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The last ten years of the 20th century saw the grassland area in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region shrink by 672,900 hectares, according to the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
After long-term observations with remote sensing technology and the geographical information system (GIS), the institute recently found that the autonomous region's grassland area was reduced by 67,300 hectares annually over the decade, and as much as 355,900 hectares of grassland have deteriorated into dry land or desert.
Experts believe that the region's grassland degradation should be blamed on local meteorological changes.
(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2003)
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