Abstract:
Wind erosion is one type of the most common natural disaster in arid and semiarid regions. Particularly, biocrusts have been widely distributed in desertified areas that subjected to droughts and harsh environments in recent years. The biocrusts can also be used to control soil erosion for the high resilience of ecosystems in drylands. Therefore, it is very crucial to quantitatively monitor and numerically model the wind erosion on the slopes in environmental science and land management. This study aims to predict the effects of different coverages of biocrusts on wind erosion. The valuable data greatly contributed to environmental protection and land rehabilitation, especially in the arid regions where soil degradation was widespread. Structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry was selected to monitor the morphological variations in the moss crust-covered slopes after wind erosion. The applicability and accuracy were also validated using SfM photogrammetry. Indoor wind tunnel experiments were conducted in the laboratory. Soil samples and moss crusts were separately collected from the topsoil of agricultural fields. After that, the soil samples were packed into the erosion pans with the size of 1.0 m (length) × 0.6 m (width) × 0.2 m (height). The coordinate points were distributed in a regular pattern around their perimeter. Soil within them was arranged in the layers, in order to simulate the natural soil stratification. Moss crust samples were transplanted piece by piece, according to the treatments under different coverage percentages. The surface cover was then consistent with the experimental conditions. Canon EOS 90D single lens reflex (SLR) camera was equipped with a zoom lens that covered a focal length range of 18-135 mm and the focal length was locked at 18 mm during measurement. The surface topography was accurately captured to highly represent the terrain. Agisoft PhotoScan Professional software was utilized to generate a raster DEM with a pixel size of 0.3 mm × 0.3 mm. The soil loss rates were estimated for the same erosion pan at the different stages using a three-dimensional model. At the same time, the erosion was weighed to calculate the soil loss rates, according to an accuracy weighing scale with a resolution of 0.001 kg. Results showed that the SfM photogrammetry provided more than 80% accuracy in estimating the wind erosion rates, with the mean absolute error (MAE) ranges from 0.002 to 0.092, the average relative error (MRE) ranges from 2.81% to 16.33%, and the root mean squared error (RMSE) from 0.003 to 0.094, indicating the effectiveness and reliability of this measurement. The point cloud was reconstructed from the SfM photogrammetry. It was found that the number of dense clouds ranged from 6 267 557 to 6 841 793 points. These points were uniformly distributed with densities ranging from 1 045 to 1 140 points per square centimeter, where the spacing among points was approximately 0.2 mm. There was no significant difference in the spacing among points under the various treatments, indicating the consistency of the data. A comparison was made between the measured and the theoretical coordinate accuracy. The error and relative accuracy were all within permissible limits, and the RMSE was 0.232 mm. Three-dimensional reconstruction model of the slopes accurately described the soil and moss crust patches, including the sections of erosion and deposition. The SfM photogrammetry can be expected to serve as an effective and dependable tool for the elevation data before and after the wind erosion on the moss crust-covered slopes. The findings can offer some insights into the effectiveness of moss crusts in mitigating the impacts of wind erosion in arid and semiarid regions. This research can greatly contribute to determining the role of biocrusts in ecosystem services. A valuable tool can be gained in the land management practices against desertification.