URUMQI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The threshold wind velocity for sand movement measured in the Taklimakan Desert will help increase the accuracy of sandstorm forecasting in China's largest desert.

The wind velocity range causing dust emission is 3.5 to 10.9 meters per second, with an average value of 5.9 meters per second, said Yang Xinghua with the Urumqi Institute of Desert Meteorology.

The threshold is a core parameter in sandstorm forecasting models and has a direct influence on prediction accuracy, which is important to people living near the desert in the southern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The research team from the institute determined the velocity range after three years of field observation and data collection.

The Taklimakan is the second largest shifting sand desert in the world, with nearly half of the population in Xinjiang living in oases on its edge.

Yang said the research would offer insights into combating desertification in northwest China.