Preliminary results of the study on wind erosion in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau using137Cs technique

Abstract

The worldwide fallout of caesium-137 (137Cs) associated with the nuclear weapon tests during the 1950s and 1960s has provided a valuable man-made tracer for studies of soil erosion and sediment delivery. But relatively few researchers have used it to estimate wind erosion. In this note, the137Cs technique is introduced into the studies of wind erosion and its modern processes in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Two137Cs reference inventories of 982.11 and 2 376.04 Bq · m−2 were established preminarily, distributed in the south and middle-north parts of the studied area respectively. By analyzing the patterns of137Cs depth profiles from sampling sites, the aeolian processes of erosion and deposition in nearly 40 years have been revealed, i.e. the shrub coppice dunes (S1) and semi-fixed dunefields (S3) experienced the alternation of erosion and deposition, while the grasslands (S4, S6 and S7) and dry farmlands (S5) suffered erosion only. By using137Cs model, the average wind erosion rates for shrub coppice dune (S1), semi-fixed dune fields (S3), dry farmlands (S5) and grasslands (S4, S6 and S7) were estimated to be 84.14, 69.43, 30.68 and 21.84 t · ha1 · a−1 respectively, averaging 47.59 t · ha−1 · a−1 for the whole plateau, which can be regarded as of the medium erosion standard. These results derived from Cs for the first time have significant implications for the further research of wind erosion and desertification control in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.