A study on the fragmentation of saltating particles along the fetch distance during wind erosion

•The particle size of the eroded sediment increase with the fetch distance•The finer the eroded sediment, the lower the rate of increase along the distance.•Maximum transport can change according to the material available to be transported.•Around 12% of the particles smaller than 62.5 μm were lost by vertical transport.•Aggregates fragmentation is the main mechanism of dust emission on this loamy soil.