The possibilities and realities on the remanagement of desertified lands in the transitional zone between the dry-farming area and the grazing area in North China

Abstract

The desertification process is rapidly developing at present and 61.5% of the land area in the zone are already desertified.Among the desertified lands, 26.9% are seriously desertified, 25% most seriously desertified and 47.4% are the lands where desertification is under way. They are caused by over- reclamation for farming, over-grazing, unreasonable collection of firewood, the destruction of vegetation and the misuse of water resources. Under the ecological environment in semi-arid zone, the degraded environment process possesses the ability of restoring to its original status as soon as the interruption of excessive human activities are eliminated. The fencing-and-self-cultivating method is an effective measure adopted universally in semi-arid zone to cure the desertified lands. The desertified lands can be readjusted and controlled easily if other controlling measures are supplemented. The fundamental ways to control desertification are to utilize rationally the resources, to readjust the existing land use pattern in the transitional zone between the dry-farming area and the grazing area, and to adopt a series of measures that are suitable to local conditions. It is found that the desertified lands in the zone are characterized by the possibilities to readjust, and also that the successful reverse readjustment is becoming a reality in many typical regions.