Abstract
To assess the ecological effects of poplar stands with different densities and ages, fixed observation sites were established in selected standard forest plots. Daily dynamics of wind speed and sand transport rate were monitored over an erosive period (March to June) in 2017. Soil characteristics were also measured at these plots. Average daily wind speed and average daily wind erosion modulus decreased significantly after the establishment of poplar trees on sandy land, while soil density decreased significantly, soil hardness increased greatly, and soil organic carbon, total N, and available P levels increased significantly. With increasing stand density, average daily wind speed and daily sediment transport firstly decreased and then increased, while the investigated soil nutrients showed the opposite trend. A tree density of 1320–1368 trees·hm−2 significantly reduced surface wind erosion. With the increase in forest age, the average daily wind speed and daily sediment transport declined, while soil physical and chemical properties were gradually improved. At a stand age of 40 years, wind-caused soil erosion significantly reduced. Taking these effects into consideration, the design and management of protective forest systems in arid and semi-arid areas can be greatly improved.
Highlights
Land degradation as a result of wind erosion is one of the most important ecological problems in arid and semi-arid regions, which cover 41% of the global land area, posing an increasing threat to global biochemical cycles and agricultural productivity, and facilitating human health hazards and climate change [1,2,3]
China is susceptible to land degradation by wind erosion, where almost 40% of the national territory and over 170 million residents are threatened by wind erosion [4]
The Chinese government implemented a variety of measures that led to significant achievements in curbing the effects of land degradation on the environment and human life in some affected regions [5,6]; not all assessments agree about how effective these measures are, in preventing wind erosion and dust storms [7,8]
Summary
Land degradation as a result of wind erosion is one of the most important ecological problems in arid and semi-arid regions, which cover 41% of the global land area, posing an increasing threat to global biochemical cycles and agricultural productivity, and facilitating human health hazards and climate change [1,2,3]. Land degradation by wind erosion occurs widely in northwest China, where low annual precipitation and frequent strong winds prevail [1]. To mitigate this problem, the Chinese government implemented a variety of measures that led to significant achievements in curbing the effects of land degradation on the environment and human life in some affected regions [5,6]; not all assessments agree about how effective these measures are, in preventing wind erosion and dust storms [7,8]. Sand-fixing and windbreak forests are widely used to improve the local ecological conditions in arid and semi-arid regions [11,12] and are the main components of the Three-North Shelterbelt Project, known as the “Green Great Wall”
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