Abstract
Dust emission and sandstorms are persistent environmental challenges in arid regions, where wind erosion strongly influences soil surface stability, ecosystem function, and land degradation. This study examines gypsum-induced surface crust formation as a process-based mechanism for stabilizing aeolian sands under arid climatic conditions. Gypsum plaster was prepared from locally sourced gypseous soil and applied as aqueous suspensions with varying water-to-plaster ratios (W/P), sprayed at treatment volumes of 0.25-3 L/m2 onto aeolian sand from the Samawah Desert, Iraq.
Evaporation-driven gypsum crystallization generated stratified surface crusts 5-18 mm thick, characterized by interlocking crystal networks that enhanced resistance to wind erosion while preserving subsurface permeability. Gypsum enrichment remained below 1% and was confined to the upper crust layer. Following accelerated wetting-drying and heating-cooling cycles, treated surfaces retained 67-83% of crust thickness and maintained substantial resistance to erosion, indicating resilience to typical arid environmental stresses. The resulting crusts effectively suppressed wind-driven sand and dust mobilization without forming impermeable or chemically adverse layers.
These findings highlight the role of mineral phase transformations in regulating soil surface dynamics and demonstrate that shallow gypsum crusts can enhance surface stability while maintaining ecological accessibility, offering process-based insight relevant to dryland environments.
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