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Vegetation Drastically Reduces Wind Erosion: An Implementation of the RWEQ in the Mongolian Gobi Steppe

Author

Listed:
  • Isita Nandana Talukdar

    (5269 Manderston Drive, San Jose, CA 95138, USA)

  • Virginia Anne Kowal

    (Natural Capital Project, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, 327 Campus Drive, Bass Biology Building 123, Stanford, CA 94305, USA)

  • Binbin Huang

    (State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 18 Shuangqing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100085, China)

  • Charlotte Weil

    (ENAC School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPFL, Route Cantonale, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland)

Abstract

Soil loss prevention is an important ecosystem service for protecting human and environmental health. Using spatiotemporal climate and environmental data of the Eastern Gobi Steppe, a region missing from previous studies of Mongolian wind-based soil erosion, we implemented the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) model to estimate soil loss. A replicable pipeline was developed to perform these computations, and made available openly. Soil loss was estimated on a monthly basis to analyze seasonal variations. The results show that the annual total soil loss was 61 × 10 10 kg over an area of 69.3 × 10 3 km 2 , which is about 90 tonnes per hectare. Increasing fractional vegetation coverage to a uniform 50% coverage (doubling current vegetation coverage in every 1 km 2 ) could reduce soil loss by 60%, highlighting the importance of protecting and increasing vegetation coverage in ecosystem service preservation.

Suggested Citation

  • Isita Nandana Talukdar & Virginia Anne Kowal & Binbin Huang & Charlotte Weil, 2022. "Vegetation Drastically Reduces Wind Erosion: An Implementation of the RWEQ in the Mongolian Gobi Steppe," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:11:y:2022:i:8:p:1204-:d:876553
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Virginia Anne Kowal & Julian Ahlborn & Chantsallkham Jamsranjav & Otgonsuren Avirmed & Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, 2021. "Modeling Integrated Impacts of Climate Change and Grazing on Mongolia’s Rangelands," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-28, April.
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