Using ¹³⁷Cs tracing technique to estimate wind erosion rates in the typical steppe region, northern Mongolian Plateau

Abstract

Wind erosion is one of the major factors of land degradation in the typical steppe region, northern Mongolian Plateau. Using ¹³⁷Cs tracing technique, we estimated the wind erosion rates of different pastures and abandoned farmland at Bayannur and Karakorum in Mongolia. The pastures and cutting grassland at Bayannur were slightly eroded by wind, with the rates of 64.58–169.07 t·km⁻²·a⁻¹. The abandoned farmland in Karakorum, however, was strongly eroded by wind, with annual surface soil loss of 4.05 mm·a⁻¹, and wind erosion rates up to 6723.06 t·km⁻²·a⁻¹. The total loss of surface soil due to wind erosion has been 17.4 cm since the cultivation of the steppe land in the 1960s. The wind erosion rate at the abandoned farmland was much higher than that at the typical steppe sites, showing that the cultivation led to serious wind erosion in the typical steppe region, northern Mongolian Plateau. By contrast, traditional livestock grazing resulted in less disturbance to the surface soil, and did not induce to devastating wind erosion, which plays an important role in maintaining the stability of the steppe ecosystem in the northern Mongolian Plateau.