Abstract:In more than 60 years since the foundation of Shapotou Desert Research and Experiment Station (SDRES) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, SDRES has been committing itself to serving the national needs, and made important progresses in the realms of sand hazards control, the reconstruction and restoration of desert ecosystems, eco-hydrology of sandy lands, and drought stress physiology and ecology. SDRES had been awarded the State Science and Technology Advancement Prize for two times (one for the top-class prize, and one for the second-class prize), and won the Best Practice Prize in Combating Desertification by United Nations Development Program. SDRES was also elected to the Global 500 Roll of Honor for Environmental Achievement by the United Nations Environment Program. Long-term ecological research (LTER) in SDRES revealed the vegetative regulation mechanisms within soil water cycle of arid desert areas, developed the key techniques for vegetation construction in desert areas with rainfall < 200 mm, formulated the technique system and application paradigm for ecological restoration, clarified the mechanisms in maintaining stability of artificial revegetation, broadened the eco-hydrological theoretical basis of ecological restoration within desert ecosystems, promoted the studies in drought stress physiology and ecology, and is leading the studies associated to desert biological soil crusts. Long-term ecological research (LTER) in SDRES had also made great influences both at home and abroad, provided the basic theory and technique support for combating wind and sand hazards and for the ecological reconstruction and restoration in sandy lands of China, and had made a great contribution to China's practices in sand prevention and control.