Relationships of nebkhas horizontal projection area with nebkhas height and nebkha spatial distribution, and the spatial autocorrelationship were investigated in the Minqin desert-oasis ectone. The results were applied to categorize the developing phases of nebkhas. Effects of underground water table, distance to sand source, and plant growth on nebhas evolution were also investigated. Relationship between nebkhas horizontal projection area and height in the initial phase, developing phase, and degradation phase of nebkhas evolution demonstrate linear, power, and quadratic function relationshps, respectively. The spatial autocorrelation scale of nebkhas in the three phases is 5 m, and no significant difference among autocorrealtion scales of the three evolution phases is observed.

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　Spatial distribution patterns of the nebkhas

Spatial autocorrelation of the nebkhas