Trees Controlling Aeolian Erosion More Efficient

INRA and CNRS Researchers Have Shown Trees Are Better in Reducing Soil Erosion thanShrubs

The replanting of land is a common technique used to limit aeolian erosion in arid regions. By renewing the methods used to model aeolian erosion in the presence of vegetation, INRA and CNRS researchers have shown that trees are more efficient that shrubs in reducing this type ofsoil erosion.

The model thus developed constitutes a promising tool to quantify aeolian erosion in semi-arid regions which causes numerous environmental problems. This work was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface in February 2014.

Aeolian erosion corresponds to the transportation ofsand grainsby the wind (saltation) and the emission of dusts into the atmosphere following the impact of these grains on the ground. Saltation can damage crops by abrading, burying or uprooting them, and forming sand dunes in desert regions. Dust emissions can locally reduce the fertility ofagricultural soils, and have a global impact on cloud formation and the terrestrial radiation balance.

Thisatmospheric dustcan also have health consequences linked to its inhalation by humans, the spread of potentially pathogenic agents and the dispersal of pollutants. The replanting of land is a common technique used to reduce aeolian erosion in regions vulnerable to desertification, but its efficiency as a function of the type of vegetation, and its organisation, are not yet well understood.

Furthermore, the models currently available to quantify aeolian erosion are poorly adapted to sparsely planted surfaces because of their crude representation of the wind.

Source: INRA

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