Indicator-based approaches are often used to monitor land degradation and desertification from the global to the very local scale. However, there is still little agreement on which indicators may best reflect both status and trends of these phenomena. In this study, various processes of land degradation and desertification have been analyzed in 17 study sites around the world using a wide set of biophysical and socioeconomic indicators.

Until around 1995 it was challenging to make the scientific results of research projects publicly available except through presentations at meetings or conferences, or as papers in academic journals. Then it began to be clear that the Internet could become the main medium to publish and share new information with a much wider audience. The DESIRE Project (desertification mitigation and remediation of land—a global approach for local solutions) has built on expertise gained in previous projects to develop an innovative online ‘Harmonized Information System’ (HIS).

Erosion is one of the most important natural hazard phenomena in the world, and it poses a significant threat to Turkey in terms of land degredation and desertification. To cope with this problem, we must determine which areas are erosion-prone. Many studies have been carried out and different models and methods have been used to this end. In this study, we used a logistic regression to prepare an erosion susceptibility map for the Ayvalık region in Balıkesir (NW Turkey).

Over the past decades, the vast limestone mountain areas in southwestern China have suffered greatly from karst rocky desertification (KRD), which is a unique type of desertification caused by irrational land-use practices and has drawn increasing attention of international academic community. Characterizing soil erosion in this region is the key to understanding the escalating KRD problem and finding solution to it. The authors applied leveling method to study soil erosion process in the Huajiang Karst Canyon area between 1999 and 2003, and tried to relate it to KRD expansion.

Evaluation of recent land degradation affecting Basra Province, Iraq, resulted in the identification of five prominent environmental degradation processes: desertification, secondary salinization, urbanization, vegetation degradation, and loss of wetlands.

This paper briefly describes COST Action ES1104 “Arid lands restoration and combat of desertification: Setting up a drylands and desert restoration hub”. (COST - European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is one of the longest running European frameworks supporting cooperation among scientists and researchers across Europe.) This networking project’s focus is to provide a hub of knowledge particularly relating to the practical methods of vegetation establishment and restoration as well as sustainable land management in arid and dryland areas.

Assessing the driving forces of sandy desertification is fundamental and important for its control. It has been widely accepted that both climatic conditions and land use have great impact on sandy desertification in northern China. However, the relative role and synergistic effect of each driving force of sandy desertification are still not clear. In this paper, an indicator named as SI was defined to represent the integrated probability of sandy desertification caused by land use.

Desertification has been widely treated as one of the major environmental hazards in the world by scientific communities and the public. Monitoring the dynamics and causes of desertification is essential to provide important instruction for desertification control strategies and rational planning of land use in arid and semi-arid areas.

Karst terrains are generally regarded as a fragile and vulnerable environment. China’s karst is mainly developed in pre-Triassic, old-phase, hard, compact carbonate rock. The lack of soil cover in bare karst land can enhance desertification. Its underground drainage system can aggravate both drought and flooding problems; the interconnected surface and subsurface conditions allow for easy contamination by pollutants.

The West Asia–North Africa (WANA) region has a land area of 1.7 billion ha, and a population of 600 million. Desertification and soil degradation are severe problems in the region. The problem of drought stress is exacerbated by low and erratic rainfall and soils of limited available water holding capacity and soil organic carbon (SOC) content of less than 0.5 per cent. The SOC pool of most soils has been depleted by soil degradation and widespread use of subsistence and exploitative farming systems.