Wind Erosion Changes in a Semi-Arid Sandy Area, Inner Mongolia, China

Hanbing Zhang,Danfeng Sun,Yang Gao,Yanzhi Cui,Wenjie Zhu,Lulu Liu

doi:10.3390/su11010188

Abstract

Wind erosion is one of the major environmental problems in drylands. Identifying the dominant natural factors of wind erosion and using targeted treatment measures are the key steps in wind erosion control. Using Horqin Left Back Banner in China as a case study, we applied the revised wind erosion equation to simulate the spatial distribution of wind erosion in the semi-arid sandy area. Contribution assessment and constraint line analysis were used to investigate the contributions of driving forces to wind erosion changes. The results showed that the wind erosion in the whole area was reduced by 0.35 t/hm2·a from 2005 to 2016. The wind factor and vegetation coverage factor had dominant contributions to the wind erosion modulus and accounted for the erosion in 49.87% and 50.13% of the total area, respectively. In addition, the average wind speed exceeding the threshold and the number of occurrences exhibited significant correlations with the wind erosion severity. Meanwhile, the mitigation effects of vegetation coverage on wind erosion decreased with the increase in wind speed. The temporal mismatch between the wind speed and vegetation coverage was the main reason for the frequent severe wind erosion in spring. Reducing the spring wind speed through adding windbreaks would be an effective method for decreasing wind erosion in semi-arid areas.

Highlights

As a major environmental problem in drylands, wind erosion has drawn considerable attention from researchers [1,2,3]
The Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) model simulation results showed that the average wind erosion rate in HLBB from 2005 to 2016 was 2.88 t/hm2·a
The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The average modulus of wind erosion was 2.88 t/hm2·a in HLBB from 2005 to 2016, which generally increased from west to east

Summary

Introduction

As a major environmental problem in drylands, wind erosion has drawn considerable attention from researchers [1,2,3]. Wind erosion is generally affected by both natural factors and human activities [15,16,17,18]. Since human activities are bounded by natural conditions and affect wind erosion by changing natural factors [19], the natural factors, such as vegetation coverage, wind speed, temperature, and precipitation, should be the direct contributing drivers to wind erosion. Researchers have reported significant negative correlations between vegetation coverage and wind erosion [22], effects of temperature change on wind erosion in Inner Mongolia [23], and the ability of wind speed and precipitation to affect wind erosion [14]. Meng et al [20] found that the most important natural factors that can influence aeolian sand transportation in Inner Mongolia were wind speed, vegetation coverage, and soil moisture. Quantitatively identifying the dominant natural factors of wind erosion and using targeted treatment measures are the key steps in wind erosion control

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion