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Effects of aeolian processes on soil nutrient loss in the Gonghe Basin, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau: an experimental study

  • Soils, Sec 5 • Soil and Landscape Ecology • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The Gonghe Basin of northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is threatened by aeolian processes, soil nutrient loss, and desertification, where human activities have greatly increased over recent decades. However, the interactions between aeolian processes and soil nutrient loss remain poorly understood. Therefore, in this study, we employed a wind tunnel to simulate aeolian processes and soil nutrient loss affected by human activities such as tillage and trampling by livestock.

Materials and methods

Field investigations, wind tunnel experiments, and experimental analyses were conducted to assess the impacts of human activity (wholesale destruction of vegetation) and aeolian processes on soil nutrient loss and desertification in the Gonghe Basin.

Results and discussion

After grassland soil surface was disaggregated, sediments removed by high aeolian intensity (≥16 m s−1) ranged from 294.02 to 1012.73 g m−2, and wind erosion depths varied from 4.09 to 11.27 mm. High wind velocities resulted in losses of total soil organic matter (SOM) and total nitrogen (TN) by 7.56 and 0.38 kg ha−1, respectively. Under very high wind velocities (≥22 m s−1), losses of SOM and TN were 26.99 and 1.41 kg ha−1, respectively. Wind tunnel experiments indicate that in the Gonghe Basin, there were no significant correlations between wind velocity and the removal of SOM and TN; however, positive correlations were observed between wind velocity and total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK).

Conclusions

Aeolian processes remove TK and TP from the soil surface, which has a potential impact on vegetation because that K and P are essential nutrients for plant growth. In addition, most nutrients are enriched within fine particle fraction of soil. Nutrient loss caused by aeolian processes may therefore result in the degradation of farmland and grassland, which consequently may have triggered desertification in the Gonghe Basin.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFA0601900), the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 41225001), and the National Key Project for Basic Research, “Responses of Aeolian Desertification to Global Change in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau” (2013CB956003). We thank our colleagues for helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Xunming Wang, Lili Lang & Wenyong Ma

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xunming Wang

  3. Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Ting Hua, Hui Li & Caixia Zhang

Authors
  1. Xunming Wang
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  2. Lili Lang
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  3. Ting Hua
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  4. Hui Li
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  5. Caixia Zhang
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  6. Wenyong Ma
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Correspondence to Xunming Wang.

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Responsible editor: Arnaud Temme

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Wang, X., Lang, L., Hua, T. et al. Effects of aeolian processes on soil nutrient loss in the Gonghe Basin, Qinghai–Tibet Plateau: an experimental study. J Soils Sediments 18, 229–238 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1734-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-017-1734-0

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