It is challenging for a single development subject to complete complex scientific research tasks due to the peculiarities of saline-alkali land. Collaborative innovation and cooperation between development subjects are increasingly vital. This paper first constructs an undirected weighted collaborative innovation network from the upstream, midstream, and downstream levels of technological innovation for saline-alkali land development, analyzing the network’s structural characteristics and spatial distribution features. Then uses ERGM to explore the internal and external driving mechanism for network formation from network self-organization, subject characteristics, and exogenous environmental factors. The results demonstrate that the distribution of collaborative innovation networks for saline-alkali land development is relatively uniform. However, there are also clusters, and the clusters are mostly centered on universities and scientific research institutions. Both the development subjects and clusters present regional features. Centrality and transitivity are crucial in the internal driving mechanism. In the external driving mechanism, the Matthew effect is modest, and the Homozygous effect is considerable; Organizational and technical proximity play a positive role; Geographical and institutional proximity play a blocking role. This study also provides practical enlightenment for encouraging horizontal and vertical collaborative innovation of sustainable development of saline-alkali land.

Water resources management is fundamental for rural communities in drylands. Water Harvesting Technologies (WHT) intercept and store the excess rainfall (surface runoff) in soils for increased plant available water and agricultural productivity. The so-called ‘Marab’ WHT was initially developed by Middle Eastern agro-pastoralists that reside or commute in semi-arid and arid rangelands. The Marab WHT is a macro-catchment measure consisting of earth dams and stone spillways along the contours of a lowland depression or floodplain. Dependent on the local context (i.e. climate, soil, management, etc.) the established Marabs show highly-variable effectiveness. This study aims at filling the knowledge gap on the WHT’s performance in changing environments by simulating its hydro-agrological effects for different soils and climatic conditions using the AquaCrop model. A case study performed for a Jordanian Marab over three seasons (2019-2022) confirms its huge improvement potential for barley production. Through Marab-farming, barley production reached 8.37 t ha -1 on average, versus highly variable 0.34 t ha -1 without the WHT. The simulation-based assessment of soil textures identified that silty soils have the largest potential for producing up to 9.25 t ha -1 barley, compared to 6.60 t ha -1 produced in clay soils. Assessing different climate scenarios, a slight increase in daily average temperatures (+ 0.5°C) led to a considerable production decline of 4-8%, while a significant reduction of precipitation (-20%) decreased biomass production by a similar rate (4-10%). This underlines the robustness of the ‘Marab’ WHT to rainfall amount variation. However, simulations also highlight the sensitivity of timing and frequency of flood events: removing the last and the first flood event reduced biomass production by approximately 50% and 80% respectively, while the barley fails to develop if both events were suppressed.

Soil salinization is a serious problem leading to ecological degradation. Melia azedarach is highly salt-tolerant, and its application to saline-alkali land is a promising strategy for restoring degraded lands. In this study, we analyzed the soil properties and metabolome of M. azedarach roots grown in low- (< 3 g/kg; L), medium- (5~8 g/kg; M), and high- (> 10 g/kg; H) salinity soils to explore the amelioration effect and adaptation mechanism of M. azedarach to soils with differential salinity. Cultivation of M. azedarach was associated with a decrease in the concentration of Na + and increases in organic matter content and alkaline phosphatase and urease activities in the rhizosphere soil. The metabolome analysis revealed that a total of 382 (ESI+) and 277 (ESI-) differential metabolites (DEMs) were detected. The number of DEMs in roots rose with increased soil salinity, such as sugars and flavonoids in H vs. L, and amino acids in M vs. L. The most up-regulated DEMs were 13-S-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid, 2’-Deoxyuridine and 20-hydroxyleukotriene B4. Combined analysis of soil properties and M. azedarach DEMs indicated that alkaline phosphatase activity was positively correlated with traumatic acid concentration. Taken together, these results indicate that M. azedarach has the potential to reduce soil salinity and enhance soil enzyme activity, and it can adapt to salt stress by regulating metabolites like sugars, amino acids, and flavonoids . This study provided a basis for understanding the mechanism underlying the adaptation of M. azedarach to saline-alkali soil and its amelioration.

Northeast China is experiencing severe soil erosion, resulting in land degradation and nutrient loss. Among them, hydraulic erosion poses the greatest threat to food security. Combining various multi-source data, we applied the modified soil erosion equation (RUSLE) to evaluate hydraulic erosion modulus in Northeast China’s black soil region(1985–2021). We used the threshold segmentation and residual analysis method to quantify the relative roles of climate change and human activities on hydraulic erosion. The outcomes were presented below: (1) The yearly mean hydraulic erosion modulus was 804.78 t·km -2·a -1 and decreases significantly with a slope of -11.114 t·km -2·a -1. The area with significant growth in erosion modulus covered 23.77% of the overall area and was mainly spread in grassland and farmland. The areas with a significant decrease in erosion modulus covered 19.82% and were mainly spread in natural forests. (2) In areas with significant increases in erosion, 20.39% of the total area was attributed to anthropogenic factors and 3.38% of the total area was attributed to natural factors. In areas where soil erosion was significantly reduced, 17.67% and 2.15% were attributed to ecological restoration and natural factors, respectively. (3) Deforestation, grassland degradation, and unreasonable farming still exist. The area of sloping cropland (≥6°) increased by 133.9 km 2 per year, and sloping land erosion increased by 0.187 · 10 10 t per year. The focus of soil erosion prevention and control in northeast China is ecological restoration of grasslands, sloping land management, and conservation tillage.

The limited land is under unprecedented pressure from production, living and ecology. In order to evaluate the land pressure in the Yangtze River Delta region in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 from the perspective of production, living, and ecology. This study builds a land pressure evaluation index system based on a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model using multi-source and multi-scale data. In order to investigate trade-offs and synergies among production, living, and ecology pressures, we use the mechanical equilibrium model in physics. We then analyze land pressure model reliability and uncertainty using Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that (1) Our model can effectively reveal the level of land pressure and reflect the land pressure geographical pattern of “high in the east and low in the west, high in the south and low in the north” that characterizes the Yangtze River Delta region. (2) While living and ecology pressures are tending to rise, production pressures are tending to decrease. (3) Except for Shanghai, the trade-off areas are primarily concentrated in economically successful regions with high production and living pressure and low ecology pressure. The coordinated areas are primarily found in northern Jiangsu Province and northern Anhui Province.

Ephemeral gully erosion is a primary mode of soil erosion that is highly visible, affecting soil productivity and restricting land use. Watershed is the basic unit of soil erosion control; existing research has focused on several typical ephemeral gullies or slopes, which do not fully display changes in ephemeral gullies at a watershed scale. This study analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution and development rate of ephemeral gully erosion at the watershed scale on the Loess Plateau from 2009 to 2021 using remote sensing images (0.5 m resolution), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and field investigations. The results revealed that: (1) most ephemeral gullies occurred in southwestern parts of the watershed, with many hills and large slope gradients; (2) average growth rates of each ephemeral gully frequency, length, density, dissection degree, and width were 2.87 km 2 y –1, 1.66 m y –1, 0.12 km km –2 y –1, 0.0125% y –1, and 0.04 m y –1 , respectively; (3) ephemeral gully erosion volume ( V) and length ( L) had a good power function relationship: V = 0 . 0842 L 1 . 1932   ( R 2 = 0 . 80 ) . The root mean square error (RMSE) and coefficient of determination (R 2) between the measured and predicted ephemeral gully volumes suggest that the V–L relationship has a good predictive ability for ephemeral gully volume. Thus, the V–L model was used to evaluate the development rate of ephemeral gully erosion volume in small watersheds from 2009 to 2021, revealing an average value of 743.20 m 3 y –1. This study proposed a feasible model for assessing ephemeral gully volume and volume changes at a watershed scale using high-resolution remote sensing images, providing a reference for understanding the development of ephemeral gully erosion in small watersheds over time.

A high stocking rate can intensify wind erosion in grasslands, and strong wind can carry away soil surface particles and their nutrients, which leads to soil barrenness. In this research, the dust flux, total carbon (TC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents and fluxes of aeolian sediment were computed in the non-growing season (mid-October to mid-April of the following year) and growing season (mid-April to mid-October) from 2018 to 2020 at a long-term grazing gradient experiment platform and wind-erosion monitoring experiment in a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. The results were as follows, 1) with the increasing of stocking rate, the fluxes of aeolian sediment at 10 cm (H10), 30 cm (H30), and 100 cm (H100) were greatly increased ( P<0.05). Aeolian sediment fluxes followed the order control (CK) < light stocking rate (LG) < moderate stocking rate (MG) < heavy stocking rate (HG). 2) TC and TN contents of aeolian sediment reflected stocking rates and followed the order CK>LG>MG>HG, and also reflected aeolian sediment collection height, as H10P>0.05). TC and TN contents in HG at different heights reduced by 31.1% and 25.9% on average in comparison to the CK in the non-growing season, and by 30.1% and 25.0% in the growing season. TC loss was higher than TN loss. Overall, as stocking rate increased, wind erosion increased, leading to the loss of soil nutrients and significant loss of the carbon pool in this desert steppe.

Abstract Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is an important ecological security barrier in China, and alpine ecosystem presents a trend of overall improvement under the influence of climate change and human activities, yet there are localized deteriorations. In order to improve the ecological function of the Tibetan Plateau, large-scale ecological restoration projects (ERPs) have been carried out in Tibetan Plateau over the past 30 years. From following the footstep of national ecological constructions to the implementation of projects specific to the plateau characteristics, the ERP of the plateau can be divided into three stages. Major ERPs focusing on four types of projects, i.e. forest protection and construction, grassland protection and construction, water and soil erosion control and desertification land management, with a total area of 850,000km 2 across the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The positive effect at sampling quadrat scale has been widely verified, and the responses of productivity and species diversity were inconsistent. The positive effect at the regional scale gradually emerges, yet the spatial difference is significant, and the quantification of driving forces is an important prerequisite. The positive and negative effects of existing ERP on biodiversity conservation are revealed, for instance, there is a significant increase of rare wild animals in natural reserves and in artificially planted areas it failed to effectively curb the loss of animal and plant diversity. The long-term effects of various ERPs on the biodiversity should be taken into account so as to optimize the ecological measures and build a sustainable management model after project restoration. By summarizing the achievements and problems of ERP across the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in the past 30 years, we proposed to set stepwise ecological restoration and management scheme by different restoration goals and reference modes in three stages, i.e. “Environmental treatment—Ecological restoration projects—Adaptive management”.

Permafrost regions are under particular pressure from climate change resulting in widespread landscape changes, which impact also freshwater chemistry. We investigated a snapshot of hydrochemistry in various freshwater environments in the lower Kolyma river basin (North-East Siberia, continuous permafrost zone) to explore the mobility of metals, metalloids and non-metals resulting from permafrost thaw. Particular attention was focused on heavy metals as contaminants potentially released from the secondary source in the permafrozen Yedoma complex. Permafrost creeks represented the Mg-Ca-Na-HCO 3-Cl-SO 4 ionic water type (with mineralisation in the range 600-800 mg/L), while permafrost ice and thermokarst lake waters were the HCO 3-Ca-Mg type. Multiple heavy metals (As, Cu, Co, Mn and Ni) showed much higher dissolved phase concentrations in permafrost creeks and ice than in Kolyma and its tributaries, and only in the permafrost samples and one Kolyma tributary have we detected dissolved Ti or Hg. In thermokarst lakes, several metal and metalloid dissolved concentrations increased with water depth (Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn - in both lakes; Al, Cu, K, Sb, Sr and Pb in either lake), reaching 1370 µg/L Cu, 4610 µg/L Mn, and 687 µg/L Zn in the bottom water layers. Permafrost-related waters were also enriched in dissolved phosphorus (up to 512 µg/L in Yedoma-fed creeks). The impact of permafrost thaw on river and lake water chemistry is a complex problem which needs to be considered both in the context of legacy permafrost shrinkage and the interference of the deepening active layer with newly deposited anthropogenic contaminants.

：Vegetation blanket restoration techniques of different materials in mine drainage field provide different environments for plant growth, but effects of vegetation blanket cover on soil microbial community structure and their diversity characteristics were not well known， especially in arid areas. In this study, high-throughput sequencing was used on the study site, located at Dafeng Mine, the Helan Mountains, Ningxia, China. Soil microbial communities were analyzed under four different treatments: Straw, Straw-Coir, Coir vegetation blanket types, and a bare soil control. The results showed that the contents of soil total nitrogen, available potassium, urease, and catalase were significantly increased in different types of vegetation blankets. High-throughput sequencing showed that the straw vegetation blanket increased bacterial diversity while the coir vegetation blanket increased fungal diversity. The dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Chloroflexi, whose main influencing factors were total nitrogen, catalase, urease, and protease. The dominant fungal phylum was Ascomycota, whose main influencing factors were alkaline phosphatase, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and electrical conductance. These results indicate that vegetation blanket cover can improve the physicochemical properties of soil, increase the diversity and richness of soil microorganisms, and improve the structural composition of the community, thus improving the soil environment in the mining areas in arid regions, while laying a good foundation for further restoration measures.

On 19 September 2021, a new monogenetic volcano (Tajogaite) erupted on the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). After 86 days of strombolian eruption, with emissions of volcanic material, a pyroclastic cone 200 m high and 800 m in diameter was formed. Successive lava flows descended the western slopes and reached the sea on 29 September. On descending the coastal cliffs and entering the sea, the lava flows formed two lava deltas of 75 and 5 ha, on the submarine island shelf, backed by fossilized coastal cliffs. This work presents an approach, using comparative and numerical methods, to estimate the geoheritage value and support the conservation of a new volcanic landscape in an island territory with high anthropic pressure on land uses. In a first phase, a cartographic inventory was made of all the volcanic formations similar to the new volcano in the geological domain of the Canary Islands. In a second phase, their representativeness (A), rarity (R), diversity (D), integrity (I) and observability (O) was quantitatively measured by means of dimensional estimators. The results obtained show that the new volcano presents a geological value of the first order in the context of the Canary Islands, which is one of the most prominent hot-spot archipelago worldwide. Its value is based above all on its high conservation state with respect to the similar volcanoes in the Canary Islands. The high mismatch found between the intrinsic geological value and the environmental protection of this area, justifies the development and application of urgent basic guidelines for its protection, as well as the promotion of geotourism as opposed to alternative land uses.

Global food demand is expected to increase in the next decades pushing agricultural expansion and deforestation. However, food production in agricultural lands is just one dimension of food security, to which forest goods and services also contribute. In this paper, we aimed to explore the relationship between forest cover and food security. We hypothesised that food security is improved by both human-made and green infrastructure combined. To test this relationship, we explore the relationships between forest cover and a multidimensional index of food security that included both socioeconomic and natural variables taken from Brazilian official databases for 1,141 municipalities of the Brazilian Caatinga (a seasonally tropical dry forest). The index was formed by 12 principal components axes (12 PCs) and we found that financial poverty (PC 1) and economic inequality (PC 2) were the main determinants of food insecurity in Caatinga. We found that lowest food security values were found in two contrasting contexts: one is represented by poor and unequal municipalities with high forest cover while the other refers to poor and less unequal municipalities but with little forest cover. Municipalities with intermediate levels of forest cover had slightly higher food security, a consistent pattern across time (2006 and 2017). Win-win scenarios where both forest cover and food security increased with time were almost as common as lose-lose situations (25% and 22% respectively). This suggests a sort of balance between forests and human-made land uses and reinforces that natural capital contributes to food security. Zero-hunger is a main issue for sustainable development goals and our results adds to the notion that both sustainable use of forests and socioeconomic improvements must coexist rather than being treated as antagonistic policies.

Soil phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient that controls wetland productivity and ecological functions. However, the effects of soil P forms on P availability during wetland degradation are relatively unknown. Soil samples from differently degraded marshes, including relatively pristine marsh (RPM), lightly degraded marsh (LDM), moderately degraded marsh (MDM), and heavily degraded marsh (HDM), were collected to investigate the changes in soil P forms and its regulation on P availability in the Zoige Plateau, China. We observed that compared with RPM, the main changes in total P concentration were a significant increase of 31.6%–44.2% in the 0–30 cm soil layers of LDM and MDM, and the available P concentration increased in LDM and MDM but decreased in HDM with a lower P activation coefficient. Marsh degradation increased the concentration and proportion of dicalcium phosphates, P occluded in iron hydroxides, and organic P but decreased those of iron oxide surfaces adsorbed P and apatite P. Soil available P was mainly related to organic P and P non-occluded in iron oxide minerals that might also be non-negligible direct source of available P. The transformation from apatite P to organic P was an important regulation mechanism of P availability in soils during marsh degradation. This study revealed the risk of P limitation in heavily degraded marsh soils and established the mechanism by which marsh degradation significantly influences soil P availability. Therefore, some measure of on improving P availability should be implement for the ecological restoration of heavily degraded marsh in the future, such as grazing exclusion and the application of organic fertiliser.

Snow avalanches are a major component of the mountain cryosphere that frequently create a menace for the road network. Deposit characteristics determine the extent of damage and disruption to communication networks, but the factors controlling snow-deposit volumes remain largely unknown. This study investigates the influence of meteorological and snowpack conditions on snow-avalanche deposits and road-network vulnerability based on 1986 deposit volumes from 182 paths located in two regions of the French Alps between 2003 and 2017: Guil and Haute-Maurienne valleys. During the period, 195 avalanches impacted the road network in these areas, leading to major disruptions. In Haute-Maurienne, correlations between deposit volumes and meteorological and snowpack conditions are high in winter. However, the relationships differ with path elevation and orientation. Results do not show any significant relationship between volumes and meteorological or snowpack conditions for the spring season. Focusing on deposits that disturbed the road network, winter and spring reveal a distinct influence of meteorological and snow variables compared to the overall data set, with snowfall intensity as the predominant control variable of deposit volumes leading to road cuts. When the same analysis is conducted by considering Guil valley separately or by aggregating Haute-Maurienne with Guil valley area data, results do not show any significant relationship, highlighting the specific regional nature of relations between deposit volumes and meteorological and snowpack conditions.

One of the core challenges to achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is to spatially identify, and strategically prioritise, the areas to implement actions to avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation. To achieve this, a tool for a participatory and data-driven assessment considering both the biophysical, and socio-economic dimensions of land degradation across scales was developed for Ecuador. In this paper, we present the methodology and results obtained, including the spatially explicit interactive tool developed to integrate indicators that support the scaling-up of sustainable land management (SLM). The process involved specialists from various national and international institutions, as well as decision makers from the public sector and other relevant stakeholders. Cloud computing allowed the integration of five main sources of data: (1) the results of a participatory land degradation assessment based on an expert knowledge questionnaire following the Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA) and World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) methodology; (2) the Hand-in-Hand Initiative Ecuador typology maps based on poverty maps and estimated agricultural potential and efficiency scores using household surveys on agricultural production; (3) National data sets on land cover and land use, soil properties, and hydro climatic indicators; (4) global satellite-derived LDN indicators, such as Land Productivity Dynamics; and (5) Documented SLM practices from WOCAT Global SLM Database. The tool is based on a Google Earth Engine application and allows decision makers to easily compare results and obtain statistics at different spatial scales and landscapes, including 647 Land Use Systems delimited by experts. It also includes a multi-criteria module to identify areas with specific characteristics to prioritise different types of interventions to achieve the country´s LDN targets. Convergence of local and global evidence allowed the identification of hotspots of degradation as well as areas of false positives/negatives - if only global or remote sensing indicators were considered. The participatory process contributed to strengthening multi-sector cooperation mechanisms and to guaranteeing ownership of the tool and the results. The system will support Ecuador’s efforts to monitor and report progress towards LDN to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The system´s code is shared as a repository at Earth Engine and can be adapted to and used by other countries and regions.

科学合理布设耕地质量（CLQ）监测点，可以及时准确地提供耕地质量现状和变化信息，对保障国家粮食安全具有重要意义。传统的 CLQ 监测点选择方法是基于土地利用斑块的 CLQ。由于大补丁可能有不同等级，被选为监控点会降低监控CLQ的可靠性。此外，传统的监测点部署方法主要只考虑CLQ，而忽略了道路可达性和地形等因素，导致部分监测点无法进入。因此，为了提高 CLQ 监测的可靠性，本研究提出了一种部署 CLQ 监测点的新方法。第一的，像素尺度的 CLQ 是使用遗传算法 - 反向传播神经网络 (GA-BPNN) 模型基于具有 30 m 空间分辨率的 Landstat8 数据估计的。其次，采用分层抽样模型确定最佳样本点。最后，应用改进的空间模拟退火算法（ISSA），同时考虑坡度和道路可达性，以优化监测点的位置。本研究在中国广东省广州市从化区进行。结果突出表明 (1) 与测量的 CLQ 的准确度相比，准确度 (R 应用改进的空间模拟退火算法（ISSA），同时考虑坡度和道路可达性，以优化监测点的位置。本研究在中国广东省广州市从化区进行。结果突出表明 (1) 与测量的 CLQ 的准确度相比，准确度 (R 应用改进的空间模拟退火算法（ISSA），同时考虑坡度和道路可达性，以优化监测点的位置。本研究在中国广东省广州市从化区进行。结果突出表明 (1) 与测量的 CLQ 的准确度相比，准确度 (R2  =   0.63, RMSE = 79.32, NRMSE = 13.77%) 用遥感技术估计的 CLQ 是可靠的，不同等级的像素级 CLQ 数据比斑块级 CLQ 数据更合理。(2)基于分层抽样模型，最终在研究区确定了132个监测点。（3）与空间模拟退火算法（SSA）和标准网格法相比，本研究提出的方法总分更高（F=94.61）。此外，获得的样本点主要位于道路和平坦地形附近。这样可以有效避开人迹罕至的地方。因此，基于本研究提出的新方法的结果为获得最佳CLQ监测点提供了科学依据和技术支持。

The change in the structure of the polar landscape since the termination of the Little Ice Age (ca. 1900) is expressed by widespread retreat of glaciers, progressive exposure of glacial landforms at ice margins and opening ice marginal zones to increasing paraglacial and periglacial processes operating synchronously in adjacent areas. This study provides insights into the rate of post-LIA deglaciation and associated paraglacial transformation in foreland of Gåsbreen, a glacier situated in north-western Sørkapp Land, region characterized by one of fastest deglaciation rates in the entire Svalbard Archipelago. During the investigated period, 1938-2020, Gåsbreen was in a recession that accelerated after 1990 and as a result the area of its marginal zone almost tripled from 2.2 km² to 5.8 km². This process had a significant impact on the development of the relief in glacier foreland. The dynamics of landscape transformation in the glacier marginal zone manifested in degradation in the surface of ice-cored moraines and the forms that are underlain by dead-ice. Mass movements and debris flow on ice-cored moraines and fluvioglacial processes had a great influence on this transformation. Larger volume of proglacial waters intensified denudation, transport and accumulation of sediments, which resulted, in: an increase in the surface of sandurs and proglacial riverbeds, an increase in the area of lakes, extending and changing of the course of rivers in marginal zone.

Aeolian desertification is a severe ecological and environmental problem in arid regions. Research on its temporal and spatial distribution, development model, and driving force is necessary to prevent the development of aeolian desertification. In this study, the Moltsog dune field in Mongolia and the Ujimqin dune field in China were selected as the study areas, as both contain dunes with similar natural conditions. Using Landsat data from 1988, 1995, 2002, 2009, 2016, and 2020, the spatial-temporal distribution and degree of development of aeolian desertification in the two dune fields over the past 30 years were compared. Two periods of high-resolution images were then used to compare the surface morphological changes induced by aeolian desertification in the dune fields. Climatic and socio-economic data of the same period were used to compare and analyze the causes of changes in aeolian desertification in these regions. The results show that: (1) Over 30 years, the degree and development rate of aeolian desertification in the Ujimqin dune field were generally higher than those in the Moltsog dune field, and the former had a high degree of fragmented aeolian desertification patches with an expanding range. (2) The main form of aeolian desertification is the reactivation of fixed dunes, which includes the development of blowouts on the flat grassland under the influence of human activities in the Ujimqin dune field. (3) The desertification in Moltsog is mainly affected by climatic factors, while that in Ujimqin is mainly affected by human activities. The latter is specifically affected by the high grazing intensity before 2000 and increased mining activities after 2000. These findings provide a reference for comparing the aeolian desertification process and meaningful information for preventing and managing aeolian desertification and enabling the sustainable development of dune fields in arid regions.