Abstract: There was much research focusing on mechanical sand barrier which is one of the earliest engineering sand storms controlling methods. However, less is known about the impacts of mechanical sand barrier on soil physical properties. Here, we used soil moisture content and temperature measured by neutron probe and thermometer with the increment of depth in two kinds of mechanical sand barriers combination (vertical sand barrier and flat sand barrier) in Shapotou, Ningxia with bare sand dune without sand-protecting barrier serving as a control together to investigate the mechanism that how engineering techniques prevent wind hazards and control sand storms indirectly. The results showed that soil temperature increased significantly at the beginning of the vertical sand barrier and flat sand barrier set up and tended to stabilize gradually with time. Mechanical sand barriers directly impacted the redistribution of soil moisture and improved water retention with different results coming from different combinations of sand barriers.

Key words: mechanical sand barriers combination, soil temperature, soil water content