The desertification baseline is the standard to measure the severity of desertification and is imperative to achieve the target of land degradation neutrality of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15.3. However, desertification baselines are fragmented because of various modeling approaches and incompatible thresholds of indicators, leading to the evaluation results of desertification shrouded in controversy. In this review, we have examined the current status of the desertification baseline and explored its current problems and potential directions. Potential natural conditions, the theoretical conditions that would occur under existing environmental conditions without active human intervention, can standardize the evaluation of desertification and restoration in drylands to make assessments more compatible across and within regions. The results of our perspective will raise attention to desertification and put forward the establishment of a robust and unified desertification baseline to help achieve land degradation neutrality and conserve the multiple environmental, economic, and social benefits drylands provide.

中文翻译：

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荒漠化基线：解决荒漠化问题的瓶颈


荒漠化基线是衡量荒漠化严重程度的标准，是实现联合国可持续发展目标（SDG）15.3土地退化零增长目标的必要条件。然而，由于建模方法多样、指标阈值不兼容，导致荒漠化基线支离破碎，导致荒漠化评价结果饱受争议。在本次回顾中，我们审视了荒漠化基线的现状，并探讨了其当前的问题和潜在的方向。潜在的自然条件，即在现有环境条件下，在没有人类主动干预的情况下可能出现的理论条件，可以规范旱地荒漠化和恢复的评估，使评估在区域间和区域内更加兼容。我们的观点结果将引起人们对荒漠化的关注，并提出建立强有力的、统一的荒漠化基线，以帮助实现土地退化零增长，并保护旱地提供的多重环境、经济和社会效益。