Effects of an oasis protective system on aeolian sediment deposition: a case study from Gelintan oasis, southeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, China

Abstract

Desert-oasis ecotones are boundary areas between oases and desert ecosystems. Large efforts to control sediment and stabilize these boundaries depend on understanding sedimentary processes, especially aeolian transport and deposition. Previous studies on aeolian sediment deposition have focused primarily on a single land surface type or a single engineering approach. Few studies have considered deposition in a multi-layer oasis protective system. A complete oasis protective system consists of an outer bare sand area, a sand barrier zone, a shrub and herbaceous plant zone, and a farmland shelter zone. This study used sedimentary analysis to quantify grain-size characteristics in samples from the four land surfaces under different types of weather conditions in the Gelintan oasis of the Tengger Desert, the fourth largest desert in China. The results showed that aeolian sediment deposition decreased from the outer bare sand area through the oasis protective system and into the interior. The four land surface types showed significant differences in deposition volume (P < 0.05). Deposited sediment showed gradual decrease in dominant grain-size from sand to

Changes in soil properties in different land use types in a desert-oasis ecotone, Inner Mongolia, China

“…The annual evaporation is 2900 mm. The average wind speed is 3.1 m/s and the maximum sequential wind speed can reach 17.9 m/s ( Xie et al., 2019 ; Ding et al., 2020 ). The soil consists primarily of grey desert soils and brown calcic soils distributed in a zonal pattern.…”