Spatiotemporal patterns of windbreak and sand fixation before and after grazing prohibition in Ningxia

In Ningxia, China, information is required to formulate comprehensive plans for ecological restoration and to realize the sustainable development of grassland ecosystems. As such, this study was based on meteorology and remote sensing data related to the grassland ecosystem in Ningxia. We applied the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) to quantitatively evaluate the spatiotemporal variations in soil conservation service functions over a 31-year period before and after grazing prohibition in Ningxia. Our results are as follows: 1) Before (1988 to 2003) and after (2003 to 2018) grazing prohibition, the average soil wind erosion modulus was 5.59 and 1.45 kg·m⁻², respectively. After grazing prohibition, the area of intense soil wind erosion (six levels in total) slightly decreased to 14 281 km², the proportion of which increased to 73.52%; wind erosion intensity decreased. 2) Before and after grazing prohibition, the average sand-fixing function was 25.49 and 14.30 kg·m⁻², respectively After grazing prohibition, the levels of wind prevention and sand fixation function were mainly classified as medium, covering an area of 8 765 km², the proportion of which had increased to 23.65%. 3) From 1998 to 2018, the retention rate of windbreak and sand fixation in Ningxia grassland showed an increasing trend, ranging from 73.2% to 96.7%. Before and after grazing prohibition, the average retention rate of windbreak and sand fixation function was 81.24% and 91.9%, respectively. This finding shows the contribution of grassland to wind prevention and sand fixation in Ningxia was gradually increasing, and the ecological construction project had achieved remarkable results. Therefore, regional governance should be strengthened and differentiated schemes should be implemented in the future.