Assessment about wind erosion prevention effectiveness by ecological projects in the agro-pastoral zone of northern China

The agro-pastoral zone of northern China is a critical ecological functional area of wind soil erosion, spanning 9 provinces with a total area of $71.62\times {10}^4{km}^2$. Assessment of the ecosystem's wind erosion prevention function is essential for ensuring the sustainable development of the region. In this study, the actual soil loss (SL) and wind erosion prevention retention rate (R) of this ecosystem from 2000 to 2022 were quantified, and the impacts of vegetation cover and ecological projects on actual soil loss were assessed. The results suggested that SL in our study area was observably reduced and the ecological system's wind erosion prevention function was significantly improved from 2000 to 2022. The change in vegetation cover level caused by the implementation of ecological projects contributes to a total reduction of $4.99\times {10}^7$ tons of actual soil loss from 2000 to 2022, of which about 62.58 % is due to the change from low vegetation cover to medium vegetation cover. This shows that the implementation of ecological projects, such as the Three-North Shelter Forest Belt Program, has substantially improved wind erosion prevention. The regionalization of environmental policies should be strengthened so as to better control wind erosion and promote coordinated and sustainable development.