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Since the turn of the millennium various scientific publications\udhave been discussing a re-greening of the Sahel after the 1980s drought\udmainly based on coarse-resolution satellite data. However, the author's own field studies\udsuggest that the situation is far more complex and that both paradigms, the\ud<q>encroaching Sahara</q> and the <q>re-greening Sahel</q>, need to be questioned.This paper discusses the concepts of desertification, resilience, and\udre-greening by addressing four main aspects: (i) the relevance of edaphic\udfactors for a vegetation re-greening, (ii-iii) the importance of the selected\udobservation period in the debate on Sahel greening or browning, and (iv) modifications in the vegetation pattern as possible indicators of ecosystem\udchanges (shift from originally diffuse to contracted vegetation patterns).The data referred to in this paper cover a time period of more than 150\udyears and include the author's own research results from the early 1980s\uduntil today. A special emphasis, apart from fieldwork data and remote\udsensing data, is laid on the historical documents.The key findings summarised at the end show the following: (i) vegetation\udrecovery predominantly depends on soil types; (ii) when discussing Sahel\udgreening vs. Sahel browning, the majority of research papers only focus\udon post-drought conditions. Taking pre-drought conditions (before the 1980s)\udinto account, however, is essential to fully understand the situation.\udBotanical investigations and remote-sensing-based time series clearly show a\udsubstantial decline in woody species diversity and cover density compared to\udpre-drought conditions; (iii) the self-organised patchiness of vegetation is\udconsidered to be an important indicator of ecosystem changes

Desertification, resilience, and re-greening in the African Sahel – a matter of the observation period?