As Yang et al. point out, we focused on tree planting in China in our Correspondence; however, planting the wrong species of shrub can also cause depletion of soil water and exacerbate environmental degradation (X. M. Mu et al. Acta Pedologica Sinica 40, 210–217; 2003).

We disagree that the main factor responsible for soil erosion in drylands is run-off: serious soil erosion and related environmental disasters, such as desertification and sandstorms, are caused by wind — particularly where annual precipitation is less than 400 millimetres (X. M. Wang et al. Earth-Sci. Rev. 88, 188–206; 2008). Wind erosion can increase in grassland that has been invaded by shrubs or trees because the protective covering of grasses is damaged.

Smaller trade-offs and better compromises between soil and water conservation can be achieved when environmental restoration relies on species that do not use more water than is available. A reliance on afforestation is not the solution, even when the definition of afforestation is expanded to include the planting of shrubs. The solution is to identify the most appropriate vegetation.