Abstract
Extended periods of drought and extreme temperatures are promoters of desertification and thus the loss of arable land in semi-arid and arid regions. Large-scale afforestation and revegetation are proven methods in desertification control. The process of natural succession allows nature to develop diverse vegetation that is best suited to withstand future climatic challenges associated to drought and heat. The process has been applied to the drylands of Northern China since 2006 with the aim to sustainably revegetate the degraded land; now, an increase in biomass is detectable. One disadvantage of this future-oriented method of succession is that it requires many years of undisturbed development, particularly in hot and dry climates. We propose a simple and fast way to expedite the development of a vegetation cover in (semi-) arid climates. In response to the hydro-ecological stress associated with massive large-scale afforestation, we suggest the concept of revegetation via “hydrologic networking,” which aims to hydrologically connect larger vegetation areas. Parallel greenbelts are planted to form inner compartments somewhat protected from wind and related drought so that vegetation development is accelerated in a process of “assisted natural succession.” Here, we develop and optimize the model in the direction of expedited succession. Ours is a hybrid method combining active planting and the succession of native and climatic adaptable savanna vegetation. It will reduce planting efforts by 75% per area, resulting in vegetation that is hydro-ecologically adapted to the local environment and offers diversity with the ability to adjust to future climate parameters.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the constructive contributions of Prof. Dr. Klaus Becker, Hohenheim University, Germany.
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The authors declare no competing interests.
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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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Huebner, L., Fadhil Al-Quraishi, A.M., Branch, O., Gaznayee, H.A.A. (2022). Sustainable Renaturation in Desertification Control: Expediting the Natural Succession of Large-Scale Vegetation in Drylands. In: Walker, T., Wendt, S., Goubran, S., Schwartz, T. (eds) Business and Policy Solutions to Climate Change. Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business In Association with Future Earth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86803-1_5
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