Effects of sand burial on dune plants: a review

Burial of different growth stages of plants （e.g., adult plants, seedlings and seeds） is frequent in dune ecosystems. The soil micro-environment, which differs from surface conditions, influences the survival and growth of dune plants. To sum up knowledge about the survival mechanisms of plants under sand burial and to promote practical rehabilitation of dune vegetation, we reviewed relevant published literature and concluded that： （1） Focus in recent years has been on impacts of sand burial on seed germination and seedling emergence. Generally, shallow burial increased seed germination and seedling emergence, but deeper burial was negative. Buried at the same depth, large seeds showed higher germination and seedling emergence rates, attributed to larger energy reserves. （2） Survival, growth and reproduction rates of dune plants show plasticity in response to sand burial. Long-term deep burial is fatal because it creates a physical barrier which overcomes the vertical growth of plants, reduces photosynthetic leaf area, and limits oxygen availability to roots. Modest burial, on the other hand, is advantageous for growth and reproduction of many dune plants, due to protection from excessive temperature and drought. （3） There are few reports concerning effects of sand burial on plant physiology, but a limited number of studies indicate that partial burial increases water use efficiency, chlorophyll content, transpiration rate and net photosynthetic rates. The antioxidant protective enzyme system and osmolyte balance were reported to be involved in the mechanisms of dune plant resistance to burial.     

Crescentic dune migration and stabilization: Implications for interpreting paleo-dune deposits as paleoenvironmental records

Paleo-dune deposits have been widely used as a proxy indicator of past dune activity, which is further used to reconstruct paleoclimates. However, recent studies have critically examined the reproducibility of dune chronologies and the complexity of paleo-dune deposits as paleoenvironmental records. This paper addresses questions on the paleoenvironmental implications of dune chronostratigraphies that have been raised by those reviews, in the specific case of crescentic dunes, using a case study from the Mu Us dune field, north-central China. The processes of turn-over and stabilization of relatively small crescentic dunes are first investigated by observational evidence. In combination with the analysis of a simplified sand preservation model and stratigraphic records, the effect of dune morphodynamics on sand preservation is demonstrated. It is especially evident that thick, nearly instantaneously deposited sand units record dune stabilization near the very end of a dune activity episode, while thin sand units may signal the preservation of sand deposited earlier in episodes of activity. Interpreting the distribution of luminescence ages that indicate sand deposition over time is not as simple as assumed in some previous work. Low frequency of sand ages could indicate an interval of either dune field stabilization or extensive dune activity but poor sand preservation. A peak of sand age frequency likely represents a shift in dune field activity towards stabilization, not a peak of active dune extent, especially if it partially overlaps with an independently identified interval of stabilization (e.g. one recorded by paleosols). The nature and magnitude of these biases in the distribution of sand ages over time are strongly affected by the magnitude of net sand accumulation, which is in turn related to sand supply, transport capacity and sand availability, and ultimately climate change. Relatively short dune stabilization and turn-over time (10¹ to 10² yrs) indicate that dune geomorphic processes can quickly respond to short-term disturbance, but the chronology of that response must be interpreted in light of how those processes influence age distributions.     

乌兰布和沙漠东北缘地表风沙流结构特征

在国家林业局磴口荒漠生态站长期监测的基础上,利用多种积沙仪,对乌兰布和沙漠东北缘流动沙丘、油蒿半固定沙丘、白刺半固定沙丘、油蒿固定沙丘、白刺固定沙丘5种典型下垫面近地面（0～100 cm）的风沙流输沙量进行了实地观测和对比分析。结果表明：（1） 输沙率（q）随高度（h）增加呈幂函数（q=ah^-b,R²≥0.8409）规律衰减,随风速（v）增大呈幂函数（q=av^b,R²≥0.9256）规律增加,42.8%～70.7%的输沙量分布在10 cm高度内,67.6%～90.0%的输沙量分布于30 cm高度内。当地表植被盖度达到40%以上时,输沙率下降至无植被覆盖地表输沙率的6.6%以下,可有效阻止地表风蚀。（2） 沙物质主要由粒径为50～250 μm的细沙和极细沙构成,各高度层风蚀物粒度组成服从单峰态分布,峰值在100～250 μm。随高度增加,风蚀物粒径范围趋于变窄,粒径趋于更细。（3） 起沙风多出现在WSW和NW方向,占全年起沙风的53.19%。风沙流中跃移输沙、蠕移输沙的空间分布在理论上应与风向频率分布基本一致,差异性主要由各方位风的强度和持续时间等因素导致。研究结果可为该区域防沙工程设计提供理论参考。     

Smith Canyon dune field, Washington, U.S.A: relation to glacial outburst floods, the Mazama eruption, and Holocene paleoclimate

Sedimentary deposits from the Smith Canyon dune field, south-central Columbia Basin, Washington, U.S.A. document climatically-influenced Late Pleistocene and Holocene aeolian and fluvial deposition in a region impacted by glacial outburst floods and tephra falls. The depositional history is summarized by five environmentally distinctive and climatically sensitive sedimentary units (temporal limits estimated): Unit 1 (c. 15·5–8 ka), pedogenically altered glacial outburst flood and minor aeolian silt and clay; Unit 2 (c. 8–6·9 ka), fluvial and minor aeolian sand; Unit 3 (c. 6·9–6·8 ka), flood-induced fluvial sand with gravel-sized tephra clasts; Unit 4 (c. 6·8–3·9 ka), aeolian dune sand; Unit 5 (c. 3·9 ka to present), pedogenically altered, stabilized dune sand. Estimated age ranges are based on stratigraphic position, tephrochronology, and correlation with temporally constrained strata from elsewhere in the region.     

Movement of a small slipfaceless dome dune in the Namib Sand Sea, Namibia

The migration of a small slipfaceless dome dune close to the northern edge of the Namib Sand Sea has been measured by topographic survey. The dune dimensions are 45-m wide and 1-m high with a volume of 551 m³ that has been calculated as the difference between the dune's surface elevation and an interdune surface extrapolated from measurements around the edge of the dune. The migration direction, 64°, and distance moved, 90 m, are measured against stakes set out in 1976. The dune has moved about 90 m between 1976 and 1999. This is an average linear migration rate of around 4 m year⁻¹, and is equivalent to an annual sand transport rate of about 1.2 tonnes m⁻¹ year⁻¹. The calculated total potential sand flow in this part of the Namib Desert is 119 tonnes m⁻¹ year⁻¹, and the resultant potential sand flow is 63 tonnes m⁻¹ year⁻¹. The dune migration is therefore about 1% of the total potential sandflow and 2% of the resultant indicating that dune migration is only a small part of total potential sand transport. The results suggest that small slipfaceless dome dunes are very inefficient at trapping sand, and that winds blowing across the interdune in this area are undersaturated with sand.     

Wind tunnel investigation of the influence of surface moisture content on the entrainment and erosion of beach sand by wind using sands from tropical humid coastal southern China

Wind erosion has major impacts on dune growth, desertification, and architecture on sea coasts. The deflation threshold shear velocity is a crucial parameter in predicting erosion, and surface moisture greatly affects this threshold and thus sand stability. Wind tunnel studies have shown that reduced moisture contents decrease entrainment thresholds and increase wind erosion, but field and wind tunnel test data is lacking for tropical humid coastal areas. In this study, we investigated the influence of surface moisture contents (at 1 mm depth) on sand entrainment and erosion using tropical humid coastal sands from southern China. Shear velocities were deduced from velocity profiles above the sand. The threshold shear velocity increased linearly with increasing ln100M (M, gravimetric moisture content). The increase was steepest below a moisture content of 0.0124 (i.e., at M_1.5, the moisture content in the sand at a matric potential of − 1.5 MPa). We compared several popular models that predict threshold shear velocity of moisture sediment, and found substantial differences between their predicted results. At a surface moisture content of 0.0124, the predicted increase in the wet threshold shear velocity compared with the dry threshold shear velocity ranged from 34% to 195%. The empirical model of Chepil and Selah simulated the data well for M < 0.0062 (i.e., 0.5M_1.5), whereas Belly's empirical model simulated the data best for M > 0.0062. Wind erosion modulus increased with increasing effective wind velocity following a power function with a positive exponent at all moisture contents, but decreased with increasing surface moisture content following a power function with a negative exponent. When wind speed and moisture content varied simultaneously, wind erosion modulus was proportional to the 0.73 power of effective wind velocity, but inversely proportional to the 1.48 power of M. The increase in resistance to erosion at low moisture contents probably results from cohesive forces in the water films surrounding the sand particles. At a moisture content near M_1.5, wind erosion ceases nearly for all wind velocities that we tested.     

干旱区油蒿生物量凋落分解与土壤呼吸

生物量的凋落分解与土壤呼吸影响流沙基质中CaCO3的淋溶和淀积。为研究腾格里沙漠油蒿群落中土壤CaCO3的形成,对油蒿当年生物量的凋落分解与土壤呼吸进行了探讨。结果表明：在腾格里沙漠,固定沙地上油蒿当年生物量[（41.51±1.76）g·m-2]显著高于半固定沙地[（32.31±0.92)g·m-2],固定沙地上油蒿叶量籽量和[（32.89±1.34)g·m-2]也显著高于半固定沙地[（19.32±0.64)g·m-2];但不同立地油蒿叶量和籽量的分解速率均大于0.6692 g·g-1·a-1,且油蒿的凋落物需要4.48 a才能达到分解最大值。另一方面,油蒿半固定沙地、油蒿固定沙地和油蒿+冷蒿固定沙地的土壤呼吸速率均存在显著差异;统计分析表明,油蒿+冷蒿固定沙地土壤呼吸速率最低[（7.37±1.07)mg CO2·m-2·h-1]可能与油蒿+冷蒿固定沙地土壤中较高的pH值和较低的土壤呼吸脱氢酶活性有关。可见,干旱区油蒿群落越到固定阶段,凋落量越大,释放的Ca2＋越多,土壤呼吸速率越低,土壤中的pH值越高,而这越有利于土壤中CaCO3的形成。     

Transverse dune trailing ridges and vegetation succession

We describe the evolution of, and vegetation succession on, a previously undescribed landform: transverse dune trailing ridges at El Farallón transgressive dunefield in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Three-dimensional clinometer/compass and tape topographic surveys were conducted in conjunction with 1 m² contiguous percent cover and presence/absence vegetation survey transects at eight locations across two adjacent trailing ridges. At the study site, and elsewhere, the transverse dune trailing ridges are formed by vegetation colonization of the lateral margins of active transverse, barchanoidal transverse, and aklé or network dunes. For simplicity, all trailing ridges formed from these dune types are referred to as transverse dune trailing ridges. Because there are several transverse dunes in the dunefield, multiple trailing ridges can be formed at one time. Two adjacent trailing ridges were examined. The shortest length ridge was 70 m long, and evolving from a 2.5 m-high transverse dune, while the longer ridge was 140 m long, and evolving from an 8 m-high dune. Trailing ridge length is a proxy measure of ridge age, since the longer the ridge, the greater the length of time since initial formation. With increasing age or distance upwind, species diversity increased, as well as species horizontal extent and percent cover. In turn, the degree of bare sand decreased. Overall, the data indicate a successional trend in the vegetation presence and cover with increasing age upwind. Those species most tolerant to burial (Croton and Palafoxia) begin the process of trailing ridge formation. Ipomoea and Canavalia are less tolerant to burial and also are typically the next colonizing species. Trachypogon does not tolerate sand burial or deposition very well and only appears after significant stabilization has taken place. The ridges display a moderately defined successional sequence in plant colonization and percentage cover with time (and upwind distance). They are significant geomorphologically as a unique landform in transgressive dunefields, and also because they may be the only remaining indication of transverse dune presence, and net dune migration direction once the dunefield is stabilized and in a final evolutionary state.     

萨拉乌苏河流域萨拉乌苏组沙丘砂沉积特征

萨拉乌苏河流域米浪沟湾剖面萨拉乌苏组含7层古流动沙丘砂、4层古固定-半固定沙丘砂.对这些沙丘砂的沉积构造观察以及粒度、扫描电镜和常量化学元素分析结果表明：（1）这些沙丘砂具有与现代沙丘砂相似的风成沉积构造特征;（2）粒度及其参数——Mz、σ、Sk和Kg,以及主要化学组分SiO2、Al2O3和TOFE也与现代沙丘砂相近;（3）Mz-σ、SiO2-Al2O3＋TOFE散点图和概率累积曲线显示这些沙丘砂与萨拉乌苏组中的河湖相、古土壤差别明显,而与现代沙丘砂一致;（4）石英砂颗粒具有良好的磨圆以及碟形坑、新月形坑、麻坑、上翻解理薄片、硅质沉淀和硅质裂纹等表面结构特征,反映其曾受持久的风力搬运作用.沉积构造、粒度、石英砂颗粒表面结构和化学元素等多个方面具备了与现代沙丘砂类似的风成特征,证明这些沙丘砂的成因是风成的.     

Sea-level changes,coastal dune building and sand drift,North-Western Jutland,Denmark

Christiansen, C. & Bowman, D.: Sea-level changes, coastal dune building and sand drift, North-Western Jutland, Denmark. Geografisk Tidsskrift 86: 28–31. Copenhagen, June 1986.

Two main models linking dune building and sea level changes have so far been proposed. Application of the low sea level model suggests that the major Danish dune building period from 1550 to 1750 need not necessarily be the result of human activity. The dune building period is probably related to a low sea level and the reworking of exposed shallow marine sand.     

Beach–dune interactions on the dry–temperate Danube delta coast

Beach–dune seasonal elevation changes, aeolian sand transport measurements, bathymetric surveys and shoreline evolution assessments were used to investigate annual and seasonal patterns of dune development on Sfântu Gheorghe beach, the Danube delta coast, from 1997 to 2004. Dune volume increased consistently (1.96 m³ m^− 1 y^− 1 to 5.1 m³ m^− 1 y^− 1) over this 7-year period with higher rates in the southward (downdrift) direction. Dune aggradation is periodically limited by storms, each of which marks a new evolutionary phase of the beach–dune system. As a consequence of the variable beach morphology and vegetation density during a year, foredune growth occurs during the April–December interval while between December and April a slightly erosive tendency is present. The pattern of erosion and deposition shown by the topographical surveys is in good agreement with the sand transport measurements and demonstrates the presence of a vigorous sand flux over the foredunes which is 20–50% smaller than on the beach. This high sand flux, due to low precipitation and sparse vegetation cover, creates an aerodynamically efficient morphology on the seaward dune slope. The seaward dune face accretes during low to medium onshore winds (5.5–12 m s^− 1) and erodes during high winds (> 12 m s^− 1).     

呼伦贝尔沙地沙丘砂来源的定量分析--逐步判别分析(SDA)在粒度分析方面的应用

Quantltatively determining the sources of dune sand uis one of the problems necessarily and urgently to be solved in aeolian landforms and desertification research. Based on the granulometric data of sand materials from the Hulun Buir Sandy Land, the paper employs the stepwise discriminant analysis technique (SDA) for two groups to select the principal factors determining the differences between surface loose sediments. The extent of similarity between two statistical populations can be described quantitatively by three factors such as the number of principal variables, Mahalanobis distance D^2 and confidence level α for F-test. Results reveal that: 1) Aeolian dune sand in the region mainly derives from Hailar Formation (Q3), while fluvial sand and palaeosol also supply partially source sand for dunes; and 2) in the vicinity of Cuogang Town and west of the broad valley of the lower reaches of Hailar River, fluvial sand can naturally become principal supplier for dune sand.     

The assessment of weathering stages in granites using an EC/pH meter

The sidewall effects of a wind tunnel on aeolian sand transport were investigated experimentally. A wind tunnel was used to conduct the experiments with a given channel height of 120 cm and varying widths (B) of 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 cm. Both vertical profiles of wind velocity and sand mass flux were measured at different locations across the test section. The results show that the wind velocity with saltation first increases and then decreases to a minimum, from the sidewall to the central line of the wind tunnel. The discrepancy among wind velocities at different locations of the transverse section decreases with decreasing tunnel width. The wind friction velocity across the wind tunnel floor, with the exception of the region closest to the sidewalls, does not deviate strongly in wide wind tunnels from that along the central line, whereas it does vary in narrow tunnels. The sand mass fluxes, with the exception of some near-bed regions, are larger along the central line of the wind tunnel than they are at the quarter width location from the sidewall. Unlikely previously reported results, the dimensionless sand transport rate, Qg / (ρu³) (where Q is the total sand transport rate, g is the gravitational acceleration constant, ρ is the air density, and u is the wind friction velocity), first decreases and then increases with the dimensionless friction velocity, u / u_t (where u_t is the threshold friction velocity). The above differences may be attributed to the sidewall effects of the wind tunnel. A dimensionless parameter, F_B = u / (gB)^1/2, is defined to reflect the sidewall effects on aeolian sand transport. The flows with F_B of 0.33 or less may be free from the sidewall effects of the wind tunnel and can ensure accurate saltation tunnel simulation.     

Municipal initiatives for managing dunes in coastal residential areas: a case study of Avalon, New Jersey, USA

The characteristics of foredunes created in a municipal management program on a developed barrier island are evaluated to identify how landforms used as protection structures can be natural in appearance and function yet compatible with human values. Shoreline management zones include a naturally evolving, undeveloped segment; a noneroding, developed segment; eroding and noneroding segments of an “improved beach” where dunes have been built by artificial nourishment; and a privately built, artificially nourished dune on the shoreline of an inlet.A disastrous storm in 1962 resulted in an aggressive program for building dunes using sand fences, vegetation plantings, purchase of undeveloped lots, and sediment backpassing to maintain beach widths and dune elevations. The present nourished and shaped foredune in the improved beach is higher, wider, and closer to the berm crest than the natural dune. Restricted inputs of aeolian sand keep the surface flat and poorly vegetated. A stable section of this engineered shore has a wider beach, and sand fences have created a higher foredune with greater topographic diversity. The cross shore zonation of vegetation here is more typical of natural dunes, but the environmental gradient is much narrower. The privately built dune is low, narrow, and located where it could not be created naturally. Foreshore and aeolian sediments in the undeveloped segment and the improved beach are similar in mean grain size (0.16–0.21 mm) and sorting (0.31–0.39φ), but sediment on the surface of the nourished dune is coarser (28.1% gravel) with a more poorly sorted sand fraction (1.30φ) representing lag elements on the deflation surface.Willingness to enhance beaches and dunes for protection has reduced insurance premiums and allowed the municipality to qualify for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to replace lost sediment, thus placing an economic value on dunes. Success of the management program is attributed to: (i) timing property-purchase and dune-building programs to periods immediately after storms (causing residents to accept high dunes that restrict access or views); (ii) instituting a vigorous education program (reminding residents of hazards during nonstorm periods); (iii) maintaining control over local sediment supplies (to keep pace with erosion and create new shoreline environments); (iv) investing private and municipal economic resources in landforms (qualifying them for external funds for replacement); and (v) maintaining, augmenting, or simply tolerating biodiversity and natural processes (retaining a natural heritage).     

The flux profile of a blowing sand cloud: a wind tunnel investigation

The flux profile of a blowing sand cloud, or the variation of blown sand flux with height, is the reflection of blown sand particles that move in different trajectories, and also the basis for checking drifting sand. Here we report the wind tunnel results of systematic tests of the flux profiles of different sized sands at different free-stream wind velocities. The results reveal that within the 60-cm near-surface layer, the decay of blown sand flux with height can be expressed by an exponential function: q_h=aexp(−h/b), where, q_h is the blown sand transport rate at height h, a and b are parameters that vary with wind velocity and sand size. The significance of coefficient a and b in the function is defined: a represents the transport rate in true creep and b implies the relative decay rate with height of the blown sand transport rate. The true creep fraction, the ratio of the sand transported on the surface (h=0) to the total transport varies widely, decreasing with both sand size and wind speed. The flux profiles are converted to straight lines by plotting sand transport rate, q_h, on a log-scale. The slope of the straight lines that represents the relative decay rate with height of sand transport rate decreases with an increase in free-stream wind velocity and sand grain size, implying that relatively more of the blown sand is transported to greater heights as grain size and wind speed increase. The average saltating height represented by the height where 50% of the cumulative flux percentage occurs increases with both wind speed and grain size, implying that saltation becomes more intense as grain size and/or wind velocity increase.     

Effects of dune stabilization on vegetation characteristics and soil properties at multiple scales in Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China

Ecological patterns and processes in dune ecosystems have been a research focus in recent years, however information on how dune stabilization influences vegetation and soil at different spatial scales...     

科尔沁沙地夏秋(6—9月)季不同类型沙丘土壤呼吸对气温变化的响应

 通过测定分析了科尔沁沙地6—9月不同生境（固定、半固定和流动沙丘）土壤呼吸速率的日动态、月际动态及其对气温变化的响应。结果表明：测定期平均土壤呼吸速率在各生境间存在显著差异,其大小为固定沙丘（2.35 μmolCO₂·m^-2·s^-1）＞半固定沙丘（1.67 μmolCO₂·m^-2·s^-1）＞流动沙丘（1.06 μmolCO₂·m^-2·s^-1）;指数模型能够较好地揭示不同生境土壤呼吸对气温变化的响应,但土壤呼吸的月际动态与气温变化不完全同步;各生境土壤在高温环境下的Q10值(土壤呼吸对温度敏感程度)普遍低于低温环境下的Q₁₀值;固定、半固定和流动沙丘基于气温月际变化的Q₁₀值分别为2.34、1.99和1.31,表明不同的植被状况和土壤性质会影响到土壤呼吸对温度变化的敏感程度。     

长江口潮滩沉积物－水界面无机氮交换通量

对长江口滨岸潮滩7个典型断面三态氮的界面交换通量进行了三年多的季节性连续观测,结果表明无机氮的界面交换行为存在复杂的空间分异和季节变化。NO^-₃-N和NH⁺₄-N的界面交换通量正负变化范围较大,分别介于-32.82~24.13 mmol.m^-2.d^-1和-18.45~10.65mmol.m^-2.d^-1之间;而NOsup>-₂-N的界面交换通量很小,仅为-1.15~2.82 mmol.m^-2.d^-1。NO^-₃-N的界面交换具有明显的上下游季节性时空分异特征,而NH⁺₄-N的界面交换则表现为南北岸季节性时空分异现象。盐度是控制长江口滨岸潮滩NH⁺₄-N界面交换行为的主要因素,而沉积物粒度、水体 NO^-₃-N浓度、沉积物有机质含量、水温和溶解氧含量则以不同的组合方式,共同制约着 NO^-₃-N在潮滩界面交换的时空分异格局。     

Late Pleistocene dune construction in the Central Sand Plain of Wisconsin, USA

Wisconsin's Central Sand Plain east of the Wisconsin River is composed of eolian sand forming high-relief dunes surrounded by sand sheets and scattered low-relief dunes. To establish a maximum age for dune formation, three samples for optical dating were taken from glacial Lake Wisconsin lacustrine sediment that underlies eolian sand. These age estimates range from 19.3 to 13.6ka. Age estimates taken from within or at the base of the dunes range from 14.0 to 10.6ka. Samples taken from < 2m of the ground surface were slightly younger, indicating dunes were stabilized between 11.8 and 5.5ka. The younger ages near the surface of some dunes were most likely the result of pedoturbation or localized problems with applying the optical dating method. The majority of the optical age estimates from dunes (18 of 21) indicated that most of the dunes were active between 14 and 10ka and that most dune activity ended by 10ka. These ages suggest that localized activity on dune crests may have occurred in the Holocene but would have been limited to < 1m of sand accumulation. The timing of dune activity and the lack of any significant Holocene reactivation suggest that dune activation in this setting cannot be attributed solely to changes in aridity. Instead, we attribute dune formation to changes in sediment availability from either sand inputs from the Wisconsin River or the melting of permafrost.