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Impact of anthropogenic activities on the hydrologic characters of the mainstream of the Tarim River in Xinjiang during the past 50 years

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Changes in the hydrologic characters of the Tarim River Basin of Xinjiang Province during the past 50 years were studied to identify the key factors responsible for these changes. Observed hydrologic and socio-economic data provided the basis for this study. The impact of human activities on the decrease in the streamflow and changes in total dissolved solids (TDS) in the watercourse and groundwater of the mainstream were analyzed using the Mann–Kendall test, regression and principal component analysis. The results showed that during the past 50 years the streamflow in the headwater streams has increased slightly while the streamflow in the mainstream has decreased significantly. Human activities along the mainstream are the primary reason for the decreased streamflow, with the impact of human activities on the decrease in the streamflow of the mainstream being 65.61, 74.73 and 77.62% in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, respectively. The key factor that affected the TDS of the watercourse was the decreasing streamflow, which was caused by anthropological activities. However, the TDS of the groundwater was found to be affected significantly by groundwater depth. The degeneration of ecosystems in the lower reaches of the Tarim River was directly related with anthropogenic activities.

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Acknowledgments

This work is financially supported by the “Innovative Program of The Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No: kzcx2-yw-127)”, “The West Project Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No: KZCX2-XB2-03)” and “National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No: 90502004, 30500081)”. Special thanks are given to editors and anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to improve the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chinese Academy of Sciences, The Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology and Desert Environment of Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, 830011, Urumqi, China

    Xing-ming Hao, Ya-ning Chen & Wei-hong Li

  2. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, 830011, Urumqi, China

    Xing-ming Hao, Ya-ning Chen & Wei-hong Li

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  1. Xing-ming Hao
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  2. Ya-ning Chen
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  3. Wei-hong Li
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Correspondence to Ya-ning Chen.

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Hao, Xm., Chen, Yn. & Li, Wh. Impact of anthropogenic activities on the hydrologic characters of the mainstream of the Tarim River in Xinjiang during the past 50 years. Environ Geol 57, 435–445 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1314-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1314-0

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