Addressing desertification to achieve sustainable herding and grasslands
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5564/mjgg.v62i46.4131Keywords:
Land degradation, Grasslands, Herding, Bioaerosol, MongoliaAbstract
The present review paper outlines a series of efforts to identify and solve desertification and wind erosion issues with the aim of creating sustainable drylands. These efforts incorporate the following three key projects under the Japan-Mongolia partnership that were funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS): “Integrating Dryland Disaster Science,” “Mongolian Herding Vision 2050 for Adaptation to Climate and Social Changes,” and “Regional Assessment of Desertification Using Bioaerosols: A Novel Method.” Regional focus is placed on the Eurasian grasslands, specifically Mongolia. This paper highlights the importance of (1) understanding the global history of desertification as a consequence of agriculture and climate change on a ten-thousand-year time scale, (2) assessing the irreversible nature of desertification using satellite remote sensing on a continental scale, and (3) monitoring the real-time change in wind erosion and soil fertility using bioaerosols on a regional scale. The combination of research from the above-mentioned spatial and temporal scales will help elucidate the dynamics of desertification, strengthening desertification risk governance with the goal of sustainable land management, and enhancing early warnings and early actions to avoid exceeding an irreversible threshold.
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