Canonical correlation factors causing the formation of accumulated sand-belts along the oasis fringe in Hexi corridor

Abstract

Accumulated sand鄄belts refer to those formed along the oasis fringe, especially at the upwind location, due to the accumulation of sand blocked by farmland windbreak. In the 60 years since the foundation of new China, a lot of trees have been planted for desertification combating in northwest and north China, thus, accumulated sand鄄belts were formed at the upwind location. The formation and the ecological effects of the accumulated sand鄄belts along the oasis fringe is a new scientific concern. To study the formation causes of these belts in Hexi corridor, 21 samples were selected, and the height / width of the belts, as well as the vegetation, soil, soil moisture and climatic factors were investigated. This paper analyzed the correlation between the height / width of the belts and the vegetation, soil, soil moisture and climatic factors using the methods of variance analysis, correlation analysis and canonical correlation analysis. The results indicate that: the accumulated sand鄄belts take a trend of being high and wide in the east whereas low and narrow in the west, and most of the parts tend to be stable; the species on the belts are dominated by Tamarix austromongolica, the vegetation cover and the pure vegetation cover of different dominant species on the leeward slope of the accumulated sand鄄belts vary significantly. The canonical correlation analysis shows that: the height and width of accumulated sand鄄belt is the interaction of precipitation,