Numerous hypotheses and conceptional models dealing with the grassland deserti-fication or degradation processes recognize that the invasion of shrubs in grasslands is the most striking feature of the variation of veg...Numerous hypotheses and conceptional models dealing with the grassland deserti-fication or degradation processes recognize that the invasion of shrubs in grasslands is the most striking feature of the variation of vegetation patterns in the grassland degradation or desertifica-tion processes in arid and semiarid regions. This is because the invasion of shrubs in grasslands increases the heterogeneity of the temporal and spatial distribution of primary vegetation and soil resources. As a result, the biological processes of the soil-vegetation system are increasingly concentrated in the “fertile islands” under shrub canopies, and the soil between shrubs gradually turns into bare area or moving sand under the influences of prolonged wind and water erosion. Most of relative researches support this bio-ecological interpretation for the degraded process of grassland. However, as viewed from the other aspect, the shrub vegetation distributed in patches also serves as the “trigger spots” for the grassland restoration or desertification reversion, and this has been demonstrated by the practices of combating desertification in China. Nearly 50 years of succession of artificial sand-binding vegetation in the Shapotou area and the regional restoration of eco-environment are the theoretical verification and successful example for the desertification reversion. The establishment of artificial vegetation in the region began with the installation of sand fences and planting xerophytic shrubs relying on less than 200 mm of annual precipitation under the non-irrigation condition, this made the moving sand, an originally uni-formly distributed soil resource, occur the variation of spatial heterogeneity. Through the redis-tribution of precipitation and dustfall by the canopy of xerophytic shrubs, litter accumulation and cryptogamic crust development, soil-forming processes under shrub canopies were accelerated; in the meantime, it also created a favorable condition for the invasion and colonization of annual and perennial pl展开更多
The main prevention and control area for wind-blown sand hazards in northern China is about 320000 km2 in size and includes sandlands to the east of the Helan Mountain and sandy deserts and desert-steppe transitional ...The main prevention and control area for wind-blown sand hazards in northern China is about 320000 km2 in size and includes sandlands to the east of the Helan Mountain and sandy deserts and desert-steppe transitional regions to the west of the Helan Mountain.Vegetation recovery and restoration is an important and effective approach for constraining wind-blown sand hazards in these areas.After more than 50 years of long-term ecological studies in the Shapotou region of the Tengger Desert,we found that revegetation changed the hydrological processes of the original sand dune system through the utilization and space-time redistribution of soil water.The spatiotemporal dynamics of soil water was significantly related to the dynamics of the replanted vegetation for a given regional precipitation condition.The long-term changes in hydrological processes in desert areas also drive replanted vegetation succession.The soil water carrying capacity of vegetation and the model for sand fixation by revegetation in aeolian desert areas where precipitation levels are less than 200 mm are also discussed.展开更多
The rapid desertification of grasslands in Inner Mongolia of China poses a significant ecological threaten to northern China. The combined effects of anthropogenic disturbances （e.g., overgrazing） and biophysical pr...The rapid desertification of grasslands in Inner Mongolia of China poses a significant ecological threaten to northern China. The combined effects of anthropogenic disturbances （e.g., overgrazing） and biophysical processes （e.g., soil erosion） have led to vegetation degradation and the consequent acceleration of regional desertification. Thus, mitigating the accelerated wind erosion, a cause and effect of grassland desertification, is critical for the sustainable management of grasslands. Here, a combination of mobile wind tunnel experiments and wind erosion model was used to explore the effects of different levels of vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed on wind erosion at different positions of a slope inside an enclosed desert steppe in the Xilamuren grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results indicated a significant spatial difference in wind erosion intensities depending on the vegetation coverage, with a strong decreasing trend from the top to the base of the slope. Increasing vegetation coverage resulted in a rapid decrease in wind erosion as explained by a power function correlation. Vegetation coverage was found to be a dominant control on wind erosion by increasing the surface roughness and by lowering the threshold wind velocity for erosion. The critical vegetation coverage required for effectively controlling wind erosion was found to be higher than 60%. Further, the wind erosion rates were negatively correlated with surface soil moisture and the mass flux in aeolian sand transport increased with increasing wind speed. We developed a mathematical model of wind erosion based on the results of an orthogonal array design. The results from the model simulation indicated that the standardized regression coefficients of the main effects of the three factors （vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed） on the mass flux in aeolian sand transport were in the following order： wind speed〉vegetation coverage〉soil moisture. These three factors had different levels of interactive e展开更多
基金This study was supported by the Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KZCX3-SW-324)the Key Research Plan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.90202015).
文摘Numerous hypotheses and conceptional models dealing with the grassland deserti-fication or degradation processes recognize that the invasion of shrubs in grasslands is the most striking feature of the variation of vegetation patterns in the grassland degradation or desertifica-tion processes in arid and semiarid regions. This is because the invasion of shrubs in grasslands increases the heterogeneity of the temporal and spatial distribution of primary vegetation and soil resources. As a result, the biological processes of the soil-vegetation system are increasingly concentrated in the “fertile islands” under shrub canopies, and the soil between shrubs gradually turns into bare area or moving sand under the influences of prolonged wind and water erosion. Most of relative researches support this bio-ecological interpretation for the degraded process of grassland. However, as viewed from the other aspect, the shrub vegetation distributed in patches also serves as the “trigger spots” for the grassland restoration or desertification reversion, and this has been demonstrated by the practices of combating desertification in China. Nearly 50 years of succession of artificial sand-binding vegetation in the Shapotou area and the regional restoration of eco-environment are the theoretical verification and successful example for the desertification reversion. The establishment of artificial vegetation in the region began with the installation of sand fences and planting xerophytic shrubs relying on less than 200 mm of annual precipitation under the non-irrigation condition, this made the moving sand, an originally uni-formly distributed soil resource, occur the variation of spatial heterogeneity. Through the redis-tribution of precipitation and dustfall by the canopy of xerophytic shrubs, litter accumulation and cryptogamic crust development, soil-forming processes under shrub canopies were accelerated; in the meantime, it also created a favorable condition for the invasion and colonization of annual and perennial pl
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2013CB429906)
文摘The main prevention and control area for wind-blown sand hazards in northern China is about 320000 km2 in size and includes sandlands to the east of the Helan Mountain and sandy deserts and desert-steppe transitional regions to the west of the Helan Mountain.Vegetation recovery and restoration is an important and effective approach for constraining wind-blown sand hazards in these areas.After more than 50 years of long-term ecological studies in the Shapotou region of the Tengger Desert,we found that revegetation changed the hydrological processes of the original sand dune system through the utilization and space-time redistribution of soil water.The spatiotemporal dynamics of soil water was significantly related to the dynamics of the replanted vegetation for a given regional precipitation condition.The long-term changes in hydrological processes in desert areas also drive replanted vegetation succession.The soil water carrying capacity of vegetation and the model for sand fixation by revegetation in aeolian desert areas where precipitation levels are less than 200 mm are also discussed.
基金supported by the National Natural Science of Foundation of China(51769019)the Excellent Youth Foundation of Inner Mongolia Agricultural University(2014XYQ-8)
文摘The rapid desertification of grasslands in Inner Mongolia of China poses a significant ecological threaten to northern China. The combined effects of anthropogenic disturbances （e.g., overgrazing） and biophysical processes （e.g., soil erosion） have led to vegetation degradation and the consequent acceleration of regional desertification. Thus, mitigating the accelerated wind erosion, a cause and effect of grassland desertification, is critical for the sustainable management of grasslands. Here, a combination of mobile wind tunnel experiments and wind erosion model was used to explore the effects of different levels of vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed on wind erosion at different positions of a slope inside an enclosed desert steppe in the Xilamuren grassland of Inner Mongolia. The results indicated a significant spatial difference in wind erosion intensities depending on the vegetation coverage, with a strong decreasing trend from the top to the base of the slope. Increasing vegetation coverage resulted in a rapid decrease in wind erosion as explained by a power function correlation. Vegetation coverage was found to be a dominant control on wind erosion by increasing the surface roughness and by lowering the threshold wind velocity for erosion. The critical vegetation coverage required for effectively controlling wind erosion was found to be higher than 60%. Further, the wind erosion rates were negatively correlated with surface soil moisture and the mass flux in aeolian sand transport increased with increasing wind speed. We developed a mathematical model of wind erosion based on the results of an orthogonal array design. The results from the model simulation indicated that the standardized regression coefficients of the main effects of the three factors （vegetation coverage, soil moisture and wind speed） on the mass flux in aeolian sand transport were in the following order： wind speed〉vegetation coverage〉soil moisture. These three factors had different levels of interactive e
