China Northeast Transect (NECT) and Global Change: Drying, Human Activities, and Ecosystems

Author: Zhou Guangsheng (Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-04-01
Features: Desertification has become one of the major environmental challenges facing humanity today. The arid regions in China's western areas account for 40% of the country's land area. In China, droughts cause the most significant losses among various meteorological disasters, accounting for over 50% of food losses. More severely, global environmental changes marked by climate warming will exacerbate water scarcity and related desertification, which will inevitably have a serious impact on China's socio-economy and living environment. Based on field measurements and simulation studies of typical terrestrial ecosystems along the moisture-driven Northeast China Transect in recent years, this book attempts to explore the interactions among desertification, human activities, and terrestrial ecosystems, aiming to preliminarily elucidate the responses of plants to desertification and human activities at physiological, ecological, individual, community, ecosystem, landscape, and regional scales. It also provides insights into methods and technologies for further enhancing ecosystem water use efficiency and fully utilizing the water regulation functions of ecosystems.