Using 137 Cs and 210 Pb ex to Investigate the Soil Erosion Moduli of the Sandy Area of Typical Grasslands in Northern China

Xuan Guo, Yunfeng Hu (), Yunzhi Zhang and Lin Zhen
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Xuan Guo: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
Yunfeng Hu: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
Yunzhi Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
Lin Zhen: College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: Soil erosion results in land degradation and desertification in northern China. The Xilingol League of Inner Mongolia is an important part of the “Two Barriers and Three Belts”, and has been given the main function of “a windbreak and sand-fixing belt of northern China”. Accurate measuring of soil erosion moduli, analyzing the differences in soil erosion moduli across different periods and regions, are the basis for carrying out soil conservation and evaluating the effectiveness of ecological governance. Some radioisotopes are good environmental tracers because they are closely combined with the fine particles of the surface soil and are only affected by the mechanical movement of soil particles. In this paper, Taipusi Banner and Zhengxiangbai Banner, which are in the farming–pastoral ecotone in northern China, were selected as the study area. A regional reference inventory, that is, the activity of 137 Cs and 210 Pb ex in the sample without any soil erosion, accumulation/deposition, or any kind of manual disturbances, as well as the soil erosion moduli, were determined by 137 Cs and 210 Pb ex composite tracing technology and multiple lines of evidence. The results are as follows: (1) The regional 137 Cs reference inventory was 1928 Bq∙m −2 , and the regional 210 Pb ex reference inventory was 10,041 Bq∙m −2 . (2) On a 50-year time scale, the soil erosion moduli in the study area ranged from 140 t∙km −2 ∙a −1 to 1030 t∙km −2 ∙a −1 ; on a 100-year scale, the soil erosion moduli in the study area ranged from 35 t∙km −2 ∙a −1 to 2637 t∙km −2 ∙a −1 ; the entire study area was in a lightly eroded state. (3) Compared with two periods before and after the 1970s, the southern parts (cultivated land and grassland) experienced an increasing trend in soil erosion moduli due to land reclamation, grassland grazing, and other activities. Due to weakening wind and increasing precipitation, soil erosion moduli in the northern parts (southern margin of the Hunshandake Sandy Land) slowed down. The study also discussed the uncertainty and application potential of isotope-tracing technology in sandy land of typical grasslands in northern China.

Keywords: farming–pastoral ecotone; isotope tracer; reference inventory; erosion moduli; dynamic change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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