This book in two volumes, and with a foreword by the renowned Professor M.A.J. Williams, draws on evidence from coastal and inland regions, including desert dunes, wind-blown dust, river and lake sediments, glacial moraines, plant and animal fossils, isotope geochemistry, soils and prehistoric archaeology to better understand the genesis and development of dunes systems in selected northern hemisphere sand dunes from Asia, Africa and the Middle East regions.
The collection of research papers and case studies that are presented in this book provide the reader with a wealth of information about the distribution and types of sand dunes and an insight into the complexity of sand dune formation, migration and management. Research in many countries across the northern hemisphere shows that dunes, whether coastal or inland, are under pressure around the world. Much of the pressure comes from human activities, and the anthropogenic disturbance, when coupled with global warming and alterations to the amount, frequency and temporal distribution of precipitation could lead to more serious management challenges in the future.
There is much that we still need to find out about the origin, genesis and development of sand dunes so that they can be managed better. The difficult and complex questions being repeatedly raised can be answered only by interdisciplinary endeavours. Geomorphologists, geologists, palaeontologists, climatologists, ecologists, and others, can work together on research projects that better define the origin, evolution and development of dunes, both inland and along the coasts.
Many chapters in this book attempt to reconstruct past climatic changes in deserts and their margins at a variety of scales in space and time in the expectation that such information might assist in preparing us for future global warming and drying.
Professor Lu Qi is Chief Scientist and Director of the Institute of Desertification Studies (IDS) in Beijing. The IDS is one of two such Institutes in the world. Dr. Lu has a PhD in Ecology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing and is a specialist in Dryland Sustainable Development; Integrated ecosystem management/Desert Ecology and Combating desertification and Land degradation. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards: Three National Awards on Scientific & Technological Progress (Second Class, 2006/2009/2010) PRC National Award on International Science & Technology Cooperation (as Chinese Partner), 2008; Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Award on Scientific & Technological Progress (First Class), 2008; and UNDP Best Practices Award on indigenous technology in combating desertification and mitigating the effect of drought. Dr. Lu is author/editor of 20 books notably A Study of Kumtagh Desert (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 2012; Desert Plants in China (Illustrated Handbook, in Chinese). Beijing: China Forestry Publishing House, 2012; Rangeland Degradation and Recovery in China's Pastoral Lands, CABI, UK, 2009; Studies on Populus euphratica Forest in Ejina Oasis. Beijing: Science Press, 2009. Regional Review of UNCCD Implementation and Best Practices in Asia and the Pacific-Case Studies from Australia, China, Mongolia, Thailand and Viet Nam. Beijing: Chinese Environmental Science Press, 2005 and 180 papers (mostly in Chinese).
Dr. Mahesh K. Gaur is an Indian, who is working at the ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, India as a Principal Scientist, since September 2020. He worked as Senior Scientist from 2012 to 2020. He specializes in aridlands geography and the application of satellite remote sensing, GIS and digital image processing for natural resources mapping, management and assessment. He also researches drought, desertification, land degradation, indigenous knowledge systems, and the socio-economic milieu of the Thar Desert of India. Prior to this, he has worked as an Associate Professor for more than 13 years with the Department of Higher Education, Government of Rajasthan State, India and has also worked at Sandhan, Jaipur, IIM Ahmedabad, IHS Hyderabad and IN-RIMT in various capacities. He has also completed sponsored studies for ICAR, ISRO, SAC, UGC, and ICARDA. He has published 50 research papers in national and international research journals, 50 conference papers, 45 book chapters, five popular articles, and eight books. He is a member of a number of national and international scientific organizations, such as the Association of American Geographers and the Society for Conservation Biology, and several editorial boards of journals. He has been to South Africa, Namibia and Costa Rica on academic assignments. He is awarded the Citizen Karamveer Award 2011 by iCONGO for working in the field of Higher Education, Environment and Technology Applications for Community Upliftment; the Millennium Award for working in the field of Environment, and prestigious recognitions by the UGC of India and Scientific Assembly of the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR).
Dr. Victor R. Squires is a Distinguished Guest Professor in the Institute of Desertification Studies, Beijing. He is an Australian who as a young man studied animal husbandry and rangeland ecology. He has a PhD in Rangeland Science from Utah State University, USA. He is a former Foundation Dean of the Faculty of Natural Resource Management at the University of Adelaide, Australia where he worked for 15 years after a 22 year career in Australia's CSIRO. He is author/editor of 22 books on Drylands, Desertification, Ecological Restoration from such publishers as CRC Press, Springer, Routledge and Kluwer Academic and numerous research papers and invited book chapters. Since retirement from the University of Adelaide Dr. Squires was a Visiting Fellow in the East West Center, Hawaii, and an Adjunct Professor in the University of Arizona, Tucson and at the Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China. He has been a consultant to World Bank, Asian Development and various UN agencies in Africa, China, Central Asia and the Middle East. He was awarded the 2008 International Award and Gold Medal for International Science and Technology Cooperation by the Government of China and in 2011 was awarded the Friendship Award by the government of China. The Gold Medal is the highest award for foreigners. In 2015 Dr. Squires was honoured by the Society for Range Management (USA) with an Outstanding Achievement Award. Dr. Victor Squires was recognised in the 2021 Queen's birthday Honours with a member of the Order of Australia (AM), for services to ecology, especially rangelands.
