Abstract Compound erosion, including water–wind and freeze–thaw–wind interactions, is widespread in northeast China due to the region's distinctive climate and topography. These processes pose serious threats to agricultural ecosystems. However, research remains limited regarding the differential effects of water erosion and freeze–thaw cycles on wind erosion under uniform soil conditions. This study investigates the characteristics of wind erosion and associated soil properties following exposure to water erosion and freeze–thaw processes, utilizing controlled indoor simulations. Aeolian sandy soil samples were exposed to simulated rainfall (0, 50, and 100 mm h −1 ) and freeze–thaw cycles (0, 1, 7, and 15), followed by wind tunnel tests at 9–15 m s −1 . Results indicated that, compared with wind erosion alone, rainfall treatments (50 and 100 mm h −1 ) markedly suppressed subsequent wind erosion, reducing wind erosion rate by 95.5%–98.4% and decreasing sediment transport height by 20–34 cm. By contrast, relative to soils without freeze–thaw treatment, wind erosion rate increased with both wind speed and the number of freeze–thaw cycles, rising from 53% after one cycle to 246% after 15 cycles. Rainfall enhanced soil shear strength by 45.7%–69.1% and increased soil compactness by a factor of 2.9–5.9 under 50 and 100 mm h −1 rainfall intensity, whereas freeze–thaw cycles decreased soil shear strength by 37.5%–47.0% and reduced soil compactness by 40.4%–72.5%. Soil organic carbon (C), total nitrogen (N), and calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) decreased with increasing rainfall intensity and the number of freeze–thaw cycles. Furthermore, rainfall intensity exerted a significant direct negative effect on wind erosion rate and also had an indirect negative influence by altering aggregates <0.25 mm (WT <0.25 mm ). Freeze–thaw cycles exerted a significant direct positive effect on wind erosion rate. These findings provide critical insights for the formulation of site‐specific soil conservation strategies in regions susceptible to compound erosion.
Li et al. (Sun,) studied this question.