Fig. 3. Impacts of desertification-combating practices on grain and meat production.

Grain and meat production losses (shown by the dotted box in the figure) caused by restrictions on available lands put in place by the “grain-for-green” and grazing exclusion practices in the desertification-prone region. Because these two practices have been extensively launched since 2001 and 2011, respectively (Supplementary Note 2), the grain and meat production losses were estimated for the simultaneous periods. More details are provided in the Methods section.