Local population impacts on the forests of Garhwal Himalaya, India

This investigation was carried out in eight villages situated in the Tehri district of Uttar Pradesh, Himalaya, India. The villages are at an elevation of between 500 and 1700 m. Interviews of 61 households and 347 people, which were deliberately biased towards older people, were undertaken. These revealed that there was no evidence to suggest any significant change in land-use patterns in agriculture and forestry over the last 80–100 years in spite of the ever-increasing population. The period between 1920 and 1970 is considered to be when a rapid decline occurred in the forested area. This period coincided with extensive changes in government administration. Qualitative and quantitative data about the usage of forest products are presented. Biomass forms the major fuel, using variable proportions of wood and agricultural waste.     

Socio-Ecological and Religious Perspective of Agrobiodiversity Conservation: Issues, Concern and Priority for Sustainable Agriculture, Central Himalaya

A large section of the population (70%) of Uttarakhand largely depends upon agricultural based activities for their livelihood. Rural community of the mountains has developed several indigenous and traditional methods of farming to conserve the crop diversity and rejoice agrodiversity with religious and cultural vehemence. Traditional food items are prepared during occasion, festivals, weddings, and other religious rituals from diversified agrodiversity are a mean to maintain agrodiversity in the agriculture system. Agrodiversity is an insurance against disease and extreme climatic fluctuations, as a coping mechanism in times of scarcity, as a means to enhance overall productivity of farms, as a source of critical nutrition and medicine in the Himalayan region. The different traditional system of agriculture and indigenous method of maintaining soil fertility, socio-cultural and religious rituals has saved many crops that are under threatened category. But all these system and practices are ignored nauseatingly in hill agriculture policy, where more emphasis was given for plain areas. Less emphasis is being put on local systems that rely on existing natural, human, and social assets such as biodiversity, traditional knowledge, and social capital underpinning collective action to ensure food security. Of late, development planners have realized the importance of appropriate technologies and therefore have stressed the need for on-site training, and capacity building of user groups in rural areas of the region. Rural technology demonstration and training center have been supposed as a means disseminating technologies enabling improvement in the yield potential of farms, income generation from off-farm activities, and conservation and efficient use of natural resources. There is a strong need to bring desirable changes in the agricultural policy, research, and development in reference to mountainous regions. The present paper describe present scenario of agriculture, traditional, and socio-cultural practices of retaining soil fertility and agrodiversity, policy dimensions, and strategies for management of the Himalayan agroecosystems.     

Landslides in the Garhwal Lesser Himalaya, UP, India

The Garhwal Lesser Himalaya is one of the most fascinating segments of the Himalayan arc and in many ways quite unique in its geomorphological features and geological setting. Although it has a mild and mature topography in comparison with the Central and Outer Himalayas, with its deeply dissected valleys it is more immature than other areas such as the Himachal and Kumaon Lesser Himalayas. Debris flows, rock falls and slow mass rock movements are frequent within this part of the Himalayas. The frequent landslides in the area are controlled by the trends of the rocks and slopes, the structural features and the rock lithologies. Correlating all these factors, this paper illustrates how the slopes on the ridges parallel to the Himalayan trend (i.e. WNW–ESE) are the most susceptible for the mass failure.     

Mixed signals: market incentives, recycling, and the price spike of 1995

Environmental economics assumes that reliance on price signals, adjusted for externalities, normally leads to efficient solutions to environmental problems. We explore a limiting case, when market volatility created ‘mixed signals’: prices of waste paper and other recycled materials were suddenly extremely high in 1994–1995, then plummeted back to traditional low levels in 1996. These rapid reversals resulted in substantial economic and political costs. A review of academic and business literature suggests six possible explanations for abrupt price spikes. An econometric analysis of the prices of wood pulp and waste paper shows that factor which explained price changes in 1983–1993 contribute very little to understanding the subsequent price spike. From the econometric analysis and from other sources, we conclude that speculation must have played a major role in the price spike, perhaps in combination with modest effects from changes in government policy and in export demand. If speculatively driven price spikes can disrupt an environmentally important industry such as recycling, what is the appropriate role for public policy? When price volatility is sufficiently disruptive, then measures to control or stabilize prices, rather than interfering with the market, might help to make it more efficient.     

An analysis of the himalayan environment and guidelines for its management and ecologically sustainable development

Summary The impacts of human activities on the bio-geophysical and socio-economic environment of the Himalayas are analysed. The main man-induced activities which have accelerated ecological degradation and threatened the equilibrium of Himalayan mountain ecosystems are stated as: unplanned land use, cultivation on steep slopes, overgrazing, major engineering activities, over-exploitation of village or community forests, lopping of broad leaved plant species, shifting cultivation (short cycle) in north-east India, tourism and recreation. Monoculture in forests, erosion and landslides have resulted in one–third of the total Himalayan land area becoming environmentally derelict. Cold desert conditions prevail in 41,500 km² of north-west Himalayas and are encouraged by traditional pasturalism. The geo-morphological conditions are major factors responsible for landslides which cause major havoc every year in the area. Other physical problems exist, such as eutrophication, drying up of the natural springs, the recession of the glaciers and changes in surface and ground water hydrology. Wild fauna, like musk deer (Moschus mischiferus) and the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), are now under threat partially due to changes in their habitat and the introduction of exotic plant species. Population pressure and migration are major factors responsible for poverty in the hills. The emigration of the working male population has resulted in the involvement of women as a major work-force. This work includes trekking for hours to collect fodder, timber and drinking water in addition to household duties. Guidelines, with special emphasis on the application of environmental impact assessments for the management of the Himalayas, are proposed.Drs Ahmad and Rawat are scientists, and Dr Rai is a research associate, at the Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development. Correspondence should be addressed to Dr Afroz Ahmad.     

Causes and effects of siltation on the environment of Nepal

Summary The present investigation was carried out in 1986, and is based upon about 20 years of river discharge data (1960s to 1980s). There are three important river-systems in Nepal - Sapt Kosi River system in East Nepal, Sapt Gandaki River system in mid- Nepal, and Karnali River system in West Nepal. The average annual highest rainfall is 3,685 mm yr^–1, and the greatest mean annual suspended sediment load (1.434 g L^–1) was recorded in Sapt Gandaki, while the water discharge from Sapt Kosi (1,747 m³ s^–1) was the highest and so also was the silt discharge (0.4 million ton day^–1). The correlation between water discharge and silt discharge was found to be statistically highly significant as verified by correlation and regression analyses.An abatement of human interference in the catchment areas of these rivers, and fodder/fuelwood plantation through the active participation of local people in their marginal land to decrease the human pressure on natural forests, are considered the two major easy, effective and economic methods to control the siltation hazard that is causing extensive deterioration to the environment in Nepal.Dr Govind P.S. Ghimire is Reader and Associate Professor in the Central Department of Botany at Tribhuvan University. Mr B.K. Uprety is an ecologist working on the Environmental Impact Study Project of His Majesty's Government, Nepal.     

Growth and green income: evidence from mining in Chile

This paper estimates the true economic income for the Chilean mining sector, using the welfare foundations for the usual net domestic product (NDP) income measure of the traditional National Accounts System (NAS) provided by [Weitzman, M., 1976. On the welfare significance of national product in a dynamic economy. Quarterly Journal of Economics. 90, 156–162; Weitzman, M., 2000. The linearised Hamiltonian as comprehensible NDP. Environment and Development Economics. 5, 55–68]. The total depletion of natural capital caused by mining is calculated by estimating, on the one hand, the depreciation of resources (using the net price approach) and, on the other, the environmental costs provoked by mining activity. The results show that, correcting the usual GDP measure for man-made capital depreciation plus the total loss of natural capital, the standard mining GDP measure of the NAS overestimates by 31–36% the economic income generated by Chile's mining sector during the period 1985–1996.     

Principles and processes for effecting change in environmental management in New Zealand

In New Zealand environmental management is essentially the responsibility of land managers. Management decisions affect both production/productivity and the environment. However, responsibility for ensuring positive environmental outcomes falls on both local (Regional) and Central Government, and both they and international agencies such as the OECD would wish to monitor and report on changes. In terms of policy, strong links have been established via Central and Regional Government to land managers. Consumers in the market place are also, increasingly, requiring responsibility for positive environmental outcomes of those who purchase and process primary products. Strong links for responsibility have been established between our international markets and processing businesses and there is a noticeable strengthening of the links from the processors to the land manager/producer. In New Zealand a range of initiatives has been developed and implemented over recent times, whereby land managers are taking increasing responsibility for accounting for the environmental outcomes of their production activities. The range covers the spectrum from voluntary to compulsory (e.g., in order to meet market requirements) and from those initiated by customers to processor and/or producer initiatives. This paper follows the evolution of the principles that drove the predominant activities of the period and the processes that initiated the changes in environmental management. As the focus of agriculturalists changed from pioneering in a new world, to establishing a production base, to economic reality, and finally to environmental responsibility, the processes of extension adapted to meet the new challenge.     

Land-cover change in upper Barataria Basin estuary,Louisiana, 1972-1992: increases in Wetland area

The Barataria Basin, Louisiana, USA, is an extensive wetland and coastal estuary system of great economic and intrinsic value. Although high rates of wetland loss along the coastal margin of the Barataria Basin have been well documented, little information exists on whether freshwater wetlands in the upper basin have changed. Our objectives were to quantify land-cover change in the upper basin over 20 years from 1972–1992 and to determine land-cover transition rates among land-cover types. Using 80-m resolution Landsat MSS data from the North American Landscape Characterization (NALC) data archive, we classified images from three time steps (1972, 1985, 1992) into six land-cover types: agriculture, urban, bottomland hardwood forest, swamp forest, freshwater marsh, and open water. Significant changes in land cover occurred within the upper Barataria Basin over the study period. Urban land increased from 8% to 17% of the total upper basin area, primarily due to conversions from agricultural land, and to a lesser degree, bottomland forest. Swamp forest increased from 30% to 41%, associated with conversions from bottomland hardwood forest and freshwater marsh. Overall, bottomland forest decreased 38% and total wetland area increased 21%. Within the upper Barataria, increases in total wetland area may be due to land subsidence. Based on our results, if present trends in the reduction of bottomland forest land cover were to continue, the upper Barataria Basin may have no bottomland hardwood forests left by the year 2025, as it is subjected to multiple stressors both in the higher elevations (from urbanization) and lower elevations (most likely from land subsidence). These results suggest that changes in the upper freshwater portions of coastal estuaries can be large and quite different from patterns observed in the more saline coastal margins.     

Implications of Land Use Changes on Carbon Dynamics and Sequestration—Evaluation from Forestry Datasets, India

Forests and soils are a major sink of carbon, and land use changes can affect the magnitude of above ground and below ground carbon stores and the net flux of carbon between the land and the atmosphere. Studies on methods for examining the future consequences of changes in patterns of land use change and carbon flux gains importance, as they provide different options for CO₂ mitigation strategies. In this study, a simulation approach combining Markov chain processes and carbon pools for forests and soils has been implemented to study the carbon flows over a period of time. Markov chains have been computed by converting the land use change and forestry data of India from 1997 to 1999 into a matrix of conditional probabilities reflecting the changes from one class at time t to another class time t+1. Results from Markov modeling suggested Indian forests as a potential sink for 0.94 Gt carbon, with an increase in dense forest area of about 75.93 Mha and decrease of about 3.4 Mha and 5.0 Mha in open and scrub forests, if similar land use changes that occurred during 1997–1999 would continue. The limiting probabilities suggested 34.27 percent as dense forest, 6.90 as open forest, 0.4 percent mangrove forest, 0.1 percent scrub and 58 percent as non-forest area. Although Indian forests are found to be a potential carbon sink, analysis of results from transition probabilities for different years till 2050 suggests that, the forests will continue to be a source of about 20.59 MtC to the atmosphere. The implications of these results in the context of increasing anthropogenic pressure on open and scrub forests and their contribution to carbon source from land use change and forestry sector are discussed. Some of the mitigation aspects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land use change and forestry sector in India are also reviewed in the study.     

Environmental problems from practicing agriculture in Prespa National Park,Greece

Summary Prespa National Park is situated at the northwestern corner of Greece bordering Yugoslavia and Albania and covers 25,690 ha of which 8,114 ha are lake. The remaining area is forest, rangeland and arable land in the vicinity of twelve villages. The objectives of the park authority are to preserve the wetland with its special fauna of rare bird species, its flora, the geomorphological formations of the lake and the natural environment. The nucleus of the park is comprised by Lake Mikri Prespa and the surrounding wetland. It is in this wetland that an exceptional assemblage of rare and endangered species breed. However, the park is recently undergoing rapid development of its agroecosystems in terms both of higher subsidiary energy inputs, notably irrigation, and of acreage, i.e. of substituting some of the wetland for cropland. The objective of this study was to assess the potential environmental hazards from practicing agriculture in the park and to propose measures of abatement. Assessment was based on field surveys, administration documents and interviews. Cropland is not intensively used at present. Two thirds is covered by winter cereals and the remaining by other row crops (beans and potatoes). There are no deciduous orchards. Practices are carried out without regard for environmental conservation. Farmers' attitudes towards the wildlife range from indifference to hostility because they attribute the lag in their economic development to the past restrictions imposed by the National Park Administration. The main environmental consequences from the ongoing agricultural development in Prespa are assessed to be a dramatic increase of nonpoint agricultural pollution of the lake, with phosphorus and pesticides as the primary pollutants. Moreover, accidents in the use of pesticides may lead to immediate deterioration of the nucleus wildlife habitats. Since irrigated agroecosystems are there to stay and grow in subsidiary energy, measures are needed to prevent harmful consequences. Such measures are the alleviation of the land ownership problem, adoption of cultural practices to limit soil erosion, rational use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and education of farmers. It is concluded that the internationally invaluable natural ecosystems of the park are definitely threatened by the development of the irrigated agroecosystems. The measures proposed will limit this threat and at the same time will help to perpetuate the productivity of the agroecosystems themselves.Mrs. M. D. Pyrovetsi is a lecturer in the Department of Biology and Professor P. A. Gerakis is Head of the Department of Agriculture; both are within the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.     

From Environmental Ethics to Nature Conservation Policy: Natura 2000 and the Burden of Proof

Natura 2000 is a network of natural sites whose aim is to preserve species and habitats of relevance in the European Union. The policy underlying Natura 2000 has faced widespread opposition from land users and received extensive support from environmentalists. This paper addresses the ethical framework for Natura 2000 and the probable moral assumptions of its main stakeholders. Arguments for and against Natura 2000 were analyzed and classified according to “strong” or “weak” versions of the three main theories of environmental ethics – anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism. Weak (intergenerational) anthropocentrism was found to underlie the Natura 2000 network itself and the positions of environmentalists, while strong (traditional) anthropocentrism pervaded the positions of economic developers. Land users seemed to fall somewhere between weak and strong anthropocentrism. The paper discusses the relation between ethics and different attitudes towards Natura 2000, highlighting some of the implications for the network’s ongoing implementation. It is shown that Natura 2000 achieves a strong reversal of the burden of proof from conservation to economic development and land use change under anthropocentrism. It is argued that the alleged theoretical divide between anthropocentrism and non-anthropocentrism in relation to the burden of proof does not seem to hold in practice. Finally, it is predicted that the weak versions of anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and ecocentrism, are likely to converge extensively in respect to nature conservation policy measures.“Charting the depths of law and policy disputes yield an understanding of ethical differences.” Paul B. Thompson (2002, p. 189).     

Changes in Determinants of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Popa Mountain Park, Central Myanmar

Implementing effective conservation requires an understanding of factors affecting deforestation and forest degradation. Previous studies have investigated factors affecting deforestation, while few studies have examined the determinants of both of deforestation and forest degradation for more than one period. To address this gap, this study examined factors influencing deforestation and forest degradation during 1989–2000 and 2000–2005 in the Popa Mountain Park, Myanmar. We applied multinomial logistic regression (MNL) using land cover maps derived from Landsat images as the dependent variables as well as spatial and biophysical factors as the independent variables. The MNL models revealed influences of the determinants on deforestation and forest degradation changes over time. For example, during 1989–2000, deforestation from closed forest was positively correlated to the distance from the park boundary and was negatively correlated with distance from villages, roads, the park circular road, slope, western aspect and elevation. On the other hand, during 2000–2005, deforestation of closed forest was positively correlated with distance from villages, roads, the park circular road, slope and western aspect, and negatively correlated with distance from the park boundary and elevation. Similar scenarios were observed for the deforestation of open forest and forest degradation of closed forest. The study also found most of the determinants influenced deforestation and forest degradation differently. The changes in determinants of deforestation and forest degradation over time might be attributable to the general decrease in resource availability and to the effect of conservation measures conducted by the park.     

Evaluating the sustainability of a regional system using Fisher information in the San Luis Basin, Colorado

This paper describes the theory, data, and methodology necessary for using Fisher information to assess the sustainability of the San Luis Basin (SLB) regional system over time. Fisher information was originally developed as a measure of the information content in data and is an important method in information theory. Our adaptation of Fisher information provides a means of monitoring the variables of a system to characterize dynamic order, and, therefore, its regimes and regime shifts. This work is part of the SLB Sustainability Metrics Project, which aimed to evaluate movement over time towards or away from regional sustainability. One of the key goals of this project was to use readily available data to assess the sustainability of the system including its environmental, social and economic aspects. For this study, Fisher information was calculated for fifty-three variables which characterize the consumption of food and energy, agricultural production, environmental characteristics, demographic properties and changes in land use for the SLB system from 1980 to 2005. Our analysis revealed that while the system displayed small changes in dynamic order over time with a slight decreasing trend near the end of the period, there is no indication of a regime shift. Therefore, the SLB system is stable with very slight movement away from sustainability in more recent years.     

Iran's Water Crisis: Cultural, Political, and Ethical Dimensions

By the summer of 2001, most of Iranhad been suffering a three-year drought, theworst in recent history. Water rationing was inplace in Tehran and other cities, and largeproportions of the country's crops andlivestock were perishing. Yet many academicsand other experts in Iran insist that the watercrisis is only partly drought-related, andclaim that mismanagement of water resources isthe more significant cause. Underlying thisdiscussion is a complex of overlapping yetoften conflicting ethical systems – Iranian,Islamic, and modernist/industrialist – whichare available to inform water policy in Iran. Areview of the various arguments about thenature of the crisis and the range of solutionsthat have been proposed, including precedentsfrom traditional Iranian water management andthe ethics of water use in Islamic law,suggests that Iran's own cultural heritageprovides alternatives to wholesale adoption ofWestern models.     

Planning for agricultural development in the Himalayan region: An environmental approach

Summary In the present paper efforts have been made to identify an environmentally sustainable and economically gainful strategy for agricultural development in the Himalayan region in Uttar Pradesh State, India. In the underdeveloped rural habitat that exists, a strategy, where the economics of environmentally sustainable development can be studied, is urgently required. The findings have been based on an empirical investigation of 150 sampled households spread over fifteen villages. It was found that the state of Himalayan agriculture and allied activities was in a critical condition, requiring urgent attention in order to improve the human environment. Suggested viable improvements in Himalayan agricultural development may be grouped into four categories, viz., an expansion of the cultivated area, where the land use pattern and other factors are discussed; full utilisation of irrigation potentialities, in which water management is discussed; improvement in the cropping pattern, where the whole system of cropping is analysed; and modifications in the use of agricultural appliances, specially in hoeing, ploughing and inter-culturing implements. Based on a critical analysis of these four identified aspects, economically viable, ecologically sound and socially justified environmental planning may be effectively framed.Dr H.C. Pokhriyal is Head of the Department of Economics at Garhwal University Campus, Tehri, and Dr N.S. Bist is Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Himalaya, U.P., India.     

Utility of non-timber forest products in a small watershed in the Indian Himalayas: the threat of its degradation

This study discusses the use of non-timber forest products (NTFP), especially medicinal plants, by traditional communities in the western Himalaya, India. The great socio-cultural diversity and ecological complexity of the region is also matched by an unusually large variety of forest species being used. A wide range of plants, comprising herbs, shrubs and trees are used for different domestic purposes, such as food, fodder, materials for construction and handicrafts. Wild plants also play a vital role in providing primary health care in the region. In earlier times, forest products were harvested only on a subsistence basis. However, in recent decades, factors such as rising market demand, increasing population pressure, and changes in socio-cultural and socio-economic values have led to overharvesting. It is now estimated that most of the useful wild herbs in the region are overexploited and some of them have become locally extinct. Government forestry policies have, in the past, exclusively emphasized plantation and management of trees and have, unfortunately, ignored non-timber products, as these are usually of comparatively lesser economic importance. However, it is suggested that proper management of NTFP will help upgrade rural economies. Recommended policies to this effect include empowerment of local communities and their involvement in development plans as well as strengthening of indigenous knowledge. To foster sustainable use of NTFP, the following steps are also suggested: integrating traditional and scientific knowledge; safeguarding regeneration potential; cultivating wild species, making appropriate changes to extraction processes used; and establishing more transparency in prices and marketing channels.     

Decision Tree Algorithm for Detection of Spatial Processes in Landscape Transformation

The conversion of landscapes by human activities results in widespread changes in landscape spatial structure. Regardless of the type of land conversion, there appears to be a limited number of common spatial configurations that result from such land transformation processes. Some of these configurations are considered optimal or more desirable than others. Based on pattern geometry, we define ten processes responsible for pattern change: aggregation, attrition, creation, deformation, dissection, enlargement, fragmentation, perforation, shift, and shrinkage. A novelty in this contribution is the inclusion of transformation processes causing expansion of the land cover of interest. Consequently, we propose a decision tree algorithm that enables detection of these processes, based on three parameters that have to be determined before and after the transformation of the landscape: area, perimeter length, and number of patches of the focal landscape class. As an example, the decision tree algorithm is applied to determine the transformation processes of three divergent land cover change scenarios: deciduous woodland degradation in Cadiz Township (Wisconsin, USA) 1831–1950, canopy gap formation in a terra firme rain forest at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (Amazonian Ecuador) 1997–1998, and forest regrowth in Petersham Township (Massachusetts, USA) 1830–1985. The examples signal the importance of the temporal resolution of the data, since long-term pattern conversions can be subdivided in stadia in which particular pattern components are altered by specific transformation processes.     

Retrieving surface deformation by PSInSAR™ technology: A powerful tool in reservoir monitoring

Reservoir monitoring improves our understanding of reservoir behaviour and helps achieve more effective reservoir management and prediction of future performance with obvious economic benefits. It relies on an integrated approach involving both surveillance (well or surface based; seismic, electrical, leakage, flow and deformation measurements, etc.) and modelling. Surface deformation monitoring can provide valuable constraints on the dynamic behaviour of a reservoir enabling the evaluation of volumetric changes in the reservoir through time. Levelling campaigns, tiltmeters, GPS permanent stations and Permanent Scatterer SAR Interferometry (PSInSAR™) are the techniques most widely used to determine surface displacements. Whatever the surveying technique, the detection of millimetre-level surface deformation is required to monitor small surface displacement rates that could impact risk evaluation and land use planning. Depending on depth and reservoir/overburden rheology, volumetric changes in reservoirs due to fluid extraction and injection can induce either subsidence or uplift that could trigger fault reactivation and threaten well integrity; deformation may also be detectable at the surface. Mapping surface effects accurately requires hundreds of observation points per km² which cannot be delivered by traditional monitoring methods without unacceptably large expenditure. PSInSAR™ is one of the most promising and cost-effective techniques capable of providing high precision and high areal density displacement measurements over long periods of time. Moreover, the availability of PS data for both ascending and descending orbits enables the estimation of both vertical and E–W horizontal displacement fields. Two case histories will be presented to illustrate the advantages of PSInSAR™ technology for the detection of surface deformation induced by reservoir exploitation and monitoring of its evolution though time.     

Changes in Soil Properties After Establishment of Artemisia halodendron and Caragana microphylla on Shifting Sand Dunes in Semiarid Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China

In the semiarid Horqin sandy land of northern China, establishment of artificial sand-fixing shrubs on desertified sandy lands is an effective measure to control desertification and improve the regional environment. Caragana microphylla Lam. and Artemisia halodendron Turcz. ex Bess. are two of the dominant native shrub species, which are adapted well to windy and sandy environments, and thus, are widely used in revegetation programs to control desertification in Horqin region. To assess the effects of artificially planting these two shrub species on restoration of desertified sandy land, soil properties and plant colonization were measured 6 years after planting shrubs on shifting sand dunes. Soil samples were taken from two depths (0–5 cm and 5–20 cm) under the shrub canopy, in the mid-row location (alley) between shrub belts, and from nonvegetated shifting sand dune (as a control). Soil fine fractions, soil water holding capacity, soil organic C and total N have significantly increased, and pH and bulk density have declined at the 0–5-cm topsoil in both C. microphylla and A. halodendron. At the 5–20 cm subsurface soil, changes in soil properties are not significant, with exception of bulk density and organic C concentration under the canopy of A. halodendron and total N concentration under the canopy of C. microphylla. Soil amelioration processes are initiated under the shrub canopies, as higher C and N concentrations were found under the canopies compared with alleys. At the same time, the establishment of shrubs facilitates the colonization and development of herbaceous species. A. halodendron proved to have better effects in fixing the sand surface, improving soil properties, and restoring plant species in comparison to C. microphylla.