Geomorphology of desert environments and desertification

The six papers of this volume incorporate a number of research activities examining long term change over a huge geographical area extending from southern and central Africa, across the Middle East to Central and East Asia. The Late Quaternary fluvial process changes in the Namib Desert are demonstrated and the importance of various discharge processes for sedimentation is shown. One paper analyses the degradation in the rainforest and savanna of Central Africa, and the potential risk to tropical excosystems posed by the unsustainable exploitation of resources. One author shows the current coastal processes in an arid region, the Al Subiya tidal channel in Kuwait and he emphasizes the practical applications of such studies, especially for planning coastal towns in arid zones. Two authors are concerned with the geomorphological evolution of dune fields in the Republic of Mongolia (Outer Mongolia) and therefore deal with the transition from the steppe to the desert. The last two papers present results from the Badain Jaran Desert in the Innner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China, and the reliability of dating and the impact of climate change on geomorphologcial processes. By contrast, the current processes of the dune formation are examined.