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Environmental Earth Sciences

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01-01-2015 | Thematic Issue

Desert riparian vegetation and groundwater in the lower reaches of the Tarim River basin

Authors: Yaning Chen, Weihong Li, Changchun Xu, Zhaoxia Ye, Yapeng Chen

Published in: Environmental Earth Sciences | Issue 2/2015

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Abstract

The Green Corridor in the lower reaches of Tarim River in northwestern China has an extreme hot and dry climate. Vegetation here, consisting of arbor, shrub and grass, relies on groundwater exceedingly. However, the increasing anthropogenic activities of large-scale agricultural reclamation and unreasonable water utilization in the upper and middle reaches caused the 321-km riverway in the lower reaches to dry up completely in 1972 and resulted in the sharp decline of groundwater, followed by the ruin of desert riparian vegetation on a large scale. The Green Corridor is on the verge of shrinking. Water has a key role in maintaining ecological balance and socioeconomic development. This paper, focused on the relationship between vegetation and groundwater, discusses (1) the change of groundwater table caused by the ecological water delivery carried out in the lower reaches of Tarim River; (2) the appropriate groundwater depth meeting the vegetation’s survival; (3) the minimum ecological flux and ecological water requirement for the growth of natural vegetation. It was shown that (1) based on the analysis of the monitoring data from the groundwater level of ten times water delivery, such an extensive artificial watering takes positive effect on raising the groundwater level along the two sides of the river; (2) a groundwater table depth of 2–4 m is probably the appropriate ecological water table level for the lower reaches of the Tarim River, and 6 m is the threshold for the local vegetation; (3) at the lower Tarim River, 1.157 × 10⁸m³ of water flow is needed for itself. The longer the duration of water releases, the greater would be the groundwater rise and the larger the range of vegetation influenced. It was found that the duration and volume of water delivery was closely related to restoration of vegetation in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. The goal of this paper is to offer scientific evidences for water delivery in the rigorous areas to maintain an ecological balance.

previous article Eco-morphological response of floodplain forests (Populus euphratica Oliv.) to water diversion in the lower Tarim River, northwest China

next article Irrigation in the Tarim Basin, China: farmers’ response to changes in water pricing practices

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Title: Desert riparian vegetation and groundwater in the lower reaches of the Tarim River basin
Authors: Yaning Chen
Weihong Li
Changchun Xu
Zhaoxia Ye
Yapeng Chen
Publication date: 01-01-2015
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Environmental Earth Sciences / Issue 2/2015
Print ISSN: 1866-6280
Electronic ISSN: 1866-6299
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-3002-y

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