The context of studies into the perception of desertification / R.L. Heathcote -- Desertification in the dry zone of Sri Lanka / M.U.A. Tennakoon -- Perception of desertification on the southern Great Plains: a preliminary enquiry / R.L. Heathcote -- Perception of desertification in the Murray Mallee of southern Australia / R.L. Heathcote -- Perception of increasing salinity associated with the irrigation of the Murray valley in South Australia / M. Butler -- Summary and conclusions: the role of perception in the desertification process / R.L. Heathcote