Variation Characteristics of Two Erosion Forces and Their Potential Risk Assessment in the Pisha Sandstone Area

Abstract

Precipitation and wind, as the main external erosion forces in wind–water erosion crisscross regions, have profound impacts on water and soil loss. Meanwhile, with the intensification of climate change and human activities, the variation characteristics and risks caused by erosion forces need to be reassessed. In this study, we explored the time-varying characteristics, differences in action period and spatial distribution, and temporal evolution of risk for the compound events of two erosion forces, including precipitation and wind, in the Pisha sandstone area, one of the most seriously eroding and difficult-to-control areas in the Loess Plateau. The results indicated that: (1) the stationarity of regional precipitation was not destroyed, but the mean change existed in the five subseries divided by the detected change points in wind; (2) wind acted earlier than precipitation and increased from southeast to northwest, while precipitation did the opposite; and (3) precipitation-led erosion has become the main erosion type in this area. The above results reveal the evolution and dominant types of regional external erosion forces in a changing environment and thus have implications for regional erosion studies and policy adjustments.