Environmental effects of water resource development and use in the Tarim River basin of northwestern China

Feng, Qi; Liu, Wei; Si, Jing; Su, Yonghong; Yewu, Zhang; Zongqiang, Cang; Xi, Hongyan

doi:10.1007/s00254-005-1288-0

Cited by 82 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Although population pressure' often deemed a major cause of land degradation in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) [43,44], recurrent voluntary environmental out-migration could not only weaken the tension between population and environment, but could export environmental impacts elsewhere while also increasing social vulnerability [45]. We do not oppose the strategy of ordered resettlement to reduce population pressure directly, but we argue that rural households' concerns about long-term livelihood sustainability determine their migration intention and behavior.…”

Section: The Sustainability Of Ecological Migration Policy In Arid Nomentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Migration Intentions in Ecological Restoration Areas and Their Implications for the Sustainability of Ecological Migration Policy in Arid Northwest China

López‐Carr

Chen

2014

Sustainability

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Ecological migration policy has been proposed and implemented as a means for depopulating ecological restoration areas in the arid Northwest China. Migration intention is critical to the effectiveness of ecological migration policy. However, studies on migration intention in relation to ecological migration policy in China remain scant. Thus this paper aims to investigate the rural residents' migration intentions and their affecting factors under ecological migration policy in Minqin County, an ecological restoration area, located at the lower terminus of Shiyang River Basin in arid Northwest China. The data for this study come from a randomly sampled household questionnaire survey. Results from logistic regression modelling indicate that most residents do not intend to migrate, despite rigid eco-environmental conditions and governance polices threatening livelihood sustainability. In addition to demographic and socio-economic factors, the eco-environmental factors are also significantly correlated with the possibility of a resident intending to migrate. The implications of the significant independent variables for the sustainability of ecological migration policy are discussed. The paper concludes that ecological migration policies may ultimately be more sustainable when taking into account household interests within complex migration intention contexts, such as household livelihoods dynamics and environmental change. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2014, 6 8640

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Section: The Sustainability Of Ecological Migration Policy In Arid Nomentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Affecting Migration Intentions in Ecological Restoration Areas and Their Implications for the Sustainability of Ecological Migration Policy in Arid Northwest China

López‐Carr

Chen

2014

Sustainability

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“…The Tarim River Basin, the most important location for Chinese cotton production (corresponding to 3.7% of the world cotton production [1]), as a result of exploitation, gained attention because of serious environmental problems developing over the last 50 years: serious degradation of soil (more than 12 × 10 3 km 2 of land desertification; approximately 112 Tg of organic carbon was released into the atmosphere from 1970 to 2000 in the Tarim River basin [2]); increased water salinity (maximum salt concentration of the irrigation water increased between 1960 and 1998 from 1.3 to 7.8 g·L −1 [3]); water resource degradation (a 4-6 m drop in ground water levels from the 1960s to 1980s [2]; approximately 300 km of the Tarim River's lower reaches ran dry between the 1950s and 1970s, including the previous terminal lake Lop Nor [3]; arsenic concentration in the Tarim River was 4.2 times higher than international limits due to the use of pesticides [4]); and plant coverage reduction (Populus euphratica (Salicaceae family) forest acreage and biomass declined by 67% and 50% respectively from 1958 to 1978 and 3820 km 2 of P. euphratica forest, and 200 km 2 of shrub-and grassland were lost in the lower reaches between the 1950s and 1990s [2]). Accumulative salt and gypsum in the Tertiary sediments induced the big amount of saline and alkaline soil in Xinjiang (71.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Use Efficiency in Saline Soils under Cotton Cultivation in the Tarim River Basin

Zhao

Othmanli

Schiller

et al. 2015

Water

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Abstract:The Tarim River Basin, the largest area of Chinese cotton production, is receiving increased attention because of serious environmental problems. At two experimental stations (Korla and Aksu), we studied the influence of salinity on cotton yield. Soil chemical and physical properties, soil water content, soil total suction and matric suction, cotton yield and water use efficiency under plastic mulched drip irrigation in different saline soils was measured during cotton growth season. The salinity (mS·cm −1 ) were 17-25 (low) at Aksu and Korla, 29-50 (middle) at Aksu and 52-62 (high) at Aksu for ECe (Electrical conductivity measured in saturation-paste extract of soil) over the 100 cm soil profile. The soil water characteristic curves in different saline soils showed that the soil water content (15%-23%) at top 40 cm soil, lower total suction power (below 3500 kPa) and lower matric suction (below 30 kPa) in low saline soil at Korla had the highest water use efficiency (10 kg·ha

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“…In this extremely arid region close to Taklamakan Desert, water is the key factor in maintaining local ecosystems. Increased farming and water use since the 1950s have led to significant hydrological and environmental degradation [8][9][10][11][12][13]. In this context, water saving and higher crop irrigation efficiencies are crucial to the future allocation of water resources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-Scale Hydrological Modeling and Decision-Making for Agricultural Water Consumption and Allocation in the Main Stem Tarim River, China

Disse

et al. 2015

Water

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Abstract:A large-scale hydrological model (MIKE HYDRO) was established for the purpose of sustainable agricultural water management in the main stem Tarim River, located in northwest China. In this arid region, agricultural water consumption and allocation management are crucial to address the conflicts among irrigation water users from upstream to downstream. The results of model calibration indicated a close correlation between simulated and observed values. Scenarios with the change on irrigation strategies and land use distributions were investigated. Irrigation scenarios revealed that the available irrigation water has significant and varying effects on the yields of different crops. Irrigation water saving could reach up to 40% in the water-saving irrigation scenario. Land use scenarios illustrated that an increase of farmland area in the lower reach gravely aggravated the water deficit, while a decrease of farmland in the upper reaches resulted in considerable benefits for all sub-catchments. A substitution of crops was also investigated, which demonstrated OPEN ACCESSWater 2015, 7 2822 the potential for saving considerable amounts of irrigation water in upper and middle reaches. Overall, the results of this study provide a scientific basis for decision-making on agricultural water consumption and allocation in the study area.

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Environmental effects of water resource development and use in the Tarim River basin of northwestern China

Cited by 82 publications

References 10 publications

Factors Affecting Migration Intentions in Ecological Restoration Areas and Their Implications for the Sustainability of Ecological Migration Policy in Arid Northwest China

Factors Affecting Migration Intentions in Ecological Restoration Areas and Their Implications for the Sustainability of Ecological Migration Policy in Arid Northwest China

Water Use Efficiency in Saline Soils under Cotton Cultivation in the Tarim River Basin

Large-Scale Hydrological Modeling and Decision-Making for Agricultural Water Consumption and Allocation in the Main Stem Tarim River, China

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