Method Application Scale limitations Citation
Model Estimation of the desertification situation (RUSLE, MEDALUS) catchment, regional, global scale i) Models are developed for specific purpose and area. Application of models should after the improvement for the study area; ii) Lack of input parameter data is an obstacle of using models to estimate the desertification (Wijitkosum et al., 2013, Aiello et al., 2015, Karamesouti et al., 2018)
Prediction of the factors (e.g. rainfall, air temperature) impacting desertification (CAM3, CCSM3.0, IPCC) Regional and global scale Intensive data requirement may limit their application (Jin et al., 2012, Doutreloup et al., 2011)
Indirect detection Identifying desertification via an assessment of desertification indicators, and remote sensing technique are useful for derivation of the indicators Regional and global scale The application is restricted due to lacking of data, and the accuracy is constrained by the quality of remote sensing datasets (Kust et al., 2011, Li et al., 2013, Albalawi and Kumar, 2013, Jiang et al., 2019a, Wei et al., 2020)
Field investigation Assessing desertification state based on direct field observations Field scale Inefficient way to collect data, although beneficial for research on the mechanism of desertification (Zhang and Huisingh, 2018, Li et al., 2000, Su et al., 2010, )