Responses of three typical plants to wind erosion in the shrub belts atop Mogao Grottoes, China

Protecting the Mogao Grottoes in fragile ecology sites has significant values in sand control by using desert shrub belts. The monthly height changes of aeolian sand deposits by using erosion pins indicates that Hedysarum scoparium and Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb. are best arranged in two adjacent parallel configurations perpendicular to the main wind path, and T. ramosissima Ledeb., H. scoparium, and Caragana korshinskii Kom. exhibit sand prevention effects during April, June, and May and November, respectively, and H. scoparium is the most suitable desert shrub atop the Mogao Grottoes. The yearly change of accumulated sand suggests that shrub belts have better sand prevention effects. However, sand accumulated by shrub belts could become another sand source that can damage the grottoes.