Identifying the flow paths and beneficiary ranges of the sand fixation service: A case‐study in Xilingol League, China

Abstract

AbstractThe sand fixation service (SFS) is a function of vegetation ecosystems whereby sand is restrained and stabilized. It not only generates ecological benefits for local areas but also affects circulation media such as wind and has an impact on surrounding areas. Therefore, it is urgent to study the flow process and influence of the SFS, so as to provide a theoretical basis for cross‐regional ecological compensation. We chose Xilingol League (shorten as "Xilingol") as the study area and used the hybrid single‐particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT) model to comprehensively identify the spatial flow paths (FPs) and beneficiary ranges (BRs) of the SFS from 2000 to 2018. The results showed that there were 726 FPs of the SFS, which were mainly distributed in spring, accounting for 63.50% of the total FPs. The total area of the BRs was 279.50 × 104 km2, accounting for 29.15% of China's land area. The high‐frequency BRs were mainly distributed in the southeast of Inner Mongolia, northern Hebei, northern Liaoning, northern Beijing, and northwestern Jilin. In terms of BRs, farmland was the largest (92.09 × 104 km2) land cover type, accounting for 34.51% of the total area of the BRs, and the total beneficiary population and gross domestic product accounting for 44.53% and 50.06% of whole China in 2015. Identification of FPs and BRs of SFS in this study could provide a reference to make ecology compensation policy at national level.