Main Advances in Desertification Research in China

The current status of land desertification and main advances in its research in China have been summarized systematically in this paper. Land desertification mainly occurred in Inner Mongolia and Northwest China. Although the development process of land desertification in these regions has been primarily curbed in recent years generally,however,natural conditions in these regions,such as the fragile ecosystems,enhanced warming,aridity trend and wind erosion,provide the background of desertification. Along with frequent human activities that guided by the economic benefit,land desertification has not been addressed fundamentally. In recent study,the prominent advance in desertification in monitoring and assessment has been made. Assessment research developed from early comprehensive assessment based on desertification indicators to recent quantitative assessment which is based on remote sensed vegetation indexes. But all these desertification assessments are disaggregated by regions,and without a standardized assessment system that can be widely accepted,which has significantly delayed the process of desertification control. Therefore,considering various factors contributing to desertification,an unified and standardized assessment system should be explored to evaluate the future scenarios of desertification in arid and semi-arid regions in Northern China,which can provide the scientific basis for making effective desertification-combating programmes. Thus,such an assessment system is the critical issue which has to be confronted with and be settled in future desertification research in China.