Geographical Detector-Based Identification of the Impact of Major Determinants on Aeolian Desertification Risk

نویسندگان

  • Ziqiang Du
  • Xiaoming Xu
  • Hong Zhang
  • Zhitao Wu
  • Yong Liu
چکیده

Arid and semi-arid areas in North China are facing the challenge of a rising aeolian desertification risk (ADR) due to the intertwined effects of complex natural processes and intensified anthropogenic activities. An accurate quantitative assessment of the relationship between ADR and its determinants is beneficial for understanding the driving mechanisms of aeolian desertification and for controlling future desertification. Previous studies have failed to quantify the relative role of determinants driving ADR and have been limited in assessing their interactive impacts. In this study, a spatial variance analysis-based geographical detector methodology is used to quantify the effects of geological, physical, and human factors on the occurrence of ADR in an area characterized by mountains and hills in northern China. It is found that soil type, precipitation, and wind velocity are the major determinants of ADR, which implies that geological and physical elements (e.g., soil attribute) and climatic factors (e.g., precipitation and wind velocity) rather than human activities have played a greater role in the incidence of ADR. Particularly, the results show that the interaction of various determinants causes significant non-linearly enhanced impacts on the ADR. The findings of our study will assist local inhabitants and policy makers in developing measures for wind prevention and sand control to mitigate the effects of desertification in the region.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

The dynamic monitoring of aeolian desertification land distribution and its response to climate change in northern China

Aeolian desertification is poorly understood despite its importance for indicating environment change. Here we exploit Gaofen-1(GF-1) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data to develop a quick and efficient method for large scale aeolian desertification dynamic monitoring in northern China. This method, which is based on Normalized Difference Desertification Index (NDDI) ...

متن کامل

A GIS-Based Assessment of Vulnerability to Aeolian Desertification in the Source Areas of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers

Aeolian desertification is a kind of land degradation that is characterized by aeolian activity, resulting from the responses of land ecosystems to climate change and anthropogenic disturbances. The source areas of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers are typical regions of China’s Tibetan Plateau affected by aeolian desertification. We assessed the vulnerability of these areas to aeolian desertificat...

متن کامل

Assessment of desertification hazard, risk and development of management plans

About 80 percent of Iran is arid and semi-arid and about 35 percent of this area is susceptible to desertification hazard. Therefore desertification assessment and identification of the most important criteria for the assessment of risk and a basis for development of management plans is essential. This research was conducted in the semi-arid region of Agh-Band in the Golestan province, Iran wit...

متن کامل

Evaluation of desertification intensity in Kashan plain

Aims & Backgrounds: Desertification is one of the major challenges in today's world, especially in countries like Iran that are affected by arid and semi-arid climates. To prevent and slow down the desertification process and in other words, with the aim of preventing and reducing desertification speed, the first effective and necessary step is to identify the susceptible areas and the factors ...

متن کامل

Land degradation in drylands: Interactions among hydrologic–aeolian erosion and vegetation dynamics

a r t i c l e i n f o Land degradation in drylands is one of the major environmental issues of the 21st century particularly due to its impact on world food security and environmental quality. Climate change, shifts in vegetation composition, accelerated soil erosion processes, and disturbances have rendered these landscapes susceptible to rapid degradation that has important feedbacks on regio...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره 11  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2016