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Changes in wind erosion over a 25-year restoration chronosequence on the south edge of the Tengger Desert, China: implications for preventing desertification

Changes in wind erosion over a 25-year restoration chronosequence on the south edge of the... Wind erosion is a primary cause of desertification as well as being a serious ecological problem in arid and semi-arid areas across the world. To determine mechanisms for restoring desertified lands, an unrestored shifting sand dune and three formerly shifting sand dunes (desertified lands) that had been enclosed and afforested for 5, 15, and 25 years were selected for evaluation on the south edge of the Tengger Desert, China. Based on sampling heights between 0.2 and 3 m, the critical threshold average wind speed was 6.5 m s−1 at 2 m where the sand transport rate was reduced from 285.9 kg m−2 h−1 on the unrestored dunes to 9.1 and 1.8 kg m−2 h−1 on the sites afforested and enclosed for 5 and 15 years, respectively. The percentage of wind eroded area was reduced from 99.9% on the unrestored dune to 94.5, 9.0, and 0.5% on the sites afforested and enclosed for 5, 15, and 25 years, respectively. Wind erosion was effectively reduced after 15 years. Although there were different driving factors for wind erosion mitigation on the different restoration stages, an increase in the vegetation cover, surface roughness, soil shear strength, soil clay content, organic matter, and reduction in the near-surface wind speed were the primary variables associated with the restoration chronosequence. We conclude that reducing the wind speed and developing a biological crust through vegetation restoration were the critical components for restoration of desertified land. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Springer Journals

Changes in wind erosion over a 25-year restoration chronosequence on the south edge of the Tengger Desert, China: implications for preventing desertification

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References (87)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Springer International Publishing AG
Subject
Environment; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Environmental Management; Ecotoxicology; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Ecology
ISSN
0167-6369
eISSN
1573-2959
DOI
10.1007/s10661-017-6183-0
pmid
28836079
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Wind erosion is a primary cause of desertification as well as being a serious ecological problem in arid and semi-arid areas across the world. To determine mechanisms for restoring desertified lands, an unrestored shifting sand dune and three formerly shifting sand dunes (desertified lands) that had been enclosed and afforested for 5, 15, and 25 years were selected for evaluation on the south edge of the Tengger Desert, China. Based on sampling heights between 0.2 and 3 m, the critical threshold average wind speed was 6.5 m s−1 at 2 m where the sand transport rate was reduced from 285.9 kg m−2 h−1 on the unrestored dunes to 9.1 and 1.8 kg m−2 h−1 on the sites afforested and enclosed for 5 and 15 years, respectively. The percentage of wind eroded area was reduced from 99.9% on the unrestored dune to 94.5, 9.0, and 0.5% on the sites afforested and enclosed for 5, 15, and 25 years, respectively. Wind erosion was effectively reduced after 15 years. Although there were different driving factors for wind erosion mitigation on the different restoration stages, an increase in the vegetation cover, surface roughness, soil shear strength, soil clay content, organic matter, and reduction in the near-surface wind speed were the primary variables associated with the restoration chronosequence. We conclude that reducing the wind speed and developing a biological crust through vegetation restoration were the critical components for restoration of desertified land.

Journal

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment – Springer Journals

Published: Aug 23, 2017

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