The fragility of the dryland ecosystems in northern China has historically been exacerbated by large-scale reclamation and land misuse policies, with little consideration given to government land management, leading to desertification (Chen and Tang 2005). As a countermeasure, following UNCED (1977), the Chinese government launched five more proactive approaches to prevent and control desertification (Lyu et al. 2020). These are the Three North Shelterbelt Development Program (TNSDP, from 1978 to 2050), the Conversion of Cropland to Forest Program (CCFP, since 1999), the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP, since 2000), the Beijing-Tianjin Sand Source Control Program (BSSC, since 2001) and the Return Grazing land to Grassland Program (RGGP, since 2003). All programs are forcing to abandon the cultivation of once-reclaimed farmland or enclose pastures to prohibit grazing and aim to restore degraded lands through afforestation and pasture sowing (Figs. 12.1 and 12.2).