The extreme climate variability that characterizes north Chinas rangelands can cause drought and degradation, resulting in dust storms, floods, animal, losses, financial hardship and a decline in food availability. Faced with the possibility of even greater climate extremes in the future, communities need to learn how to manipulate the biological processes and socio-economic influences operating in these areas. The severe degradation described here represents a failure to plan for climate variation in the management of china's northen rangelands. However, evidence from throughout China's pastrol landscapes has shown that several management options and interventions can stop and even reverse pasture and land degradation. Through a discussion of new approaches and an examination of the successes and failures of past degradation and recovery episodes, this book provides the necessary insights to develop sustainable rangeland management strategies for the future, drawing on regional case studies from China and lessons learned from abroad. It will be an invaluable resourse for researchers and land managers working on prevention and control of land degradation in rangelands, ecosystem restoration and conservation, policy makers and panners aid agencies and NGOs Book jacket.