Abstract:Nebkhas are the fast pathways for hydrological processes of shrub vegetation in arid regions, and also the key points for regulating soil water balance. Taking the degraded artificial Caragana intermdia in desert grassland asobject, the dynamic responses of hydrological processes and hydrological effects of Nebkhas by artificial sand buried were explored for five consecutive years (2012-2016). The results showed that the sand burial intervention did not significantly change the main hydrology physical indicators of 0—10 cm in the surface layer, but significantly increased soil moisture infiltration rate of 5—10 cm, while infiltration rate of the 0—5 cm was significantly reduced. The instant water capacity of 0—5 cm soil surface was significantly improved by the sand burial intervention. After the precipitation, the decay process of moisture content in surface soil showed a strong seasonal change. The relative storage effects of 0—100 cm soil with sand burial at the end of the growing seasons in 2012—2016 were 11.3%, -6.5%, 4.5%, 4.3%, and 15.7%, and the increase of 0—60 cm was the most obvious. In general, the sand burial intervention had no significant effects on the hydrophysical characteristics of the surface soil. Water infiltration rate of soil 5—10 cm layer was significantly improved, but infiltration rate of the 0—5 cm was reduced. However, the enhancement of local infiltration performance did not increase the depth of water recharge, while the hydrological connections between the upper and lower layers were weakened.