BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- A global dryland research project led by Chinese researchers will serve as a reference for sandstorm source control, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The Global Dryland Ecosystem Programme (Global-DEP), initiated by the CAS, published a series of research results on Monday, providing a roadmap and cooperation platform for the research and management of global arid areas.

Fu Bojie, chief scientist of the project and also an academician of the CAS, said there is a lack of long-term monitoring data in dryland areas, especially in some developing countries.

Sandstorms are closely related to land degradation, Fu said, adding that the project will focus on land degradation, help restore the ecosystem and facilitate sandstorm source control.

Through this project, researchers from home and abroad have jointly formulated standards for global observation and research on dryland areas and carried out case studies of dryland ecosystem protection in different regions.

The project will collaborate with the United Nations Environment Programme and the Alliance of International Science Organization in establishing a database for dryland ecosystem management, according to the CAS. Enditem