Abstract
Plant residual is of great importance in retarding soil wind erosion in the agro-pastoral ecotone. However, few studies have determined the effects of sand plant residual on wind erosion resistance. Based on field surveys, the influences of Salix residual biomass of 200, 400, 600, and 800 g m−2, soil incorporated with a residual thickness of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 cm, and typical proportion of residual branches and leaves (2:1, 1:1, and 1:2) on wind erosion resistance were investigated using a simulated wind tunnel. The results showed the following: 1) The soil loss amount ranged from 1.56 to 40.8 kg m−2 as Salix residual biomass decreased from 800 to 0 g m−2, with a critical residual biomass value of 400 g m−2. 2) As the thickness of soil-incorporated residual increased, the soil loss amount reduced rapidly, especially for 0–9 cm above the surface accounting for 84.6% of the total. 3) Salix branch residual is more important in resisting soil wind erosion as compared with its leaves. This kind of study may provide theoretical explanations for the optimal reconstruction of sandy vegetation in the northern wind-sand regions.
Highlights
Wind erosion is an environmental concern in arid and semi-arid regions due to the emission of particulates into the atmosphere (He, 2014; Tuo et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 2018)
The key hypothesis of this study is that wind erosion resistance of residual can be achieved by adjusting biomass, the soil–residual thickness, and the ratio of branches and leaves
Soil covered with plant residual could be especially valuable in the semi-arid regions (Zhang et al, 2017)
Summary
Wind erosion is an environmental concern in arid and semi-arid regions due to the emission of particulates into the atmosphere (He, 2014; Tuo et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 2018). Decades of practice showed that sandy vegetation construction is an effective method of ecological reconstruction in the northern wind-sand regions (Yu et al, 2017; Zhang et al, 2019). Research has been focused on the interactions between sandy vegetation and its influence on the soil quality in the agropastoral ecotone of northern China (Zhang and Zhao, 2015; Wang et al, 2020) and the relationship between plant distribution patterns and wind erosion resistance (He, 2014; Li et al, 2016, Li et al, 2017). Few studies have determined the effects of sand plant residual on wind erosion resistance. Previous studies related to wind erosion have shown that Salix residual community can form obvious patterns in the dune slope; the spatial and temporal variation of this could strongly influence the vegetation species composition, community structure, and soil quality development due to the long-term effects of wind
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