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Accurate data on soil erosion rates by wind and patterns of soil movement are essential for guiding control planning in Gonghe Basin, north-east of Qingai-Tibet Plateau. This study was conducted to estimate soil erosion rates and assess patterns of soil movement by wind erosion in a 600 ha area during a 37-year period using the (137)Cs tracer technique. Two hundred and fifty-five soil samples were collected from 125 (137)Cs sampling points on a modified grid pattern and analysed for (137)Cs activity. Using ordinary point kriging, soil movement rates were interpolated at 7350 points in the sample grid. The kriged mean net soil movement rates were -3(.)496, =5(.)026 and 1(.)77 kg m(-2) year(-1) on uncultivated grassland, cultivated grassland (farmland) and semi-shifting sand land, respectively. Soil movement by wind erosion in semi-arid steppe area is closely related to land use and soil landscape. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.