The Mediterranean region has been regarded as a critical hotspot for desertification due to the impact of soil degradation, the land‐use changes and the climate variations. Few large‐scale studies have been devoted to analyse trends in land sensitivity to desertification in the northern Mediterranean basin. The present paper contributes to this deserving issue by quantifying the level of land sensitivity to desertification in Italy at seven points between 1960 and 2010 at a fine spatial scale.

Sediments deposited by (paleo) flash floods can hold valuable information on processes of environmental change, land degradation or desertification. In order to assess the suitability of flash flood deposits as proxies for land degradation, we monitored a representative gully segment in North Ethiopia (Ashenge catchment), investigated a sequence of alluvial debris fans downstream of this segment and dated a neighbouring subaquatic debris fan using short‐lived ²¹⁰Pb isotope counting.

Land degradation and desertification are widespread in drylands, highlighting the need to restore them to reverse their negative effects. The restoration of degraded drylands is commonly initiated by restoring the vegetation using plantations of tree/shrub seedlings.

Desertification is the most disturbing and detrimental cause of rural vulnerability in Cape Verde, affecting families' material and environmental resources. Combating desertification in Cape Verde is complex because it involves addressing a mixture of endogenous (manual agriculture, fuel wood and fodder extraction, land tenure and steep slopes) and exogenous drivers (high rainfall variability, climate change, prolonged drought or heavy rainfall).

Site degradation occurs mainly through deterioration of the soil's capacity to capture and store water, as well as the loss of organic matter or the accumulation of salts or other toxic substances in the soil. This degradation process, leading to the reduction of the biotic potential of the site, is known as desertification. In this study, changes in bulk density, organic matter, and electrical conductivity are used as indicators of desertification in northeast Mexico.

Over the past two decades, China has undertaken unprecedented forest programs in an effort to restore damaged ecosystems and increasing farmers’ income. Using survey results of 2070 rural households in 15 counties of six provinces, we estimate the effects of China's Priority Forest Programs (PFPs) on rural households’ income mobility. The effects of the area enrolled in the PFPs on rural households are mixed.

Steppe desertification due to vehicle travel is a severe environmental issue in Mongolia. We studied natural vegetation recovery on abandoned vehicle tracks in the central Mongolia steppe through vegetation surveys and stable isotopic techniques. The following issues were addressed: (i) invasion of pioneering plant species, (ii) alteration of soil surface features, and (iii) contribution of revegetated plants to soil organic matter (SOM).

Desertification is one of the major obstacles to the development and utilization of oases in arid and semi-arid regions of China. Revegetation of oases is an effective means of protecting oases from sand invasion (the main cause of desertification) and enhancing the ecological stability of oasis. In order to assess the effects of revegetated plant communities, 21-year-old Haloxylon ammodendron shrubland (Shrubland), 28-year-old Populus simonii Carr. land (Poplar land) and 33-year-old Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica Litv land (Pine land) were selected as study objects.

Atriplex nummularia has been extensively planted in Northern Africa to combat desertification. However, few studies evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions. This study aimed at assessing the dynamic performance of a number of Atriplex plantations located in the Marrakech province in terms of multitemporal dry biomass production. Three SPOT 5 images (2004, 2008 and 2012) and field biomass measurements were integrated to quantify the dry biomass production dynamics of plantations established from 1996 to 2007. Different plant ages covered the whole plant life cycle curve.

To study the magnitude of land degradation, desertification or resilience in Montenegro throughout the 20th and early‐21st centuries, we rephotographed the landscapes recorded on 48 historical photographs dating back to between 1890 and 1985, and analysed in a semi‐quantitative way the land use and cover changes that had occurred using an expert rating system (six correspondents). Time‐series of hydrology and population density were analysed for the period since 1948 and were compared with the changes observed using repeat photography.

Study of land use/cover change and its driving forces is one of the most significant fields in global environmental change research. Karst land is a type of important and unique terrain on the Earth's surface because of its extensive distribution, impressive landforms, and high ecological fragility. Recently, more and more researchers have realized that irrational land use practices are leading to a series of alarming environmental issues including rocky desertification in karst areas.