Causes of more frequent sandstorms in northeast China (edited)

According to The Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary, a sandstorm is a storm in which sand is blown into the air by strong winds.10 years ago it was considered very rare to see sandstorms in northeast China. However, in recent years, sandstorms have become common spring weather there. Overgrazing, overharvesting of ground flora and nonstandard mines are the three main causes of more frequent sandstorms in China.

The Grassland Sustainable Development Research of China which is done by Development Research Center of The State Council of China in 2003 indicates that the number of livestock in northeast China has exceeded the capability of the grassland. The growth of grass cannot catch up with the rate of abatement, which results in the descending of grassland. As a consequence, the soil is exposed to the air immediately, causing the soil to degenerate into sand. Moreover, some of the ground flora in northwest China is good herb, for example, liquorice. For economic benefit, people dig out liquorice without limit, which affects the growth of other ground flora as well. Without the ground flora keeping nutrition and water in the soil, the soil degenerates into sand. Furthermore, a wide variety of minerals are distributed over some parts of northwest China. For the sake of profits, many nonstandard mines are set up illegally on the area that was forest or grassland before. The construction of these mines is usually improperly developed, which leads to large segments of exposed ground. The waste is disposed without consideration of decontamination, resulting in the degradation of soil.

In conclusion, overgrazing, overharvesting of ground flora and nonstandard mines damage the plants and degrade soil into sand. Every spring, wind blows the sand up and it travels east without the block of trees. Consequently, sandstorms become more frequent in northeast China.

References

Hornby, A. S. (2004). Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary(6^th ed.). Beijing: ShangWu Yin Shu Guan.