Notes |
Research of desert science in China began in the 1930s, when Chen Zongqi et al. first made a
preliminary investigation in several deserts. Shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of
China a few studies were carried out to meet the demand for the establishment of windbreak and
sandbreak forests, for example, the studies of moving sand dunes in Yulin, Jingbian and Dingbian
regions of Shaanxi Province. However, the comprehensive study of desert science in China was
initiated in 1959, in that year the Desert Control Team under the Chinese Academy of Sciences was
founded and the large-scale comprehensive investigations in deserts and gobi were conducted. In the
same year, several desert experiment and research stations were established in six provinces and
autonomous regions in northwestern China to study measures for preventing shifting sand
encroachment on croplands and railways. Through over 40 years of painstaking efforts outstanding
achievements have been obtained in the studies of deserts, desertification and its control. However,
although land desertification in local places has been brought under control, on the whole, the situation
has deteriorated and is far from being reversed. Hence, the review on the research progress of desert
science will no doubt contribute to the control of deserts and desertification and the further
development of desert science in China. |
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