Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel. (Poaceae) is the dominant plant species in the Songnen grassland of China. Nitrogen addition is an important measure to prevent degradation of grassland due to soil salinization. To clarify the effects of long-term nitrogen addition on the quality of L. chinensis and soil properties, a field experiment was continuous conducted for 10 years in moderately saline-sodic grassland from 2009 to 2018, and the annual nitrogen addition rate was 0，30，60，90，120，150，180 and 210 kg N ha-1, respectively. The results showed that with nitrogen addition rates increasing, the contents of protein and fat in shoot increased 20.5% to 80.9% and 6.9% to 69.3% compared with those of the control without nitrogen addition, respectively. When nitrogen addition rates reached 90 kg ha-1 to 210 kg ha-1, The ratio of K+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+ in L. chinensis shoot increased 1.26 to 3.37 times and 1.56 to 2.98 times compared with those of the control, respectively. Nitrogen addition decreased significantly soil pH, electrical conductivity and exchange sodium percentage, and increased significantly the contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, the activities of sucrase and urease and ecosystem multifunctionality(P＜0.05). The redundancy analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the improvement of L. chinensis quality and soil desalination and soil fertility increasing. Therefore, the suitable nitrogen addition rate of 90-120 kg N ha-1 was an effective and necessary measure to maintain the healthy growth of L. chinensis and inhibit land degradation in moderately saline-sodic grassland of Northern China.

The “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) was anticipated in 2013 to promote socio-economic development and cooperation across countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and worldwide. Rapid land-use changes and infrastructure developments driven by the BRI program are expected in the coming decades. These anthropogenic effects are likely to exaggerate the process of de-vegetation, deforestation, accelerating desertification, which is one of the major threats to the BRI region. This manuscript studied the desertification facts (i.e. spatiotemporal pattern, impacts and impacting factors) and investigated key aspects for desertification control (i.e. mitigation and evaluation methods) in the BRI countries via an extensive review of literature. We found that desertification has been prevalent in the BRI countries, predominantly in C Asia, but quantitative assessment of desertification is yet fully understood. This review illustrated that desertification was driven by climatic dryness and mis-land-use/management activities, but their relative importance has yet been (quantitatively) assessed along the BRI countries. Given the negative impacts of desertification, these BRI countries have ratified the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to reduce negative impacts. The implementation of desertification mitigation programmes are currently still lacking. We argued that desertification is usually evaluated via four type of approaches, including quantitative approaches, indirect detection, direct observation and biophysical measurement (e.g. vegetation growth). Future research should be applied by considering the research scope and data availability. Overall, we conclude that BRI countries should carry out transboundary control on desertification. Otherwise, this issue is likely to extend further imminent developments under the foremost BRI program.

Seasonal freeze-thawing affects soil water migration and distribution, especially in semi-arid degraded agricultural areas, with important impacts on crop production, and wind erosion. We assessed the distribution and migration of soil water in degraded agricultural areas during freeze-thawing and the effect on plant growth and wind erosion. Soil water content (SWC) and soil temperature (ST) dynamic characteristics at a depth of 0-2 m in the semi-arid agro-pastoral northern China are discussed, using data from November 2018 to May 2019. Changes in water potential energy and pore pressure gradient caused soil water migration to the upper layer, which led to a slight decrease in SWC at each layer before ST dropped to the freezing point. The vertical migration distance of soil water exceeded 70 cm, and the SWC above a depth of 100 cm increased significantly during thawing; the water was mainly obtained from the soil layer below a depth of 120 cm. The initial SWC is the main factor affecting the freeze-thawing process. Our results can partly explain the occurrence of wind erosion in spring and provide a scientific basis for predicting soil water status and developing irrigation and erosion control strategies.

Understanding community assembly mechanism is essential for us to predict community dynamics and restoration process in the context of intensive human activities. In this study, we aimed to explore how the removal of shrub canopy influenced the community assembly in shrub-encroached grassland by both trait-based and phylogenetic approaches. We carried out an experiment of shrub canopy removal with three frequencies (no removal, removal once and twice a year) in a shrub-encroached grassland in China. We investigated community species composition under each treatment and collected plant functional traits for each species. We calculated the standard effect size (SES) of phylogenetic and trait-based functional diversity based on null model analysis to determine the dominant community assembly process. By phylogenetic analysis, the random process drove the community assembly, being independent of the removal frequencies and locations; while by trait-based approach, random process dominated the assembly in communities under ‘no removal’ treatment beneath shrub and under ‘removal twice a year’ treatment in shrub-interspace when using some certain single traits, and the limiting similarity process dominated the assembly in the rest communities. Removal of shrub canopy twice a year released more niches which promoted the performance of herbaceous species beneath shrub and promoted the settlement of annuals in shrub-interspace. Compared with phylogenetic analysis, the results of trait-based approach were more sensitive to the human activities. All these findings indicated that removal of shrub canopy twice a year would be an effective way for the restoration of shrub-encroached grassland.

This work aimed to test innovations for the diagnosis of agricultural properties at Rio do Peixe Watershed, to locate erosions and to correct them by changing soil management, aiming at recovering degraded areas, rehabilitating them and promoting conservation agriculture, evaluating the results by remote sensing and water quality indicators. In 2019, it turned twelve years of inspection/monitoring at Rio do Peixe Watershed. From 2007 to 2017, using the Conventional CDA methodology, 14,076 ha were inspected at Vera Cruz sector, 94 properties were notified and in Ocauçu, 82 properties, located in 9,027 ha. As a work strategy, in Marília, the Innovative CDA Methodology was used, which allowed the inspection and rehabilitation of 52 properties in 27,775 ha, from 2017 to 2018. After the notifications, the owners presented the conservationist technical projects for each property, which were implemented, using conservation practices such as improving vegetation cover and crop rotation to control laminar erosion and agricultural terracing, divergent channels and containment basin to control gullies erosions. This work promoted a transformation from degrading agriculture to conservation agriculture, having degraded pastures transformed into an agricultural area, implementing the No-tillage system. Pastures were recovered by implementing the Integrated Crop-Livestock System; it was possible to increase the occupancy rate by 31% comparing to the original situation. This is a great work that benefits Watershed farmers, increasing productivity and consequently the profit, as well as for the local people improving the quality of water that supplies the region of Marília.

Cotton is one of the most important raw materials for textile and clothing production. Compared with some synthetic polymer fibers, the main drawback of cotton fibers is its poor mechanical properties and its high flammability, and therefore it cannot be used for special textiles. Cotton fabrics treated with modern flame-retardant and reinforcement finishes often cannot meet rigid military specifications. polypyrrole-Magnesium oxide (ppy-MgO) and polypyrrole-Magnesium oxide-Carbon nanotube (ppy-MgO-CNT) composites were prepared with various weight ratios by in-situ chemical polymerization method. 1, 2, 3, 4-butane tetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) was used as cross-linking agent in presence of sodium hypophosphite (SHP). The composite sol was coated on cotton fabric using pad-dry-cure technique. The coated cotton fabrics were characterized by SEM, EDAX, XRD, UV-DRS and FT-IR analysis and tested for flame retardant and UPF application. It was found that ppy-MgO-CNT composite was found to be efficient.

Land degradation is a critical issue globally putting our future generations at risk. The decrease in farm productivity over the years is evidence of land degradation severity in Nepal. Among the many strategies in place, agroforestry, which is an integrated tree-based farming, is widely recommended to address this productivity issue. This paper thoroughly examines what influences the choice of agroforestry adoption by farmers and what discourages the adoption. For this, a total of 288 households were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. Two agroforestry practices were compared with conventional agriculture with the help of the Multinomial Logistic Regression (MNL) model. The likelihood of adoption was found to be influenced by gender; the male-headed households were more likely to adopt the tree-based farming practice. Having a source of off-farm income was positively associated with the adoption decision of farmers. Area of farmland was found being the major constraint to agroforestry adoption for smallholder farmers. Some other variables that affected positively included livestock herd size, provision of extension service, home-to- forest distance, farmers’ group membership and awareness of farmers about environmental benefits of agroforestry. Irrigation was another adoption constraint that the study area farmers were faced with. The households with means of transport and with larger family (household) size were found to be reluctant towards agroforestry adoption. A collective farming practice could be a strategy to engage the smallholder farmers in agroforestry.

The objectives of this study are to test innovations for the farms diagnosis, to locate erosion and to correct them with changes in the way of soil management, to aiming transforming Rio do Peixe Watershed properties that were degraded, rehabilitating them, promoting conservationist agriculture whit evaluating the results through remote sensing and water quality indicators. Secretariat of Agriculture of São Paulo State (SA), responsible for applying the Soil Conservation Law, has been carrying out this study for 20 years, working up 772,000 ha, with 19,846 agricultural properties. In 2019, it turned twelve years of inspection/monitoring at the Rio do Peixe Watershed. From 2007 to 2017 14,076 ha were inspected in Vera Cruz, with notification of 94 properties that went from degraded into agricultural companies. In Ocauçu, 82 properties were notified, on 8,125 ha. Besides other tested methodologies, model airplanes and helicopters, in Marília the Innovative CAD Methodology was used, which allowed 52 properties to be inspected on 27,000 ha from 2017 to 2019. There were transformations of degrading agriculture into conservation agriculture on the study carried out at Rio do Peixe Watershed. Property with degraded pasture turned into an agricultural area, with the no-tillage system. Pastures were recovered with the Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems, where the occupancy rate was increased by 31% comparing to the original situation. It is a great work that benefits the Watershed farmers and the population in the region, including improving the water quality that supplies Marília. It is the SA “Caring for the Well-Being of Society”.

Desertification models do not include analyses of rainfall, temporality, field visits and projection scenarios. The objective is to evaluate desertification under levels of vegetation, soil and albedo, construct forecast models and analyze its variability with time and rainfall. Landsat TM was used for NDVI, TGSI and albedo between 2000 and 2008 in dry and rainy periods in Irauçuba Centro Norte (ICN) and in the National Forest of Sobral (FLONA). Desertification levels and indices of 30 pixels were quantified and their means were inputs in the ARIMA model. The results showed vegetation and albedo at different levels of desertification. The medium desertification class of NDVI increased by 18% at ICN and the low desertification class of albedo increased by 3%. TGSI showed the class severe at ICN and FLONA. The AR(3) model indicated reduction in NDVI, while MA(1) for TGSI and albedo showed severe and low level. ARMA(2,1) showed optimistic scenario of recovery for pixels with desertified NDVI and Albedo of FLONA. The AR(3) model for TGSI of FLONA showed a reduction of 0.0006504 in 70 years. Anthropic practices and climate were responsible for the desertification of ICN, while FLONA was shown to be non-desertified, but NDVI and TGSI were affected by the anthropic practices. Therefore, desertification showed different levels at ICN, rainfall and time affected vegetation and albedo at ICN and FLONA. ARMA(2,1) models showed that the prospects of desertification reversal are greater for FLONA.