Field investigation of surface sand and dust movement over different sandy grasslands in the Otindag Sandy Land, China

Abstract

The characteristics of sand and dust movement over different sandy grasslands in China’s Otindag Sandy Land were explored based on field observations and laboratory analyses. Threshold wind speeds (the speed required to initiate sand movement) at a height of 2 m above the ground were estimated in the field for different surface types. Threshold wind speed above shifting dunes in the study area is about 4.6 m s−1 at this height. This value was smaller than values observed above other surfaces, resulting in a greater risk of blowing sand above these dunes. Differences in sand transport rates (STR) as a function of the severity of desertification resulted primarily from differences in surface vegetation cover and secondarily from the soil’s grain-size distribution. STR increased exponentially with increasing near-bed wind velocity. Under the same wind conditions, STR increased with increasing severity of desertification: from 0.08 g cm−2 min−1 above semi-fixed dunes to 8 g cm−2 min−1 above semi-shifting dunes and 25 g cm−2 min−1 above shifting dunes. Vegetation’s affect on STR was clearly large. Different components of sand and dust were trapped over different lands: mostly sand grains but little dust were trapped above shifting dunes, but much dust was collected over semi-shifting and semi-fixed dunes. Human disturbance is likely to produce dust even from fixed dunes as a result of trampling by animals and vehicle travel. In addition, spring rainfall decreased the risk of sand and dust movement by accelerating germination of plants and the formation of a soil crust.