Kubuqi Desert () is a

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

within the

Ordos Basin The Ordos Plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin or simply the Ordos, is a highland sedimentary basin in northwest China with an elevation of , and consisting mostly of land enclosed by the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Y ...

in northwestern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, under the administration of the

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Ordos City Ordos ( Mongolian: ''Ordos''; ), also known as Ih Ju, is one of the twelve major subdivisions of Inner Mongolia, China. It lies within the Ordos Plateau of the Yellow River. Although mainly rural, Ordos is administered as a prefecture-level c ...

. Located between the

Hetao Hetao () is a C-shaped region in northwestern China consisting of a collection of flood plains stretching from the banks of the northern half of the Ordos Loop, a large northerly rectangular bend of the Yellow River that forms the river's entir ...

plains and the

Loess Plateau The Chinese Loess Plateau, or simply the Loess Plateau, is a plateau in north-central China formed of loess, a clastic silt-like sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. It is located southeast of the Gobi Desert and is surroun ...

, it is part of the

Ordos Desert The Ordos Desert () is a desert/steppe region in Northwest China, administrated under the prefecture of Ordos City in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (centered ca. ). It extends over an area of approximately , and comprises two sub-dese ...

along with the neighboring

Mu Us Desert The Mu Us Desert ( Mongolian: ''magu usu'' Ordos: ʊː ʊsʊ̆'bad (lacking) water'; also known as the Maowusu Desert; ) is a desert in northern China.Donovan Webster. 2002. China's Unknown Gobi Alashan. National Geographic 201(1):48-75 Its so ...

to its south, and is the 7th largest desert in China with an area of .

Desertification

The area had gone through

desertification Desertification is a type of land degradation in drylands in which biological productivity is lost due to natural processes or induced by human activities whereby fertile areas become increasingly arid. It is the spread of arid areas caused by ...

due to

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

Restoration

Starting in 1988, the Elion Resources Group and the Government of Beijing worked to reverse

and restore the environment. Since then one third of the desert has had greenery restored.

References

{{Authority control Deserts of China Geography of Inner Mongolia Geography of Shaanxi Geography of Gansu Geography of Ningxia Ecoregions of China Ergs Ordos City