Soil erosion by wind is the main component and an important process of desertification.The aim ofthe evaluation of soil erosion by wind is to control it effectively.Factors such as wind

vegetation

air temperature

precipitation

topography and soil were selected to establish a risk factor database of wind erosionusing ArcGIS 9.3.A model for evaluating the risk of soil erosion by wind in Yulin City of Shaanxi Provincewas established using AHP.Results show that:(1)Characteristics of the spatial patterns of wind erosionrisk in the region can be revealed macroscopically by the GIS-based evaluation of soil erosion risk by wind.(2)Factors of wind

vegetation

air temperature

precipitation

topography and soil control the spatial patterns of wind erosion risk.(3)The spatial patters of soil erosion risk by wind in Yulin City are distributed ina belt pattern and are decreased gradually from southeast to northeast.