Inner Mongolia, as a fragile ecological zone in northern China, is prone to severe fires due to natural forces and intensive human disturbances. The development of a fire risk assessment system at the finer spatial scale is not sufficient in this region. In this study, we obtained the data of burned areas and fire hotspots numbers for Inner Mongolia from the Terra/Aqua Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data (MCD45A1 and MOD14A1/MYD14A1, 2002~2016). These fire maps were used to determine the fire spatial and temporal variability, as well as the interactions with environmental controls (climatic, vegetation, topography, and anthropic characteristics) derived in geographic information system (GIS) layers. Based on this, the fire-causing variables were selected as the dependent variables for model building, whereas data on burned area and number of fire hotspots were used for model validation. The fire risk assessment map was then generated in a 500 × 500 m grid cell using an analytic hierarchy process approach and a GIS technique. This work could be easily used for the ultimate aim of supporting fire management.

Understanding water sources and utilization strategies is essential for the water use patterns of vegetation restoration species and achieving sustainable vegetation restoration. The water use strategies of Corethrodendron scoparium and Calligonum mongolicum were studied in the afforestation area on the northeastern edge of the Tengger Desert, to provide scientific guidance for regional vegetation restoration and stand structure adjustment. We utilize hydrogen and oxygen isotope techniques and the MixSIAR model to calculate the contribution rates of these two plant species to various potential water sources from June to October. By calculating the PS index, we determined the competitive relationship of C. scoparium and C. mongolicum towards different water sources. The results showed that the soil moisture content in the 0-80 cm soil layer changed significantly due to rainfall and evaporation, but stabilized with increasing depth. Shallow soil water shows enriched stable isotope composition, while the isotope of groundwater is relatively stable, and the isotope of precipitation is more enriched than that of groundwater. The main water source of C. scoparium and C. mongolicum was soil moisture. The utilization rate of 0-40 cm soil layer was 27% (C.scoparium) and 33% (C.mongolicum), and the utilization rate of 40-80 cm soil layer was 32% (C.scoparium) and 25% (C.mongolicum). The average proportional similarity index (PS index) between the two species was 95.67%, indicating a competitive relationship with water resources. When the surface layer (0-40) soil moisture is high (July, August), both species preferentially absorb water from this layer, and the water competition is reduced. The average PS index is 89%. When the surface layer (0-40) was deficient in soil moisture (June, September and October), the water competition increased, and the PS index was 97.83%. This study emphasized the adaptation strategies of these shrubs to arid environments and found that it provided key insights for optimizing vegetation density and species composition in desert aerial seeding areas and ensuring sustainable ecological restoration in the study area.

Considering the importance of soil moisture in hydrological processes, it is crucial to understand the water distribution and time stability of different aerial shrub soils. There are few studies on the soil moisture of aerial vegetation in the northeastern margin of the Tengger Desert. Based on long-term monitoring data from the aerial seeding area in the northeastern margin of the Tengger Desert, the distribution characteristics of soil moisture and the temporal stability of soil moisture were studied. From June to October 2022, the soil moisture monitoring instrument WatchDog was used to monitor the long-term soil moisture changes (0–200 cm) in the four aerial afforestation plots of Hedysarum scoparium, mixed forest land (Hedysarum scoparium dominant species), mixed forest land (Calligonum mongolicum dominant species), and Calligonum mongolicum. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to study the temporal stability of soil moisture in the four plots. Rainfall data were collected through small weather stations. The results show that the average soil water storage of four kinds of aerial shrub land in the study area was the highest in August, and the average soil water storage of different forest lands was different. The soil water content of the surface layer (0–30 cm) fluctuated the most in different months. The variation in soil water content in the shallow layer (30–100 cm) was smaller than that in the surface layer. The fluctuation of soil water content in the middle layer (100–150 cm) and deep layer (150–200 cm) was relatively stable. There was no strong variability in soil moisture content, and the temporal variation coefficient of surface soil moisture was the highest (31.44–39.8%), which showed moderate variability. The temporal variation coefficient of soil moisture in the shallow, middle and deep layers of all kinds of plots was significantly reduced, and the soil moisture stability of different aerial shrub land was the same. Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that the spatial pattern of soil water content in the surface layer (0–30 cm) and deep layer (150–200 cm) was more stable over time, that is, the temporal stability of soil water content was higher, and the temporal stability of soil water content in the middle and shallow layers of different types of shrub land was different. The research results help us to understand the soil hydrological process in the aerial seeding afforestation area in the northeastern margin of Tengger Desert, rationally arrange soil moisture monitoring points, efficiently manage and utilize water resources in the aerial seeding area, and provide a theoretical basis for local vegetation restoration and the optimization of the ecological environment.

Clarifying how vegetation restoration regulates wind erosion, sediment redistribution, and soil improvement is essential for ecological management in desert photovoltaic power stations. This study was conducted in a high-clearance flexible-support photovoltaic power station at the edge of the Kubuqi Desert. Three restoration measures were compared: reed mulch combined with Atriplex canescens planting along the panel front edge (M1), A. canescens planting along the panel front edge alone (M2), and reed mulch combined with grass seeding (M3). The panel front-edge zone (QY), under-panel zone (BX), and pedestal zone (JZ) were used as functional units to analyze surface sediment grain-size characteristics, soil moisture, soil nutrients, windbreak efficiency, aerodynamic roughness length, and cumulative sand-fixing efficiency. All restoration measures altered the surface sediment structure, with Mz ranging from 2.005 to 2.364 and D₀ from 1.459 to 1.935. Soil moisture ranged from 0.58% to 4.34%, with the highest value occurring in the 20–30 cm layer of QY under M1. M1 also showed higher soil organic matter in QY and JZ, reaching 1.87 and 1.16 g·kg⁻¹, respectively. Windbreak efficiency decreased with height under all measures. M1 maintained the highest and most stable values, decreasing only from 61.16% at 10 cm to 55.52% at 100 cm. The total cumulative sand-fixing efficiency was also highest under M1 (233.66%), while M2 (215.05%) and M3 (214.58%) showed comparable total effects but different zonal responses. Wind-eroded materials shifted from fine-sand dominance toward a higher relative contribution of medium sand, reflecting the reduction in finer transported fractions rather than true grain coarsening. The novelty of this study lies in linking wind-erodible sediment redistribution, soil water and nutrient responses, and windbreak–sand-fixing performance across internal functional zones of a flexible-support photovoltaic array. These results indicate that vegetation restoration in desert photovoltaic power stations should be configured by functional zone, with composite interception at the panel front edge, structural maintenance in the under-panel zone, and cover-based sand trapping in deposition-prone areas.

To explore the regulatory mechanisms of different vegetation types on soil crust grain-size characteristics in sandy lands, this study focused on five typical plant species (Haloxylon ammodendron, Artemisia ordosica, Nitraria tangutorum, Agriophyllum squarrosum, and Phragmites australis) in an artificial vegetation restoration area on the northeastern edge of the Ulan Buh Desert. Using laser granulometry and graphical methods, we systematically determined the soil particle size composition and parameters of the crust (Layer A) and sub-crust (Layer B) layers, and analyzed their correlations with plant morphological parameters (crown width, plant height, basal diameter). The results showed that (1) different vegetation types significantly increased the content of soil fine particulate matter (silt and clay), with fine sand accounting for 42.85% and silt accounting for 23.64%; (2) there are significant differences in the impact of different vegetation types on particle size parameters. The average particle size of soil crust under Phragmites australis is the smallest (1.91), and the sorting is the worst (standard deviation 2.01). Under the vegetation type of Nitraria tangutorum, the average particle size of the soil crust layer is the largest (5.25), and the fractal dimension is the highest (2.46). (3) The crown width, plant height, and basal diameter of vegetation are negatively correlated with mean particle size, kurtosis, and fractal dimension (r= −0.62 to −0.45), and positively correlated with standard deviation and skewness (r = 0.51 to 0.68). (4) The frequency curve indicates that vegetation types broaden the distribution range of soil particles, and Phragmites australis and Artemisia ordosica exhibit bimodal characteristics. This study reveals the impact of vegetation restoration on soil grain size parameters in arid regions. These findings provide actionable strategies for optimizing vegetation configuration in actual desert restoration projects, notably proposing a “herbs first, shrubs follow” approach that can be directly applied to enhance restoration efficiency.