Dynamics of blowouts indicating the process of grassland desertification

Abstract

Sand desertification is a serious ecological and environmental problem in semiarid grassland areas; thus an accurate understanding of its causes and process mechanisms is of significance for grassland desertification control. With the popularization of remote sensing monitoring technology, most research has focused on analyzing the trends of grassland sand patches and their impact on regional desertification, whereas fewer studies have explored the mechanisms of grassland desertification development. This study analyzed the dynamic changes in grassland landscape in the Hulun Buir grassland of China via multiperiod high‐resolution remote sensing images from 1959 to 2020, and examined the morphological changes, erosion patterns, grain size characteristics and sediment compaction of two trough blowouts. Our study noted that under climate change and human activities, grassland desertification is becoming increasingly serious, and its main manifestation is the occurrence and expansion of blowouts. Changes in blowout morphologies indicate that the area of the deflation basin shows a state of continuous growth, whereas the area of the depositional lobe shows fluctuating changes, which could mean that the deflation basin may be a useful indicator of desertification. Based on a detailed analysis of both climate and grassland changes, we believe that human activities determine the occurrence of blowouts, and climatic conditions determine the expansion of blowouts and the desertification degree. The morphological changes of blowouts are related to the removal mode and erosion resistance of the grassland soil, and the rate of removal of the soil limits the rate of blowout expansion.

Vulnerability Identification and Analysis of Contributors to Desertification in Inner Mongolia

“…These are all consistent with this article to a certain extent. However, the conclusion that the improvement of desertification in the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor was dominated by climate change [41] and desertification was the result of the superposition of climate and HA, with climate change being the main influencing factor followed by HA [42] differs from the results of this study, which may be due to the difference in the study area and study period.…”

Herder households' livelihood strategies as a response to payments for grassland ecosystem services in China

“…Grasslands are not only an essential element of animal husbandry but also an important provider of ecosystem services such as global carbon storage, water conservation, windbreaks and sand fixation (Costanza et al, 1997;O'Mara, 2012;Scurlock & Hall, 2002). Currently, approximately 49.25% of the grassland area in the world is degraded to some extent, which not only causes ecological damage but also brings substantial challenges to the sustainable development of animal husbandry (Gang, et al, 2014;Feng et al, 2009;Yang et al, 2019;Zhou et al, 2022). In response to global ecosystem degradation, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution titled UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021Restoration ( -2030 in which the protection and restoration of degraded ecosystems, including grassland, is central.…”