Causes, Processes and Consequences of Sandstorms in Northern China : A case study of sandstorms in 2000

Serious land degradation exists in the marginal areas of North China, the important ecological transition between semi-arid and sub-humid climate zones, which is a relatively narrow belt with 100-250 km in width and about 2 000 km in length. The annual rainfall varies between 300-400 mm. In the past hundred years (before 2000), most of the land in the region had been used for grazing and dryland cropping. As land-use is intensifying, particularly since 1970s and 1980s, desertification has accelerated. Our case studies in 2000 indicated that: (1) Sand-dust storms are the result of a combination of climate change, such as strong winds and dry weather, but their frequency and intensity are mainly related to precipitation variations. The El Nina/El Nino effect is strongly implicated. (2) Human economic activities result in sufficient sand-dust sources to create a hazard. Large-scale land conversion for cropping, deforestation, irrational use of water resources and over-exploitation of groundwater have all c

Causes, Processes and Consequences of Sandstorms in Northern China : A case study of sandstorms in 2000

Serious land degradation exists in the marginal areas of North China, the important ecological transition between semi-arid and sub-humid climate zones, which is a relatively narrow belt with 100-250 km in width and about 2 000 km in length. The annual rainfall varies between 300-400 mm. In the past hundred years (before 2000), most of the land in the region had been used for grazing and dryland cropping. As land-use is intensifying, particularly since 1970s and 1980s, desertification has accelerated. Our case studies in 2000 indicated that: (1) Sand-dust storms are the result of a combination of climate change, such as strong winds and dry weather, but their frequency and intensity are mainly related to precipitation variations. The El Nina/El Nino effect is strongly implicated. (2) Human economic activities result in sufficient sand-dust sources to create a hazard. Large-scale land conversion for cropping, deforestation, irrational use of water resources and over-exploitation of groundwater have all contributed to the problem. (3) There is a trend that the frequency of dust storms has been increasing since 1950s. (4) At regional scales, there are two main types of desertification landscapes where desertification is spreading quickly with serious hazards. One is a vast sandy land and the other is the developed oases along the rivers in the desert margins.