Desertification and Blown Sand Disaster in China
Author(s)
Yanli Lyu1, 3, 4, Yanyan Yang1, 3, 4, Lanlan Guo1, 3, 4, Lianyou Liu1, 3, 4, Peijun Shi2, 3, 4, Guoming Zhang1, 3, 4, Zhiqiang Qu5, Xia Hu1, 3, 4, Jingpu Wang1, 3, 4, Yiying Xiong1, 3, 4, Haiming Wen1, 3, 4, Jie Lei1, 3, 4, Bo Liang1, 3, 4 and Jiadong Dai1, 3, 4
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DOI:10.17265/2161-6256/2016.06.001
Affiliation(s)
1. Key Laboratory of Environment Change and Natural Disaster, Ministry of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
3. Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
4. Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
5. College of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Huhhot 010019, Inner Mongolia, China
ABSTRACT
Approximately 331 million ha, one-third of China’s total land, is prone
to desertification
processes, leading to natural disasters and economic losses. In this study, the
situation, tendency, their influences and their risk governance of
desertification and blown sand disaster in China were examined
using satellite images, field photographs, field data and a literature review. The desiccated areas
in Lop Nor and the lower Heihe River fluvial plain covered about 50,000 km2 and 40,000 km2, respectively. In Ejina, about 100 species of
vegetation became extinct. The rate of wind erosion in China was between 1,000 tons/km2/year and 2,000 tons/km2/year. There were 12
sand deserts and sandy lands, occupying a total of 710,000
km2. Salinized soils occurred across 99.1 million ha. The two main sand and dust
storm-prone areas in China were the Tarim Basin and its surroundings, and the
Alxa Plateau and its surroundings. From 1981 to 2007, the annual average
frequency of sand and dust storms varied from 1 d to 37 d with a general
increase from southeast to northwest. Since 1978, China has implemented a
number of ecological construction projects that have reduced desertification from
1999 to 2004 and from 2005 to 2009, and the number of dust and sand storm days
from 9.3 d between 1954 and 1959 to 4.4 d between 2000 and 2007. The results
could improve understanding of desertification and blown sand disasters in
China and provide valuable experiences for global desertification control.
KEYWORDS
Desertification, blown sand disaster, desertification and blown sand
control, arid and semiarid China, ecological construction project.
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