Interactive effects of wind speed, vegetation coverage and soil moisture in controlling wind erosion in a temperate desert steppe, Inner Mongolia of China

To better understand the effects of biological soil crusts (BSCs) on soil moisture and wind erosion and study the necessity and feasibility of disturbance of BSCs in the Mu Us sandland, the effects of four treatments, including moss-dominated crusts alone,Artemisia ordosicaalone, bare sand, andArtemisia ordosicacombined with moss-dominated crusts, on rainwater infiltration, soil moisture, and annual wind erosion were observed. The major results are as follows. (1) The development of moss-dominated crusts exacerbated soil moisture consumption and had negative effects on soil moisture in the Mu Us sandland. (2) Moss-dominated crusts significantly increased soil resistance to wind erosion, and when combined withArtemisia ordosica, this effect became more significant. The contribution of moss-dominated crusts underArtemisia ordosicawas significantly lower than that of moss-dominated crusts alone in sites where vegetative coverage > 50%. (3) Finally, an appropriate disturbance of moss-dominated crusts in the rainy season in sites with high vegetative coverage improved soil water environment and vegetation succession, but disturbance in sites with little or no vegetative cover should be prohibited to avoid the exacerbation of wind erosion.

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Research on Wind Erosion of Xilamuren Grassland, Inner Mongolia

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.955-959.3505 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 955-959 ◽

pp. 3505-3508 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tian Ming Gao ◽

Rui Qiang Zhang ◽

Jian Ying Guo

Keyword(s):

Inner Mongolia ◽

Wind Erosion ◽

Initial Period ◽

Northern China ◽

Vegetation Coverage ◽

Available Phosphorus ◽

Grassland Vegetation ◽

Available Nitrogen ◽

Vegetation Height ◽

Degraded Grassland

In northern China, grassland has degraded severely and wind erosion occurs remarkably due to irrational land use in recent years. By employing sand sampler and mobile wind tunnel, an observation for 6 years was made to analyze the mechanisms of wind erosion in Xilamuren grassland, the central of Yinshan Mountains, Inner Mongolia. Results show that: (1) vegetation is the decisive factor for controlling wind erosion and the inhibiting effect of vegetation height on wind erosion is greater than that of vegetation coverage. (2) Wind erosion modulus in the initial period of enclosure reaches 1313.7 t km-2a-1 and with the improvement of the grassland vegetation, wind erosion decreases year by year. (3) For every 1000 kg soil eroded by wind, 15 kg organic matter, 227g available nitrogen, 262g available phosphorus and 120g available potassium lose in the region at the same time, being a tremendous fertility loss. Therefore, the protection of base grassland and restoration of degraded grassland are two fundamental approaches to control wind erosion on the grassland.

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An Experimental Study of the Zhao He Grassland Soil Wind Erosion Characteristics on the Northern Foothills of Yin Shan Mountain

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.518-523.4496 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 518-523 ◽

pp. 4496-4503

Author(s):

Jian Qiang Chen ◽

Man Quan Zhao ◽

Zhi Chen

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Moisture Content ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Wind Erosion ◽

Soil Moisture Content ◽

Ground Surface ◽

Vegetation Coverage ◽

Soil Wind Erosion ◽

Erosion Test ◽

And Control

The soil erosion test was carried out for the Zhao He grassland on the northern foothills of Yin Shan Mountain by the use of a portable wind erosion tunnel developed by Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, the variation low of soil wind erosion rate with the different wind speed and different arrangement in pairs of different soil moisture content and different vegetation coverage was obtained and the data analysis indicates that the anti-wind erosion characteristics of ground surface is most satisfactory when the vegetation coverage is 40%, soil moisture content 9.3% and the height of vegetation 50cm. The result of this study may provide a certain reference date for the application of prevention and control technology of soil wind erosion and be of vital significance to the implementation of sustainable development of livestock husbandry.

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