Desertification Dynamics, Drivers, and Restoration Strategies in Arid Agroecosystems: Comparative Lessons from Ningxia (China) and Egypt for Sustainable Land Management

Desertification represents a critical environmental challenge in arid and semi-arid regions, driven by the combined impacts of climate change and unsustainable land-use practices. This review provides a comparative assessment of desertification dynamics, mitigation strategies, and ecological restoration approaches in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (China) and Egypt. Both regions are characterized by severe water scarcity, increasing climatic variability, and fragile ecosystems; however, they differ in ecological conditions, institutional frameworks, and dominant land degradation processes. The study synthesizes major drivers of desertification, including rising temperatures, precipitation variability, recurrent droughts, soil salinization, overgrazing, wind erosion, and unsustainable agricultural expansion. It further evaluates key control measures implemented in both regions, such as afforestation and ecological engineering, sand dune stabilization, water-efficient irrigation systems, soil rehabilitation practices, and the integration of remote sensing and GIS-based monitoring technologies. The analysis highlights China’s large-scale, long-term ecological restoration programs, which have significantly improved vegetation cover and reduced land degradation, compared to Egypt’s emphasis on irrigation efficiency, land reclamation, and salinity management under extreme aridity constraints. Importantly, the comparison underscores institutional differences, with China’s state-led ecological engineering contrasting against Egypt’s multi-actor reclamation initiatives, offering novel insights into governance pathways for combating desertification. The comparative synthesis demonstrates that effective desertification control requires integrated strategies combining ecological restoration, sustainable water resource management, technological innovation, and strong policy support. Despite contextual differences, both regions offer complementary lessons for dryland management. The study emphasizes the potential for enhanced China–Egypt cooperation in climate-smart agriculture, digital environmental monitoring, and nature-based solutions, thereby advancing sustainable land restoration and contributing to global efforts toward land degradation neutrality under future climate change scenarios.