Part I. State and Changes in Dryland East Asia -- 1 State and Change of Dryland East Asia (DEA) -- 1.1 Geography, Demography and Economics in DEA -- 1.2 Climate and Land-Use Changes -- 1.3 Ecosystem Production and Evapotranspiration -- 1.4 Scientific and Societal Challenges for Adaptations in DEA -- References -- 2 Dryland East Asia in Hemispheric Context -- 2.1 Study Regions -- 2.2 Change Analysis of Vegetated Land Surface -- 2.3 Retrospective Trend Analysis Reveals Areas of Significant Change -- 2.4 Vegetation Change in Three Epochs -- 2.5 Land Cover Variation and Change -- 2.6 Precipitation Variation and Change -- 2.7 Conclusion -- References -- 3 NEESPI and MAIRS Programs in Dryland East Asia -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Contrast and Comparison -- 3.2.1 The Programs -- 3.2.2 Research Approaches -- 3.2.3 Organization Structure -- 3.2.4 Major Research Activities -- 3.3 Major Findings and Achievements -- 3.3.1 Understanding Climate Change -- 3.3.2 Understanding Societal Consequences -- 3.3.3 Understanding Ecosystem Impacts -- 3.3.4 Institutional Responses to Environmental Change -- 3.3.5 Understanding Challenges -- 3.4 Conclusions -- References -- 4 Land Use and Land Cover Change in Dryland East Asia -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Global Land Use Changes through Centuries -- 4.3 Long-Term Changes in Cropland and Pastureland in DEA -- 4.4 Recent Changes in Asian Drylands -- 4.4.1 Rangeland Degradation and Desertification and Increased Cropland -- 4.4.2 Grassland Recovery -- 4.4.3 Reforestation/Afforestation -- 4.5 Sahel Land Use Change -- References -- 5 Urban Expansion and Environment Change in Dryland East Asia -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Study Area, Data, and Methodology -- 5.2.1 Study Area -- 5.2.2 Data and Methodology -- 5.3 Findings -- 5.3.1 Urban Expansion -- 5.3.2 Environment Impact -- 5.4 Case of Ürümqi.

5.4.1 Spatio-Temporal Change in Ürümqi -- 5.4.2 Environment Challenges of Ürümqi -- 5.5 Discussion -- 5.5.1 Characteristics of Urbanization in Arid Regions -- 5.5.2 Socio-Economic Factors Driving Urbanization -- 5.6 Conclusions -- References -- 6 Ecosystem Carbon Cycle under Changing Atmosphere, Climate and Land Use in Dryland East Asia -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Simulated Ecosystem Carbon Patterns in DEA -- 6.3 Responses of Ecosystem Carbon Cycling to Atmospheric Change -- 6.3.1 CO2 Enrichment -- 6.3.2 Nitrogen Deposition and Its Impact on DEA Ecosystems -- 6.4 Responses of Ecosystem Carbon Cycling to Climate Change -- 6.4.1 Responses to Precipitation Changes -- 6.4.2 Responses to Temperature Changes -- 6.5 Responses of Ecosystem Carbon Cycling to Land Use and Land Cover Changes -- 6.6 Interactions among Environmental Changes -- 6.6.1 Limitation of Nitrogen Availability on CO2 Impacts -- 6.6.2 Dependence of Nitrogen Effects on Water Status (Precipitation Regimes) -- 6.6.3 Interaction between Temperature (Warming) and Water Availability (Precipitation) -- 6.6.4 Relationship and Interactions between Land Use and Climate Changes on Ecosystem Carbon Cycling -- 6.7 Carbon Sequestration Potential and Human Adaption to Climate Change -- References -- 7 Dynamics of Vegetation Productivity in Dryland East Asia from 1982 to 2010 -- 7.1 Introduction -- 7.2 Data and Methods -- 7.2.1 AVHRR NDVI -- 7.2.2 MODIS NDVI -- 7.2.3 Land Cover Map -- 7.2.4 MERRA Reanalysis Data -- 7.2.5 Agricultural Statistics -- 7.2.6 Statistical Analysis -- 7.3 Results and Discussion -- 7.3.1 Trends of Spatially-Averaged NDVI -- 7.3.2 Spatial Patterns of NDVI Trends -- 7.3.3 Climatic Drivers -- 7.3.4 Other Drivers -- 7.4 Conclusions -- References -- Summary I : Contexts of Change -- Part II. Consequences.

8 Impacts of Global Change on Water Resources in Dryland East Asia -- 8.1 Introduction -- 8.2 Key Water Resource Challenges -- 8.2.1 Distribution ofWater Balances across DEA and Historical Changes -- 8.2.2 Land Use/Land Cover Change -- 8.2.3 Agricultural Irrigation and Industrialization -- 8.2.4 Climate Change -- 8.3 Water Resources under Environmental Changes: Case Studies -- 8.3.1 Loess Plateau -- 8.3.2 Impacts of Future Climate Change on Runoff across DEA -- 8.4 Conclusions -- References -- 9 Examining Changes in Land Cover and Land Use, Regional Climate and Dust in Dryland East Asia and Their Linkages within the Earth System -- 9.1 Introduction -- 9.2 Assessment of Decadal Dust Emission Based on Historical LCLU, Regional Climate and the Regional Coupled Dust Modeling System WRF-Chem-DuMo -- 9.3 Observation-based Dust Climatology and Its Relationship to LCLU and Regional Climate -- 9.4 A Satellite Perspective on the Last Decade -- 9.5 Impacts of Dust on Human-Environment-Climate Systems -- References -- 10 Biophysical Regulations of Grassland Ecosystem Carbon and Water Fluxes in DEA -- 10.1 Brief Introduction of Abiotic and Biotic Factors in Relation to Carbon and Water Fluxes in DEA -- 10.2 Biophysical Regulations of Carbon Fluxes between Grazed and Ungrazed Grasslands -- 10.2.1 Responses of Daytime Net Ecosystem Exchange to Biotic/Abiotic Factors -- 10.2.2 Response of Nighttime NEE (Re) to T and SWC -- 10.3 Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes between Grassland and Cultivated Cropland -- 10.3.1 Responses of Daytime NEE to Biotic/Abiotic Factors -- 10.3.2 Response of Nighttime NEE (Re) to T and SWC -- 10.4 Biophysical Regulations of Water and Energy Fluxes -- 10.4.1 Energy Partitioning and Its Response to Abiotic/Biotic Factors.

10.4.2 EcosystemWater and Energy Fluxes between Grazed and Ungrazed Grasslands and between Grassland and Cultivated Cropland -- References -- 11 Afforestation and Forests at the Dryland Edges: Lessons Learned and Future Outlooks -- 11.1 Introduction -- 11.2 Vegetation Zonation and Climate -- 11.3 Climate Forcing Effect of Forests: Ambiguous Conditions at the Dryland Edges -- 11.3.1 Low Elevation Xeric Limits: Vulnerable Forest-Grassland Transition -- 11.3.2 Management of Forests-Plantations vs. Close to Nature Ecosystems -- 11.4 Effects of Forest Management on Forest Hydrological Balances in Dry Regions: A Comparison of China and the United States -- 11.4.1 China -- 11.4.2 United States -- 11.5 Past and Future of Forest Policy in Dryland Regions of China -- 11.5.1 Causes and Consequences of Expanding Desertification -- 11.5.2 Shelterbelt Development and Sand Control Programs in China -- 11.5.3 Debates and Critics about the Achievements of the Past Programs -- 11.5.4 Lessons Learned from Past -- 11.6 Conclusions -- References -- 12 Human Impact and Land Degradation in Mongolia -- 12.1 Introduction -- 12.2 Land Degradation Overview -- 12.2.1 Mining Land Degradation -- 12.2.2 Land Degradation by Road -- 12.2.3 Pastureland Degradation and Desertification -- 12.2.4 Soil Erosion of Arable Land -- 12.2.5 Deforestation -- 12.2.6 Soil Pollution -- 12.3 Use of Fallout Radionuclide Methods for Soil Erosion Study -- 12.4 Conclusions -- References -- 13 The Effect of Large-Scale Conservation Programs on the Vegetative Development of China's Loess Plateau -- 13.1 Introduction -- 13.2 Conservation Programs -- 13.3 Study Region -- 13.3.1 Loess Plateau -- 13.3.2 Subset for Fine Scale Analysis -- 13.4 Data -- 13.4.1 MODIS Data -- 13.4.2 Landsat Data -- 13.4.3 Grazing Statistics -- 13.4.4 Anthromes -- 13.5 Methods.

13.6 Results and Discussion -- 13.6.1 Vegetation Index and Albedo Changes -- 13.6.2 500 m NDVI Changes -- 13.6.3 Grazing Intensity Change -- 13.7 Conclusions -- References -- Summary II : Consequences -- Part III. Solutions/Adaptations -- 14 Monitoring and Assessment of Dryland Ecosystems with Remote Sensing -- 14.1 Problems of Land Degradation and Desertification in Drylands: Current Challenges and Perspectives -- 14.2 Indicators of Land Degradation/Desertification and Their Detection by Remote Sensing -- 14.2.1 History of Degradation/Desertification Indicator Development in Recent Decades -- 14.2.2 Retrieving Biophysical Spectral Information with Remote Sensing for DLDD -- 14.2.3 Bio-physiological Indexes for Assessment and Monitoring -- 14.3 Review of Available Sensors and Data over DEA and Their Suitability for Detecting Desertification Indicators -- 14.3.1 Short Outlook on Future Satellite Sensors over DEA -- 14.4 Remote Sensing Approach for Desertification Assessment in Central Asia: History, Current Research, and Perspectives-A Case Study -- 14.5 Conclusions -- References -- 15 The Effects of Spatial Resolution on Vegetation Area Estimates in the Lower Tarim River Basin, Northwestern China -- 15.1 Introduction -- 15.2 Study Area -- 15.3 Methodology -- 15.4 Results and Discussion -- 15.5 Conclusions -- References -- 16 New Ecology Education: Preparing Students for the Complex Human- Environmental Problems of Dryland East Asia -- 16.1 Introduction -- 16.2 Description of New Ecology Education -- 16.2.1 Topic 1: What's Going On? (Conceptual Models) -- 16.2.2 Topic 2: Life Is So Confusing! (Nonlinearity) -- 16.2.3 Topic 3: Everything Is Connected to Everything Else (Systems Thinking) -- 16.2.4 Topic 4: Climbing Up-and-Down the Complexity Ladder (Hierarchy Theory).

16.2.5 Topic 5: What Does It Take to Change This System? (Resilience).