Key driving forces of desertification in the Mu Us Desert, China

Xunming Wang,Hui Li,Wenyong Ma,Linlin Jiao,Hong Cheng,Danfeng Li,Bingqi Zhu,Wenbin Liu,Ting Hua,Junpeng Lou

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-04363-8

Abstract

The temporal trends and key driving forces of desertification in the Mu Us Desert are representatives of most arid regions of Asia with a high risk of desertification. We analyzed the significance of Aeolian transport on desertification in the Mu Us Desert by field investigations, sampling, wind tunnel experiments, particle size and nutrient measurements, and statistics on aeolian transport potentials. The results showed that high intensities of aeolian processes may result in low differences in aeolian transport despite differences in the underlying sediments. When high desertification occurred in the 1970s, the annual losses of the ammonium N, nitrate N, available K, and available P were approximately 116, 312, 46,436, and 1,251 kg km−2, respectively. After 2010, the losses were only 8, 20, 3,208, and 84 kg km−2, which were generally only 6.7% of those in the 1970s. The results showed that although human activity may trigger desertification, the dramatic decline of aeolian transport and low nutrient loss may be the key driving forces for the occurrence of rehabilitation in this region.

Highlights

Arid Asia stretches from Northeast Asia to Central and West Asia and covers an area of 1.5 × 108 km[2], of which more than 70% is covered by sand dunes, sand sheets, gravel surfaces, and steppes
The results demonstrated that aeolian transport occurrence force, rather than human activity, was the key driver of desertification in the Mu Us Desert over the past several decades
Aeolian processes result in great variations in the components of surface soils

Summary

Introduction

Arid Asia stretches from Northeast Asia to Central and West Asia and covers an area of 1.5 × 108 km[2], of which more than 70% is covered by sand dunes, sand sheets, gravel surfaces, and steppes. The annual mean precipitation is less than 500 mm, and the aridity index is less than 0.501 (Figure S1) These areas are usually managed as traditional pastoral and agricultural systems, and desertification occurrence could seriously endanger and jeopardize the existence of approximately 350 million people[2]. Among the regions with high risks of desertification in arid Asia, the Mu Us Desert (S1) is a representative area where human activity is usually considered to be a key driving force of desertification[3, 4]. The results demonstrated that aeolian transport occurrence force, rather than human activity, was the key driver of desertification in the Mu Us Desert over the past several decades

Methods

Results

Conclusion