Abstract:

Soil wind erosion poses a significant threat to environmental degradation and hinders the development of agriculture and animal husbandry in China. This study investigated the spatiotemporal distribution and variation characteristics of wind erosion climatic erosivity across different timescales, using daily meteorological data from 186 stations in the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China spanning 1961−2020. It quantitatively analyzed the impacts of meteorological factors, including wind speed, precipitation, and reference evapotranspiration (ET₀), on wind erosion. The results revealed a spatial pattern of soil wind erosion with higher values in the east and lower in the west, peaking in regions such as Tongliao and Chifeng in central Inner Mongolia and the border between Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, attributed primarily to high wind speeds, low precipitation, and intense evapotranspiration. Significant seasonal variations in wind erosion were observed, with the highest climatic erosivity in spring and the lowest in summer, particularly pronounced in the eastern region. Over the past 60 years, wind erosion in the study area had shown a notable decreasing trend, influenced jointly by changes in wind speed, precipitation, and ET₀, with wind speed playing a dominant role. However, the drivers of wind erosion variation differed across regions; decreases in wind speed and increases in precipitation led to reduce wind erosion climatic erosivity in the central and eastern parts, while increased in wind speed and ET₀, albeit accompanied by rising precipitation, counteracted each other's effects in the western region, resulting in insignificant changes in wind erosion climatic erosivity. This study, which explores the spatiotemporal variations of wind erosion in the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China across multiple meteorological factors and timescales, provides scientific theoretical guidance for regional agricultural production, wind prevention, and erosion mitigation.

Key words:

Northern farming-pastoral ecotone, Wind speed, Precipitation, ET₀, Wind erosion climatic erosivity