Impacts of land cover changes on dust emissions in northern China (2000–2020)

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AbstractLand cover is a key factor affecting dust emissions. Substantial changes in land cover have occurred due to human activities and climate change in northern China. However, the extent to which these changes influence dust emissions is still controversial. Here, we explored the specific impact of land use type transformation on dust emissions between 2000 and 2020 by using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF‐Chem) from the perspective of land cover changes. Two scenarios were set up and compared to quantify this impact. One scenario was using the land cover data in 2000, and the other scenario was to use the land cover data in 2020. Both scenarios were driven by the initial meteorological conditions in 2020. Results indicated that the land cover changes between 2000 and 2020 reduced dust emissions in northern China, but the weakened intensity showed obvious spatial differences. Different land use conversion types had significant differences in their impact on dust emissions. Transforming bare areas to water bodies can reduce dust emissions by up to −3.62 g m−2 year−1. This is followed by the change from bare areas to sparse vegetation areas, which can decrease dust emissions by −2.9 g m−2 year−1, and then by the conversion from bare areas to cropland, with a reduction of −2.57 g m−2 year−1. These findings can offer methodologies and data support for the quantitative evaluation of the effects of land cover changes on dust emissions. They can also serve as a reference for environmental management when formulating land use policies.