Land degradation has become one of the biggest environmental challenges human society is currently facing, which is why understanding the global pattern of this land crisis is absolutely necessary. However, so far, the multiple forms of this environmental issue have mainly been analysed in international scientific literature in a narrow traditional manner, frequently based on approaching a relatively low number of ordinary land degradation processes. Consequently, as this complex process has not been sufficiently well explored, this study aims to investigate global land degradation in an interdisciplinary and holistic manner, in terms of the multidimensional nature, causes, spatial footprint, multiple consequences (for the ecological and anthropogenic systems worldwide, but also for the global climate system) and various solutions to mitigate worldwide land multi-degradation. Based on various information investigated in more than 500 reliable scientific papers, the findings of this review paper showed that there currently are 17 land degradation pathways (aridity, biological invasions, coastal erosion, land erosion by water, land erosion by wind, land pollution, land subsidence, landslides, permafrost thawing, salinization, soil acidification, soil biodiversity loss, soil compaction, soil organic carbon loss, soil sealing, vegetation degradation and waterlogging), which are active on various spatial scales across the planet. Five of the seventeen land degradation dimensions were considered major land degradation pathways and explored in detail in this study (aridity, land erosion by water, salinization, soil organic carbon loss and vegetation degradation), considering several relevant criteria outlined in the paper (global spatial footprint, data availability, and impact on agricultural, ecological and climate systems). Essentially, it was found that the five global degradation processes significantly erode the multiple ecosystem functions and services of worldwide land systems, which are crucial for human wellbeing, life support and the Earth systems’ stability. Nonetheless, other land degradation processes can also be considered major land degradative pathways, although a main current impediment in their detailed investigation is the general lack of global data availability. Therefore, the study highlights the complexity and severity of global land degradation, and draws attention to the need for other studies to approach land degradation multidimensionally, which goes beyond the traditional perspectives focused on the conventional processes of water erosion, wind erosion or soil salinization. At the same time, the study highlights the fact that land degradation must be an urgent priority in governmental and international policies, which can rely on a wide range of control measures that are currently available (some of the relevant ones are explored in this paper) for combating this disrupting environmental process rapidly, efficiently and on a large scale throughout the world.

土地退化已成为人类社会目前面临的最大环境挑战之一，因此了解这场土地危机的全球格局是绝对必要的。然而，迄今为止，国际科学文献主要以狭隘的传统方式对这一环境问题的多种形式进行了分析，通常基于处理数量相对较少的普通土地退化过程。因此，由于这个复杂的过程还没有得到充分的探索，本研究旨在以跨学科和整体的方式调查全球土地退化的多维性质、原因、空间足迹、多重后果（对于全世界的生态和人为系统） , 也适用于全球气候系统）以及缓解全球土地多重退化的各种解决方案。根据500余篇可靠的科学论文中调查的各种信息，此审查论文的发现表明，目前存在17种土地退化途径（干旱，生物入侵，海岸侵蚀，水土流失，风土流失，土地污染，地面沉降、山体滑坡、永久冻土融化、盐渍化、土壤酸化、土壤生物多样性丧失、土壤板结、土壤有机碳流失、土壤封闭、植被退化和内涝），它们在地球上的不同空间尺度上都非常活跃。十七个土地退化维度中有五个被认为是主要的土地退化途径，并在本研究中进行了详细探讨（干旱、水土流失、盐渍化、土壤有机碳损失和植被退化），考虑到论文中概述的几个相关标准（全球空间足迹、数据可用性以及对农业、生态和气候系统的影响）。从本质上讲，人们发现五个全球退化过程显着侵蚀了全球土地系统的多种生态系统功能和服务，这些功能和服务对人类福祉、生命支持和地球系统的稳定至关重要。尽管如此，其他土地退化过程也可以被视为主要的土地退化途径，尽管目前在详细调查中的一个主要障碍是普遍缺乏全球数据可用性。因此，该研究强调了全球土地退化的复杂性和严重性，并提请注意其他研究需要多维度处理土地退化问题，这超出了关注水蚀、风蚀或土壤盐渍化等传统过程的传统观点。同时，该研究强调了土地退化必须成为政府和国际政策的当务之急，这可以依靠目前可用的广泛控制措施（本文探讨了其中的一些相关措施）以在世界范围内迅速、有效和大规模地打击这种破坏环境的过程。