This book presents state-of-the-art scientific evidence and technological innovations to restore lands on the Loess Plateau of China, known worldwide for its serious land degradation and desertification problems. Supported by a rapidly developing Chinese economy and the dissemination of effective technology, the Grain-for-Green Project and Western Development Action launched by the Chinese government have resulted in successful ecological restoration and protection over the past 30 years. These programs have contributed not only to conservation of soil and water, but also to economic development. At the same time, however, these developmental interventions have brought new challenges that have not yet been fully addressed. The book describes (1) case studies of success and failure in practice, including rare success stories of combating desertification; (2) technical issues such as erosion control and breeding of stress-tolerant plant species, and socioeconomic measures taken by the Chinese government and lending policies with support from the World Bank; and (3) comprehensive measures against desertification, such as water and wind erosion, salinization, and deforestation. This volume is recommended for researchers and students above the undergraduate level in diverse fields including soil science, rural engineering, social technology and civil engineering, biology, ecology, climatology, physical and human geography, and developmental economics, among others. It also serves as a valuable resource for engineers, government officials, and NPOs and NGOs involved in afforestation, ecological restoration, combating desertification, disaster prevention, and sustainable rural development.

Soil Degradation, Restoration and Management in a Global Change Context, volume four in the Advances in Chemical Pollution, Environmental Management and Protection series, explores a wide breadth of emerging and state-of-the-art technologies and provides the best practices to manage soils affected by degradation. Soils are the base of life, thus a sustainable soil management is crucial in a context of global environmental change. Chapters in this new release include Soil degradation, processes, future treats and possible solutions, Agriculture and grazing environments, Abandoned and afforested lands, Environments affected by fire, Mining environments, Urban areas, and Lands affected by war. Covers a wide breadth of emerging and state-of-the-art technologies Includes contributions from an international board of authors Provides a comprehensive set of reviews Synthesizes all aspects involved in soil degradation

Management of Problem Soils in Arid Ecosystems examines the challenges of managing soils in arid and semiarid regions. These soils contain low organic matter, are not leached, and accumulate lime, gypsum, and/or soluble salts, requiring special management and practices. This book discusses how to identify problems, reclaim the soils, and then use them efficiently and economically. Water management and desertification in these areas are also discussed. It contains extensive references as well as 40 tables and illustrations.

The Chinese government is increasingly focusing on ecological construction and has subscribed to a national “Ecological Civilization Construction”. Ecological research and protection practice develop so fast and achieve a lot at the national agenda.This book is a synthesis of five most exciting and dominant themes in contemporary ecological research in China: biodiversity, ecosystem management, degraded ecosystem restoration, global change and sustainable development.This book spans all the Earth's major ecosystems, such as forests, oceans, grasslands, wetlands, lakes, rivers, farmland and cities.This book provides a platform for scientific research across a variety of disciplines. It will be invaluable to experts, policymakers and local officers and will also be a highly useful resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students.This book will allow researchers, students and policymakers outside China to learn about the significant achievements and applications of ecological research within China.

China’s change to a new model of growth, now called the ‘new normal’, was always going to be hard. Events over the past year show how hard it is. The attempts to moderate the extremes of high investment and low consumption, the correction of overcapacity in the heavy industries that were the mainstays of the old model of growth, the hauling in of the immense debt hangover from the fiscal and monetary expansion that pulled China out of the Great Crash of 2008 would all have been hard at any time. They are harder when changes in economic policy and structure coincide with stagnation in global trade and rising protectionist sentiment in developed countries, extraordinarily rapid demographic change and recognition of the urgency of easing the environmental damage from the old model. China’s economy has slowed and there are worries that the authorities will not be able to contain the slowdown within preferred limits. This year’s Update explores the challenge of the slowdown in growth and the change in economic structure. Leading experts on China’s economy and environment review change within China’s new model of growth, and its interaction with ageing, environmental pressure, new patterns of urbanisation, and debt problems at different levels of government. It illuminates some new developments in China’s economy, including the transformational potential of internet banking, and the dynamics of financial market instability. China’s economic development since 1978 is full of exciting change, and this year’s China Update is again the way to know it as it is happening.

Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development in Rural China is translated from the original Chinese to provide a look into how scholars in China have been assessing perceptions of poverty and reforms to improve conditions. This volume, and the others in the SSRC series, provides Western scholars with an accessible English language look at the state of current scholarship in China and, as such, does not simply provide information for the direct study of socio-political issues, but also for meta-level analysis of how the domestic scholarship in China is developing and assessing the interplay of the country's political and economic reforms with the society and daily life of its people.

Known as the “roof of the world,” the Tibetan Plateau is the highest and largest plateau on Earth. Tibetan Plateau hosts several mountain ecosystems characterized by high elevations, cold conditions, and a wide range in water availability. Its unique physical and geographical environment includes ecosystems typical for alpine regions, classified as alpine grasslands, which account for 50-70% of the total land area of the Tibetan plateau. Most of these grasslands contain fragile tundra-like environments which are seriously affected by anthropogenic modifications and whose restoration presents a challenge. These natural grassland types include alpine deserts, alpine steppes, alpine meadows, and alpine swamp meadows along precipitation gradients, as well as the transition types between them. Alpine grasslands remain subject to severe degradation by multiple factors, mainly overgrazing and climate warming. As a result, grasslands exhibit a decreased capacity to support biodiversity and complexity, and more generally, ecosystem functions. Therefore, these changes also affect social and recreational activities and restrict access to clean water and food by local communities.