xiv
Xi Chen is a professor of hydrology, ecosystem,
remote sensing and geographic information system of
arid land; general director of the Research Center for
Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Chinese
Academy of Sciences; and vice president of the
Xinjiang branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
He has made a great contribution by developing geography and ecosystem management theories and methods in arid regions and published more than 200 papers
and 18 books. In 2008, Prof. Chen established the ecosystem monitoring and research network of Central
Asia; in 2009, he founded the Journal of Arid Land and
is the editor in chief since then. In 2012, he was elected
as the chair of the Central Asia Ecology and
Environment Research Alliance, carrying out more
than 30 international cooperation projects on climate
change, ecosystem, and agriculture and water resource
with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,
Germany and Russia. Prof. Chen is an honorary academician at the National Academy of Sciences of the
Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Gulnura Issanova holds a doctoral degree in natural
sciences and is an associate professor at Al-Farabi
Kazakh National University, scientist and researcher at
U.U. Uspanov Kazakh Research Institute of Soil
Science and Agrochemistry, and a scientific secretary
at the Research Centre of Ecology and Environment of
Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan. She studied at
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University for a bachelor’s
degree (B.Sc.) and master’s (M.Sc.) degree in physical
geography and at Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and
Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, for
her doctoral degree. She completed a postdoc under the
CAS President’s (Bai Chunli) International Fellowship
Initiative (PIFI) for 2017–2018 at the Xinjiang Institute
of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, China. Dr. Issanova is a holder of the Foreign
Expert Certificate of the People’s Republic of China.
Currently, she is a postdoc at Al-Farabi Kazakh
National University, Faculty of Geography and
Environment. Her research interest is focused on probAbout the Authors
Xi Chen is a professor of hydrology, ecosystem,
remote sensing and geographic information system of
arid land; general director of the Research Center for
Ecology and Environment of Central Asia, Chinese
Academy of Sciences; and vice president of the
Xinjiang branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
He has made a great contribution by developing geography and ecosystem management theories and methods in arid regions and published more than 200 papers
and 18 books. In 2008, Prof. Chen established the ecosystem monitoring and research network of Central
Asia; in 2009, he founded the Journal of Arid Land and
is the editor in chief since then. In 2012, he was elected
as the chair of the Central Asia Ecology and
Environment Research Alliance, carrying out more
than 30 international cooperation projects on climate
change, ecosystem, and agriculture and water resource
with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,
Germany and Russia. Prof. Chen is an honorary academician at the National Academy of Sciences of the
Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Gulnura Issanova holds a doctoral degree in natural
sciences and is an associate professor at Al-Farabi
Kazakh National University, scientist and researcher at
U.U. Uspanov Kazakh Research Institute of Soil
Science and Agrochemistry, and a scientific secretary
at the Research Centre of Ecology and Environment of
Central Asia, Almaty, Kazakhstan. She studied at
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University for a bachelor’s
degree (B.Sc.) and master’s (M.Sc.) degree in physical
geography and at Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and
Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, for
her doctoral degree. She completed a postdoc under the
CAS President’s (Bai Chunli) International Fellowship
Initiative (PIFI) for 2017–2018 at the Xinjiang Institute
of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, China. Dr. Issanova is a holder of the Foreign
Expert Certificate of the People’s Republic of China.
Currently, she is a postdoc at Al-Farabi Kazakh
National University, Faculty of Geography and
Environment. Her research interest is focused on probAbout the Authors