A warning from an ancient oasis: intensive human activities are leading to potential ecological and social catastrophe

Kang, Shaozhong; Su, Xiaoling; Tong, Ling; Zhang, Jianhua; Zhang, Lu; Davies, Erin L

doi:10.3843/susdev.15.5:5

Cited by 57 publications

(39 citation statements)

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“…The reason is the uneven spatial distributions of precipitation and ET 0 in the arid northwest China. Results of increasing trends in annual precipitation are also in agreement with Kang et al (2008). We cannot conclude if the moisture condition is getting wetter or drier only by the single trend in ET 0 or in precipitation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…This makes the management of water resources in the basin difficult. Although attempts have been made to analyze the annual mean air temperature, ET 0 and precipitation variability in the basin and increasing trends in temperature, ET 0 and precipitation (Tong et al 2004;Kang et al 2008;Ma et al 2013;Zhang et al 2010), no comprehensive study of the ET 0 /precipitation ratio in the basin has been done and hence the change in aridity is less than clear. Also, it should be noted that agriculture plays a key role in the regional socioeconomic development, which heavily depends on irrigation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Spatiotemporal trends of aridity index in Shiyang River basin of northwest China

Singh

Niu

et al. 2015

Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess

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Drought/wetness conditions are fundamental not only for agricultural production but also ecology, human health, and economic activity. Dryness/wetness is a function of precipitation, temperature, vegetation and potential evapotranspiration. Regions with low moisture are often characterized by aridity which, in turn, reflects the degree of meteorological drought. Observed climatic data from eleven meteorological stations in and around Shiyang River basin, China, were used to calculate the aridity index (AI) which was defined as the ratio of potential evapotranspiration (ET 0 ) to precipitation (P). ET 0 was calculated using the Penman-Monteith method. The ordinary kriging method was used to interpolate the spatial variability of ET 0 , P and AI. The Mann-Kendall test with a pre-whitening method was employed using the Yue and Wang autocorrelation correction to detect temporal trends. The Theil-Sen estimator was used to estimate the slopes of trend lines. Results showed a higher AI in the north basin and a lower AI in the Qilian Mountain region. Annual ET 0 and P had increasing trends with a slope of 0.672 and 0.459 mm per year, respectively, but trends were not statistically significant for most stations. While annual AI had a slight decreasing trend with a slope of -0.01 per year, the trend was not statistically significant for all stations. The decreasing trends in winter AI (at a rate of -0.313/a) was more significant than that in other seasons. The study indicates that the Shiyang River basin is getting slightly wetter, especially in winter.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Spatiotemporal trends of aridity index in Shiyang River basin of northwest China

Singh

Niu

et al. 2015

Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess

Self Cite

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“…As a majority share (over 90%) of the water budget in agricultural ecosystems is typically contributed by ET, accurate quantification of crop ET by observations or models is critical for the improvement of irrigation scheduling and water resource planning [1,2]. Multiple models have been developed for the estimation of ET [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parameterization of Evapotranspiration Estimation for Two Typical East Asian Crops

Zhao

Lüers

2017

Atmosphere

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Estimation of evapotranspiration plays an important role in understanding the water cycle on the earth, especially the water budget in agricultural ecosystems. The parameterization approach of the Penman-Monteith-Katerji-Perrier (PM-KP) model, accounting for the influence of meteorological variables and aerodynamic resistance on surface resistance, was proposed in the literature, but it has not been applied to Asian croplands, and its error and sensitivity have not been reported yet. In this study, the estimation of evapotranspiration on half-hourly scale was carried out for two typical East Asian cropland research sites, and evaluated by using eddy-covariance measurements corrected with the energy-balance-closure concept. Sensitivity coefficients as well as systematic bias and random errors of the PM-KP approach were used to evaluate the model performance. Different distributions of the calibration coefficients between different crops were reported for the first time, indicating that the calibration of this model was more stable for the rice field than for the potato field. The commonly-used parameterization approach suggested by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was used as reference and was site-specifically optimized. The results suggest that the PM-KP approach would be a better alternative than the PM-FAO approach for estimating evapotranspiration for the flooded rice field, and an acceptable alternative for rain-fed croplands when the soil is well watered and the air is humid during the summer monsoon.

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“…Maize (being a C4 plant) and wheat (being a C3 plant) are the predominant crops grown in northwest China, where population density and exploitation of water resources are high [32]. How SWC is controlled in the maize and wheat fields is important for agricultural water management in arid regions in northwest China.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Soil Water Content under Different Crop Covers in Irrigation Districts of Northwest China

Wang

Singh

2017

Entropy

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Abstract:The relationship between soil water content (SWC) and vegetation, topography, and climatic conditions is critical for developing effective agricultural water management practices and improving agricultural water use efficiency in arid areas. The purpose of this study was to determine how crop cover influenced spatial and temporal variation of soil water. During a study, SWC was measured under maize and wheat for two years in northwest China. Statistical methods and entropy analysis were applied to investigate the spatio-temporal variability of SWC and the interaction between SWC and its influencing factors. The SWC variability changed within the field plot, with the standard deviation reaching a maximum value under intermediate mean SWC in different layers under various conditions (climatic conditions, soil conditions, crop type conditions). The spatial-temporal-distribution of the SWC reflects the variability of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (ET 0 ) under different crop covers. The mutual entropy values between SWC and precipitation were similar in two years under wheat cover but were different under maize cover. However, the mutual entropy values at different depths were different under different crop covers. The entropy values changed with SWC following an exponential trend. The informational correlation coefficient (R 0 ) between the SWC and the precipitation was higher than that between SWC and other factors at different soil depths. Precipitation was the dominant factor controlling the SWC variability, and the crop efficient was the second dominant factor. This study highlights the precipitation is a paramount factor for investigating the spatio-temporal variability of soil water content in Northwest China.

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A warning from an ancient oasis: intensive human activities are leading to potential ecological and social catastrophe

Cited by 57 publications

References 0 publications

Spatiotemporal trends of aridity index in Shiyang River basin of northwest China

Spatiotemporal trends of aridity index in Shiyang River basin of northwest China

Parameterization of Evapotranspiration Estimation for Two Typical East Asian Crops

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Soil Water Content under Different Crop Covers in Irrigation Districts of Northwest China

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