Scientists at Ben-Gurion University have devised simple interventions at desert borders to reverse the process threatening to turn vast areas of the US, Spain and China into desert. Such activities include introducing new plant species or periodic clear cutting to reduce the competition for water.

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/on-campus/vegetation-fingers-could-help-reverse-desertification-israeli-scientists-say/2019/03/11/

https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.048101#fulltext

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhK8sTDu9kg