Contribution of wind and water erosion in the agricultural and pastoral areas of northern China based on 137Cs tracer technology

Contribution of wind and water erosion in the agricultural and pastoral areas of northern China based on 137Cs tracer technology | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Contribution of wind and water erosion in the agricultural and pastoral areas of northern China based on 137Cs tracer technology hongtao Jiang, Chunrong Guo, Xiaojia Li, Wanfeng Zhang, Pengfei Du, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4392077/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study focuses on the important ecological challenges facing agricultural and pastoral areas in northern China: soil wind and water erosion, both of which contribute significantly to soil degradation. Understanding the relative impacts of these erosion types is crucial for effective erosion control measures. We explored the ratio of soil wind erosion to water erosion in an agro-pastoral zone based on topographic and geomorphic conditions using the 137 Cs tracer method. The study showed that cropland is the land type that has suffered the most severe erosion in the region in recent decades. Specifically, on gentle slopes (6–8°), the rate of water erosion exceeded the rate of wind erosion by a factor of about eight, while on steeper slopes (10–15°) this trend was more pronounced, with the rate of water erosion exceeding the rate of wind erosion by a factor of about 27. This result was verified by the measured data in the previous study area. Taken together, water erosion dominates in the agricultural and pastoral areas of northern China, while wind erosion takes second place. Future erosion prevention strategies should prioritize hydraulic erosion control measures on sloping cropland. In addition, it is crucial to promote research on the compound mechanism of wind and water erosion to adopt more effective erosion control measures and ensure the sustainable development of the ecological environment in the region. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences/Environmental impact Earth and environmental sciences/Natural hazards Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Supplementarydocuments.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Apr, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 16 Oct, 2024 Reviews received at journal 03 Oct, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Sep, 2024 Reviews received at journal 20 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Jun, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 03 Jun, 2024 Editor invited by journal 19 May, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 16 May, 2024 First submitted to journal 08 May, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4392077","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":305544620,"identity":"db3c29b9-d1a3-4d2d-87ae-605e826653b7","order_by":0,"name":"hongtao Jiang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Inner Mongolia Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"hongtao","middleName":"","lastName":"Jiang","suffix":""},{"id":305544621,"identity":"126ac44d-c720-4e20-ad72-5060577bc82b","order_by":1,"name":"Chunrong 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