
(1984) employed the depth of underlying sand, the degree of aeolian erosion, and the
amount of vegetative cover and shifting sand dunes to map severity at four levels
(latent, ongoing, severe and most severe). Percentage of mobile sand dunes was also
used to classify desertification as severe, strongly affected and under development
(Zhu et al., 1984b). Zhu et al. (1981) applied a combination of the amount of aeolian
erosion and the change in surface landforms. An annual removal of 3 cm and
deposition of > 5 cm of sand were considered severe, < 1 cm of erosion and deposition
slight. However, vegetative cover proves to be a more popular criterion, especially if
the results are obtained from remotely sensed images. A vegetative cover of < 5, 15, 30
and 50% is considered, respectively, extremely severe, severe, moderate and slight
(Guo, 1990). Similarly, Liu & Jiang (1996) considered a vegetative cover of < 5%
extremely severe and < 20% severe. However, a vegetative cover of > 80% represents
no desertification hazard. Instead of using a single factor, Dong (1996) derived
desertification severity levels from weighted averaging of 16 desertification contribut-
ing factors, including potential hazard, current status, desertification rate, human
population and livestock size. All these studies were carried out at the regional or local
level. No research has been reported on the assessment and classification of
desertification severity at the national level. GIS has not been utilized to map
desertification severity or to assess desertification hazard and its environmental
impact.

Desertification rehabilitation

In sandy drylands desertification occurs in two manners, direct encroachment of

mobile sand dunes upon grazing land, and deposition of drifting sand over grasses,
both under the action of wind (Lin et al., 1983). Therefore, rehabilitating
desertification is essentially to slow down wind velocity through increased surface
roughness (Zou et al., 1981). Construction of engineering works and planting of
vegetation are applied to halting the advance of migratory sand dunes (Dong et al.,
1987). Engineering works such as straw checkerboards can effectively reduce wind
velocity and minimize the amount of sand transported, even though their optimal
width is still debatable (Feng et al., 1994). Checkerboards at a height of 0·15–0·2 m
above the ground increase the roughness of a sand surface by 400–600 times, and
reduce wind velocity by 20–40% at a height of 0·5 m and by 10% at 2 m above the
surface (Zou et al., 1981). The quantity of sand transported over a checkerboard is
only 1% of that over a shifting sand dune (Zhu, 1992). Moreover, checkerboards
increase soil organic content by 23-fold after a surface crust is formed. Soil crust with
moss growing on it can resist aeolian erosion force within a speed as high as
25 m s–1.
Nevertheless, engineering works alone cannot eliminate desertification hazards on
roads (Chen, 1992). If combined with vegetation networks, their effectiveness is
considerably improved (Zou et al., 1981). Planting of shrubs and trees brings more
ecological and economic benefits from the control efforts, making it sustainable. The
direct benefits are decreased wind velocities, increased soil temperature and organic
matter inputs from biomass, improved soil moisture retention, and reduced soil
erosion (Yang, 1990; Fullen & Mitchell, 1994). Species of dwarf shrubs suitable for
entraining sand include Salix flavida, Hedysarum scopariu, and Caragana korshinkskii
planted at an interval of 1–2 m. At a density of > 20%, shrubs can achieve the same
effect as a 1 m by 1 m checkerboard (Yang, 1990). However, planted vegetation alone
428 Y. ZHA & J. GAO

in partially desertified areas cannot bring desertification under complete control,

especially during its later stages of succession (Chen, 1981).
Because of the significance of vegetative cover in reducing wind speed and
generating economic benefits, prior to the 1970s biological means were relied upon
exclusively to stabilize sand dunes while other factors were neglected (Shou et al.,
1992). However, if the land is exploited beyond its carrying capacity, no single control
measure can function effectively (Dong, 1992). It was realized later that desertification
is a process resulting from multiple factors. Accordingly, a multi-disciplinary approach
of rehabilitation and prevention was adopted. The measures were designed for
rehabilitating the deteriorated ecosystem based on both ecological principles and
economic return. The rehabilitation methods include regulating growth of cropland
and livestock, reconverting infertile cropland at the margin of steppe grazing land to
semi-natural ecosystems, and developing land use patterns that integrate combinations
of grazing land, woodland and cropland (Sheehy, 1992). A ratio of 3:3:4 for land
allocated to farming, pasture and forestry in semi-arid sandy areas can lead to an
ecological balance (Zhu & Cui, 1996). This ratio varies with the severity of
desertification. The more severely an area is desertified, the higher the proportions for
woodland and pasture (Zhu et al., 1984b).
With a combination of rehabilitation and preventive measures following basic
ecological principles, desertification can be harnessed and desertified land be
reclaimed for productive uses. Common land reclamation strategies include wind-
breaks, irrigation with silt-laden river water, and dune stabilization using straw
checkerboards and planted xerophytes (Fullen & Mitchell, 1994). The disastrous
consequence of the mistaken policy of stressing the paramount importance of grain
yield in the 1970s has been corrected by reducing cropland if its cultivation is
conducive to aeolian erosion and desertification (Lin et al., 1983).
The effectiveness of these rehabilitating measures has not been comprehensively
assessed. Zhu & Cui (1996) qualitatively outlined the successful measures in arid and
semi-arid areas. Zha & Gao (1997) found planting grasses at the fringe of sandy land
is the least effective as they are readily topped by the shifting sand dunes. Instead,
scrubs and trees are more resistant to being buried by sand and thus more effective in
halting desertification.

Outcome of desertification rehabilitation

The achievements of tackling desertification are exemplified by the ‘Three North’

project in the agropastoral zone of North China. Approved by the State Council in
1978, this programme of constructing shelter-belt systems was launched in an area of
4·069 million km2 spreading across 13 provinces. Internationally renowned as China’s
Green Great Wall, this multiple-stage project is expected to be completed by the year
2025 when forest coverage will reach 14·95%. In the first stage 7·9 million ha of
protective forests were planted (Guo et al., 1989), bringing forest cover from 5·05% in
1978 to 7·09 in 1989 (Zhu, 1990). Of the 5736 km2 of mobile sand dunes in the
region, 3068 km2 have been stabilized (Yang, 1990). If they function as anticipated,
the farmland-protective forests will protect 8·5 million ha of cropland and increase
grain yield by 5·5 million tons. The direct economic benefits from the project are
estimated at 25·55 billion yuan, or 27 times the initial investment. Valued at 44·6
billion yuan, the indirect benefits come from increased grain yield, soil conservation,
sand fixation and protection of pasture. However, as unveiled by observations of areas
planted with trees, the actual achievements are much less spectacular than reported
due to the low survival rate of the trees (Becker, 1985).
At a smaller scale, the reversion of desertified land to productive uses has taken place
in a number of areas. A shelter belt of 170 km long by 300–400 m wide has been
 DESERTIFICATION AND REHABILITATION, CHINA 429

established in north-east Ulan Buh Desert (7 in Fig. 1) in Inner Mongolia, protecting

tens of thousand hectares of rangeland and cropland in more than 150 counties (Qu,
1980). Thanks to decades of desertification control efforts, oasis area in the south-
eastern Tengger Desert (6 in Fig. 1) increased by 120 km2 between 1959–1990, with
the reclaimed land used for cropping, orchards, forestry, and shelter belts (Zhu, 1992).
Desertified land in northern Shaanxi Province (around 9 in Fig. 1) has been reclaimed
for farmland and woodland along the river banks and in low-lying moist alluvial fans
(Bao et al., 1984). Although the moderately and slightly desertified areas in Yulin
Country (Fig. 1), Shaanxi Province are predicted to increase by 104,000 ha, the most
severely affected area is forecast to decrease by 190,000 ha, forming an overall
decreasing trend (Kang et al., 1995).

Summary and conclusions

Enormous efforts have gone toward tackling desertification in China since the United
Nations held its first conference on combating desertification 20 years ago. These
efforts concentrated on defining desertification, determining its causes, assessing its
spatial distribution and severity, and rehabilitating desertified land into productive
uses. Some of the problems facing Chinese scholars are identical to those facing their
western counterparts. These issues include how to define desertification properly and
how to assess the exact role played by human-related and environmental factors in
desertification. Due to the insufficient amount of data collected, it is difficult to
disentangle the impact of anthropogenic desertification effectively from that of
environmental desertification.
Because of the pressure generated by an ever increasing population and dwindling
arable land in China, it is of paramount importance to rehabilitate the land lost to
desertification to productive uses. Consequently, restoration of desertified land makes
up a huge portion of the scientific endeavour in desertification research. A
disproportionate amount of emphasis is placed on desertification control whereas
insufficient attention is given to prevention. Subsequently, desertified land is
rehabilitated to productive uses on the one hand, but on the other, formerly stabilized
sandy land is encroached upon by shifting sand dunes. In taming desertification by
biological means, huge efforts are devoted to planting grasses and tree saplings.
However, inadequate efforts are made to ensure their survival and the sustainability of
the rehabilitation programme. These earlier problems have been remedied after the
realization that desertification resulted from a variety of factors, both human activities
and natural settings. The multi-disciplinary approach of rehabilitation and prevention
based on ecological principles and economic return has achieved much more success
in rehabilitating the deteriorated ecosystem than the biological means.
To conclude, China is facing a serious desertification problem. Most of the affected
areas are located in the arid and semi-arid north. They are caused by both
environmental settings and inappropriate human activities including overcultivation,
overgrazing, and excessive gathering of fuelwood and plant species for medicinal
purposes. The natural settings are important to the initial formation of desert
conditions in historical times, whereas anthropogenic factors are critical to contempo-
rary desertification. After preventive measures following sound ecological principles
were adopted, the desertification trend has been reversed at various geographic scales.
Engineering measures alone are not so effective in halting the encroachment of sand
dunes as biological measures that can bring more economic return from the
rehabilitating efforts. The multi-disciplinary, ecologically-sound rehabilitating
approach proves to be most effective in restoring desertified land to productive uses.
Jay Gao would like to thank the University of Auckland for granting him research leave during
which this research was undertaken.
430 Y. ZHA & J. GAO

References

Alvi, S.H. (1994). Climatic changes, desertification and the Republic of Sudan. GeoJournal, 33:
393–399.
Anon (1977). Desertification: an overview. In: Secretariate of the UNCOD (Ed.), Desertifica-
tion: its causes and consequences, pp. 1–61. Oxford: Pergamon Press. 448 pp.
Anon (1977). Desertification in Xinjiang Autonomous Region gets worse day by day.
Geographical Knowledge, 11: 32 (Reprinted from Jingji Ribao, 6 July 1987).
Anon (1994). Desertification control. In: State Planning Commission and State Science
Commission (Ed.), China’s Agenda 21, pp. 142–151. Beijing: Chinese Environment Science
Publishing House. 192 pp.
Aubréville, A. (1949). Climats, Foréts, et Désertification de l’Afrique Tropicale. Societe de Editions
Geographiques. Paris: Martime et Coloniales. 255 pp.
Bao, Y., Wen, Z., Dong, S., Zhang, J. & Yang, T. (1984). Inventorying desertification types and
its prevention in northern Shaanxi Province. Journal of Desert Research, 4(2): 35–44.
Becker, J. (1985). Sand trickles through China’s other great wall. New Science, October 24.
Chen, W. (1981). The changes in soil properties after an effort in artificial sand-fixation and
plantation in the Shapotou area. Journal of Desert Research, 1(1): 40–48.
Chen, G. (1991). On desertification and aeolian sandy land. Research of Arid Areas, 8: 57–60.
Chen, G. (1992). Effect of sand-drifting prevention on roads in the Tengger Desert. Journal of
Desert Research, 12(3): 38–41.
Chen, G., Dong, Z. & Yan, P. (1996). Desertification: international research topics and research
strategies of China. Exploration of Nature, 15: 1–5.
Dong, Y. (1992). Role of human factors in desertification. Journal of Desert Research, 12(1):
16–26.
Dong, Y. (1996). Assessment of hazard degree and analysis of desertification trend in sandy
China. Journal of Desert Research, 16(2): 127–131.
Dong, Y. & Liu, Y. (1993). Review and prospect of the studies on desertification in China.
Geographical Research, 12(2): 94–102.
Dong, G., Li, C. & Jin, J. (1987). Some results of simulated experimentation on aeolian erosion
using a wind tunnel. Chinese Science Bulletin, 32: 297–301.
Dong, G., Shen, J., Jin, J. & Gao, S. (1988). The conceptualization of desertification and
desertization. Arid Land Geography, 11: 58–61.
Dregne, H.E. (1983). Desertification of Arid Lands. London: Harwood Academic Publishers.
242 pp.
Expedition Team of Academia Sinica (1978), Soil Geography in Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region and West of Northeast China, pp. 12–28. Beijing: Science Publishing House.
Feng, J. (1987). Willing to be the foundation upon which desert science is developed: a visit with
Professor Zhu Zhenda of the Lanzhou IDRAS. Geographical Knowledge, 12: 20–21.
Feng, L., Lu, J. & Di, Y. (1994). Review on the prevention of sand damage to railway lines in
desert areas of China. Journal of Desert Research, 14(3): 47–53.
Fullen, M.A. & Mitchell, D.J. (1994). Desertification and reclamation in north-central China.
Ambio, 23: 131–135.
Glantz, M.H. & Orlovsky, N. (1983). Desertification: a review of the concept. Desertification
Control Bulletin, 9: 15–22.
Goudie, A.S. (1990). Desert degradation. In: Goudie, A.S. (Ed.), Techniques for Desert
Reclamation, pp. 1–33. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. 271 pp.
Guo, S. (1990). Application of remote sensing imagery in studying desertification in Yulin
Country. In: Wang, C. (Ed.), Comprehensive Study on the Forested Areas in the Loess Plateau,
pp. 188–194. Beijing: Science and Technology Publishing House. 402 pp.
Guo, S.L., Qi, W.H. & Li, L.X. (1982). Use of the catastrophe theory model to study the
process of desertification — an example of sandy land of northeast China. Acta Geographica
Sinica, 37: 183–193.
Guo, H., Wu, D. & Zhu, H. (1989). Land restoration in China. Journal of Applied Ecology, 26:
787–792.
Hou, R. (1985). Ancient city ruins in the deserts of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region
of China. Journal of Historical Geography, 11: 241–252.
Kang, G., Yao, F., Wang, X. & Dong, Y. (1995). Application of gray prediction theory in
desertification monitoring. Journal of Desert Research, 15: 353–356.
 DESERTIFICATION AND REHABILITATION, CHINA 431

Le Houérou, H.N. (1992). Climatic change and desertization. Impact of Science on Society, 166:
183–201.
Li, X. (1988). Explanation of barrenification, sandification, and desiccation and their uses in
China. In: China Natural Resource Research Committee (Ed.), Study on Natural Resources in
Arid and Semi-arid China, pp. 23–26. Beijing: Science Publishing House. 230 pp.
Lin, Y., Chen, C.K. & Chen, C.T. (1983). A discussion on the direction of production
development and way of halting desertification in the Mu Us sandy land, Ordos
Plateau — based on its physical conditions. Acta Geographica Sinica, 38: 230–240.
Liu, X. & Jiang, X. (1996). Extraction of desertification information from the optical and digital
processing of multiple-date remotely sensed images. Arid Land Geography, 19(3): 1–6.
Luk, S.H. (1983). Recent trends of desertification in the Maowusu Desert, China. Environ-
mental Conservation, 10: 213–224.
Luo, B., Zhou, S., Zhang, X. & Meng, X. (1994). World desertification status and the successful
experience of desertification control in China. Journal of Desert Research, 14(2): 49–54.
Qu, G. (1980). Deserts in China and their prevention and control. Mazingira, 4(2): 74–79.
Rapp, A. (1974). A review of desertization in Africa — water, vegetation and man. Sweden:
Secretariat for International Ecology, Report No. 1. 77 pp.
Rhodes, S.L. (1991). Rethinking desertification: what do we know and what have we learned?
World Development, 21: 1137–1143.
Sheehy, D.P. (1992). A perspective on desertification of grazingland ecosystems in North
China. Ambio, 21: 303–307.
Shou, W., Li, N., Zhou, J., Zhang, X. & Zhao, Y. (1992). Discussion on the fundamental
models of controlling desertified land in China. Journal of Desert Research, 12(3): 22–27.
Thomas, D.S.G. (1993). Sandstorm in a teacup? Understanding desertification. The Geo-
graphical Journal, 159: 318–331.
Thomas, D.S.G. & Middleton, N.J. (1994). Desertification: exploring the myth. Chichester: John
Wiley & Sons. 194 pp.
UNCOD (1978). United Nations Conference on Desertification, Round-up, Plan of Action and
Resolutions. New York: United Nations. 43 pp.
Wang, S. (1990). Ecological environment in north, northwest and northeast China. In: He, H.
(Ed.), Study on Remote Sensing of Ecology and Environment, pp. 1–15. Beijing: Science
Publishing House. 375 pp.
Wang, Y. & Dong, G. (1994). Sand sea history of the Taklimakan for the past 30,000 years.
Geografiska Annaler, 76A(3): 131–141.
Wang, Y. & Kang, G. (1990). A microcomputer-based desertification environment information
system. In: ESCAP/UNEP (Ed.), Remote Sensing for Desertification and Vegetation Mapping,
pp. 95–98. Tehran: UNEP. 134 pp.
Wu, Z. (1965). Observations on sand dune movement and preliminary study on the prevention
of desertification hazard. Research on Desertification Control, 7: 7–14.
Yang, G. (1987). Discussion on several issues related to desertification. Research on Arid Regions,
1987: 73–77.
Yang, Z. (1990). Benefit analysis of the “Three North” protective forest in Yulin prefecture. In:
Wang, C. (Ed.), Comprehensive Study of the Forested Areas in the Loess Plateau Using Remote
Sensing, pp. 112–121. Beijing: Science and Technology Publishing House of China. 402
pp.
Zha, Y. (1989). Research on Quantifying the Desertification Processes Using Remote Sensing,
Unpublished Master’s thesis, Institute of Remote Sensing Applications, Academia Sinica,
Beijing. 34 pp.
Zha, Y. & Gao, J. (1997). Effectiveness of measures to combat desertification in Yulin Country,
Shaanxi, Western China using remote sensing and GIS. Applied Geography (submitted).
Zhou, J. & Pu, L. (1996). Rustic opinions on concept of desertification and its practical
significance. Journal of Desert Research, 16: 191–195.
Zhu, Z. (1982). Historical physical geography. In: Physical Geography of China (Ed.), pp.
249–260. Beijing: Science Publishing House. 262 pp.
Zhu, Z. (1986). Problems of land desertification in humid and semi-humid zones. Journal of
Desert Research, 6(4): 1–12.
Zhu, J. (1990). Comprehensive evaluation of the ecological benefit of the entire “Three North”
Protective Forest. In: Nu, X. & He, H. (Eds), Study on Remote Sensing of Ecology and
Environment, pp. 16–25. Beijing: Science Publishing House. 375 pp.
432 Y. ZHA & J. GAO

Zhu, Z. (1992). China: desertification mapping and desert reclamation. In: UNEP (Ed.), World
Atlas of Desertification, pp. 46–49. London: Edward Arnold. 69 pp.
Zhu, Z. & Cui, S. (1996). Distribution patterns of desertified land and assessment of its control
measures in China. China Environmental Science, 16: 328–334.
Zhu, Z. & Liu, S. (1981). Desertification Process in North China and Its Regional Control. Beijing:
Chinese Forestry Publishing House. 83 pp.
Zhu, Z., Guo, H. & Wu, G. (1964). Study on sand dune movement near the oasis in southwest
Taklimakan Desert. Acta Geographica Sinica, 30(1): 35–50.
Zhu, Z., Liu, S. & Xiao, L. (1981). The characteristics of the environment vulnerable to
desertification and the ways of its control in steppe zone. Journal of Desert Research, 1(1):
2–12.
Zhu, Z., Liu, S. & Di, X. (1984a). Retrospect of the history of desert research and problems in
the field in China. Journal of Desert Research, 4(2): 3–7.
Zhu, Z., Liu, S. & Yang, Y. (1984b). The possibilities and realities of re-managing desertified
land in the interlacing agropastoral areas in northern China. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 4(9):
197–206.
Zhu, Z., Liu, S., Wu, Z. & Di, X.M. (1986). Deserts in China. Lanzhou: Institute of Desert
Research, Academia Sinica. 132 pp.
Zhu, Z., Liu, S. & Di, X. (1989). Desertification and its Control in China. Beijing: Science
Publishing House. 126 pp.
Zou, B., Cong, Z. & Liu, S. (1981). A preliminary observation on the basic characteristics of
sand-carrying currents and the effects of adopted prevention and control measures in
Shapotou. Journal of Desert Research, 1(1): 33–39.