Quantitative characterization of climate change and its impact on
aeolian desertification: A case study in northwest Shanxi of China
Abstract
Aeolian desertification, one of the most serious eco-environmental
issues, has strongly hampered the sustainable socio-econmic development
in semi-arid regions. However, research on climatic change and its
influence on aeolian desertification in such region remains problematic.
To combat desertification, it is necessary to identify the causes of
aeolian desertification. In the present study, based on the
geostatistical approach, the meteorological data were used to
characterize the climate variation and its impact on aeolian
desertification in the period of 1970-2015. Results demonstrated that
the climate tended to become warmer and drier. The linear trend rates of
mean temperature for the whole year (WY), winter half year (WHY), and
summer half year (SHY) were 0.24 ℃ (10 a)-1, 0.25 ℃ (10 a)-1, and 0.18 ℃
(10 a)-1, respectively. The linear trend rates of mean precipitation in
WY, WHY, and SHY were -8.29 mm (10 a)-1, 2.69 mm (10 a)-1, and -8.27 mm
(10 a)-1, respectively. The temperature rise in WY, WHY, and SHY
resulted in an increasing topsoil evaporation and could trigger aeolian
desertification. However, the decrease of precipitation in SHY weakened
soil water erosion process, and the increase of precipitation at a rate
of 0.26 mm a-1 in WHY improved soil-moisture content. Thus, the analyzed
results show that there are relative high sensitivities for climate
change, especially in WHY, to ADL expansion or reversal in semi-arid
regions.