GIS and Remote Sensing in Hydrology, Water Resources and Environment (Proceedings of ICGRHWE held at the Three Gorges Dam, China, September 2003). IAHS Publ. 289, 2004, 410-416

1 School of Info-Physics and Geomatics Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410000, China

2 National Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China,

3 Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, New Jersey 07043, USA

4 North China Institute of Science and Technology, East Yanjiao, Beijing 101601, China

Abstract This study deals with desertification and its impacts on the environment in the headwater area of the Yellow River, China. Our objectives were to quantitatively detect desertification processes from 1990 to 2000 using remote sensing, and to evaluate its impacts on carbon emission. The results indicate that the study area is one of the most desertified regions in the Tibetan Plateau and the desertification qualifies the region as a vital source of carbon emission. The desertification might have contributed a disproportionate share to overall CO₂ emission from the grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau, implying that there is great potential to resequestrate carbon through controlling overgrazing and restoring the ecosystem.

Key words carbon emission; desertification; the headwater area of the Yellow River; remote sensing