Ecological Impacts of Land Use Change in the Arid Tarim River Basin of China
Land use/cover change has become an indispensable part of global eco-environmental change research. The Tarim River Basin is the largest inland river basin in China. It is also one of the most ecologically fragile areas in the country, with greening and desertification processes coexisting. This pap...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/8/1894 |
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| author | Yifeng Hou Yaning Chen Jianli Ding Zhi Li Yupeng Li Fan Sun |
| author_facet | Yifeng Hou Yaning Chen Jianli Ding Zhi Li Yupeng Li Fan Sun |
| author_sort | Yifeng Hou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Land use/cover change has become an indispensable part of global eco-environmental change research. The Tarim River Basin is the largest inland river basin in China. It is also one of the most ecologically fragile areas in the country, with greening and desertification processes coexisting. This paper analyzes the evolution of land-use/cover change in the Tarim River Basin over the past 30 years based on remote sensing data. The research also explores the contribution of conversion between different land types to the ecological environment by selecting methods, such as transfer matrix and ecological contribution rate. Results indicate that grassland and barren land are the main land types in the region, accounting for 72.46% and 18.87% of the basin area, respectively. From 1990 to 2019, cropland area increased from 33,585.89 km<sup>2</sup> to 52,436.40 km<sup>2</sup>, an increase of 56.13%, while barren land areas decreased from 781,380.57 km<sup>2</sup> to 760,783.29 km<sup>2</sup>. Most of the land-use conversion was grassland to other land types and other land types to barren land. Since 1990, the conversion of barren land to grassland and cropland in the basin has led to ecological improvement, whereas the conversion of grassland to cropland has caused deterioration, but with a generally improving trend. It is anticipated that, over the next decade, changes in land types will involve increases in grassland and woodland area, decreases in barren land and cropland, and an overall improvement in the ecological environment in the watershed. Since agriculture and animal husbandry are the main industries in the Tarim River Basin and the land-use structure is dominated by cropland and grassland, several key measures should be implemented. These include improving land use, rationalizing the use of water and soil resources, slowing down the expansion of cropland, and alleviating the contradiction between humans and land, with the ultimate aim of achieving sustainable development of the social economy and ecological environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:14:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-018f4fe1ede84fc980f92ae59bf4990c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T04:14:37Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-018f4fe1ede84fc980f92ae59bf4990c2023-12-03T13:55:44ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-04-01148189410.3390/rs14081894Ecological Impacts of Land Use Change in the Arid Tarim River Basin of ChinaYifeng Hou0Yaning Chen1Jianli Ding2Zhi Li3Yupeng Li4Fan Sun5College of Geographical Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaCollege of Geographical Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, ChinaLand use/cover change has become an indispensable part of global eco-environmental change research. The Tarim River Basin is the largest inland river basin in China. It is also one of the most ecologically fragile areas in the country, with greening and desertification processes coexisting. This paper analyzes the evolution of land-use/cover change in the Tarim River Basin over the past 30 years based on remote sensing data. The research also explores the contribution of conversion between different land types to the ecological environment by selecting methods, such as transfer matrix and ecological contribution rate. Results indicate that grassland and barren land are the main land types in the region, accounting for 72.46% and 18.87% of the basin area, respectively. From 1990 to 2019, cropland area increased from 33,585.89 km<sup>2</sup> to 52,436.40 km<sup>2</sup>, an increase of 56.13%, while barren land areas decreased from 781,380.57 km<sup>2</sup> to 760,783.29 km<sup>2</sup>. Most of the land-use conversion was grassland to other land types and other land types to barren land. Since 1990, the conversion of barren land to grassland and cropland in the basin has led to ecological improvement, whereas the conversion of grassland to cropland has caused deterioration, but with a generally improving trend. It is anticipated that, over the next decade, changes in land types will involve increases in grassland and woodland area, decreases in barren land and cropland, and an overall improvement in the ecological environment in the watershed. Since agriculture and animal husbandry are the main industries in the Tarim River Basin and the land-use structure is dominated by cropland and grassland, several key measures should be implemented. These include improving land use, rationalizing the use of water and soil resources, slowing down the expansion of cropland, and alleviating the contradiction between humans and land, with the ultimate aim of achieving sustainable development of the social economy and ecological environment.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/8/1894Tarim River Basinhuman activitiesland useecological environment |
| spellingShingle | Yifeng Hou Yaning Chen Jianli Ding Zhi Li Yupeng Li Fan Sun Ecological Impacts of Land Use Change in the Arid Tarim River Basin of China Remote Sensing Tarim River Basin human activities land use ecological environment |
| title | Ecological Impacts of Land Use Change in the Arid Tarim River Basin of China |
| title_full | Ecological Impacts of Land Use Change in the Arid Tarim River Basin of China |
| title_fullStr | Ecological Impacts of Land Use Change in the Arid Tarim River Basin of China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ecological Impacts of Land Use Change in the Arid Tarim River Basin of China |
| title_short | Ecological Impacts of Land Use Change in the Arid Tarim River Basin of China |
| title_sort | ecological impacts of land use change in the arid tarim river basin of china |
| topic | Tarim River Basin human activities land use ecological environment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/8/1894 |
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