Eco-reconstruction in Northwest China

Abstract

The northwest arid region of China has a long history of economic development. With the emergence of environmental and sustainability concerns in recent years, more attention has been paid to the strategy of developing this region, raising issues of land degradation, the use of water and land resources, and eco-reconstruction. Understanding the complex interactions between land, vegetation, and degradation is necessary to build policies for eco-reconstruction and sustainable water use. Land degradation in arid and semiarid regions is dominated by sandy desertification caused by wind erosion, secondary salinization of soil due to poor drainage and intensified evapotranspiration, and degradation of rangeland by excessive cultivation and overgrazing. This situation intensifies the conflict among humans for land and resources and has serious social, economic, and ecological consequences. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.