Abstract:Vegetation cover characteristics have both spatial and temporal components. In the past, researchers have paid particular attention to spatial characteristics of vegetation cover in protecting soil from wind erosion, but temporal changes in vegetation have been ignored. In this study, we examined both the spatial and temporal characteristics of vegetation cover. The monthly changes of different plant cover types were studied from June, 2002 to June, 2003 in Wuchuan County of the Inner Mongolia of China using sample thread and random step distance measures combined with photography to compare and correct possible errors.
Quantitative relationships for vegetation cover types, the amount of wind erosion, and a wind erosion climatic factor were determined by field investigation and theoretical analysis. Using a wind erosion formula for different plant types, the total wind erosion was calculated. The results indicated that the effectiveness of different plant types in increasing soil resistance to wind erosion were: perennial shrubs > perennial pasture > forest > annual pasture > forage crops. The dynamic annual change in total vegetation cover was inversely related to the amount of soil wind erosion. The results indicate that low vegetation cover is one of the primary causes of serious soil wind erosion in this region. Planting annual pasture and forage crops instead of perennial pasture will result in a loss of protection from wind erosion and require more land reclamation efforts in the future. Our results also suggest that the current reclamation practice of converting wind eroded landscapes to woodlands is not ecologically sound and planting shrubs or perennial pastures offers greater protection to wind erosion, especially in the more arid and semi arid regions.