Sustainable management of river oases along the Tarim River in North-Western China under conditions of climate change

Abstract

Abstract. The Tarim River Basin, located in Xinjiang, NW China, is the largest endorheic river basin of China and one of the largest in whole Central Asia. Due to the extremely arid climate with an annual precipitation of less than 100 mm, the water supply along the Aksu and Tarim River solely depends on river water. This applies for anthropogenic activities (e.g. agriculture) as well as for the natural ecosystems so that both compete for water. The on-going increase of water consumption by agriculture and other human activities in this region has been enhancing the competition for water between human needs and nature. Against this background, 11 German and 6 Chinese universities and research institutes formed the consortium SuMaRiO (www.sumario.de), which aims at gaining a holistic picture of the availability of water resources in the Tarim River Basin and the impacts on anthropogenic activities and natural ecosystems caused by the water distribution within the Tarim River Basin. The discharge of the Aksu River, which is the major tributary to the Tarim, has been increasing over the past 6 decades due to enhanced glacier melt. Alone from 1989 to 2011, the area under agriculture more than doubled. Thereby, cotton became the major crop and there was a shift from small-scale farming to large-scale intensive farming. The major natural ecosystems along the Aksu and Tarim River are riparian ecosystems: Riparian (Tugai) forests, shrub vegetation, reed beds, and other grassland. Within the SuMaRiO Cluster the focus was laid on the Tugai forests, with Populus euphratica as dominant tree, because the most productive and species-rich natural ecosystems can be found among those forests. On sites with groundwater distance of less than 7.5 m the annual increments correlated with river runoffs of the previous year. But, the further downstream along the Tarim River, the more the natural river dynamics ceased, which impacts on the recruitment of Populus euphratica. Household surveys revealed that there is a considerable willingness to pay for conservation of those riparian forests with the mitigation of dust and sandstorms considered as the most important ecosystem service. This interdisciplinary project will result in a decision support tool (DST), build on the participation of regional stakeholders and models based on results and field experiments. This DST finally shall assist stakeholders in balancing the water competition acknowledging the major external effects of any water allocation.

Relating Water Use to Tree Vitality of Populus euphratica Oliv. in the Lower Tarim River, NW China

“…However, in terms of water shortage in this region, the insurance of long-term water transferring and the virtuous cycle of ecological environment depends on the rational and efficient usage of limited water resources, which includes the scientific allocation of water for irrigated agriculture, nature and ecosystem conservation, as well as for industry, oasis settlements and human well-being [4,[21][22][23][24]. Therefore, it is important to estimate the water use of riparian forests in the lower Tarim River for providing scientific reference to the water management authorities.…”

Essentials of Endorheic Basins and Lakes: A Review in the Context of Current and Future Water Resource Management and Mitigation Activities in Central Asia

“…It is a river basin in the Takla Makan desert, which receives water from several mountain regions: Kunlun, Karakorum, Pamir and Tien Shan. Tarim River basin is the largest endorheic basin in China with an area of 1,100,000 km 2 [37,38]. The basin is located within the Tarim depression in the Takla Makan desert and it historically drained into Lake Lop Nur, but currently it terminates in Taitema Lake [37].…”

“…The basin is located within the Tarim depression in the Takla Makan desert and it historically drained into Lake Lop Nur, but currently it terminates in Taitema Lake [37]. Tarim River has three main tributaries: Aksu, Yarkand and Hotan with the main runoff generated by the Aksu River [38]. Tarim basin is a desert area with precipitation ranging from 50 to 100 mm a year, combined with high potential evaporation, up to 3000 mm a year [38].…”

“…Tarim River has three main tributaries: Aksu, Yarkand and Hotan with the main runoff generated by the Aksu River [38]. Tarim basin is a desert area with precipitation ranging from 50 to 100 mm a year, combined with high potential evaporation, up to 3000 mm a year [38]. Nearby, there is another closed basin-Turpan basin-which is the lowest depression in China with very low precipitation rates of only 7-25 mm/year, whereas the annual PET can reach values larger than 3800 mm [29].…”

The Social Value of Environmental Improvements in the Tarim Basin – toward a Comprehensive Assessment in a Heterogeneous Setting

“…Ranking of ecosystem services (l.) and environmental problems (r.) (Rumbaur et al 2015) After having listened to the presentation of the project scenario and answered the WTP question respondents were presented a number of debriefing questions. These questions covered reasons for supporting or not supporting the environmental restoration project financially.…”