Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou County
Hetao Plain, composed of hundreds of oases, is one of the most important grain-producing areas in China. Most crops, especially wheat and corn, depend on irrigation, thus water availability is a key issue for grain productivity on this land. The Yellow River is the main water source for irrigation a...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2013-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Integrative Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311913605456 |
| _version_ | 1818822466315747328 |
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| author | Zhong-ju MENG Yong GAO Yi YU Xiao-meng REN |
| author_facet | Zhong-ju MENG Yong GAO Yi YU Xiao-meng REN |
| author_sort | Zhong-ju MENG |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hetao Plain, composed of hundreds of oases, is one of the most important grain-producing areas in China. Most crops, especially wheat and corn, depend on irrigation, thus water availability is a key issue for grain productivity on this land. The Yellow River is the main water source for irrigation and a crisis of water resources for agricultural use occurs because of increasingly reduced river flows and water-using competition with industry and human residential use. In order to understand the current situation and distribution of water resources on these oases, we collected 20-yr's data of river runoff, irrigation volumes, infiltration and precipitation to examine the relationships between water resources distribution and its agricultural use. We found that the oasis in Dengkou county was short of water resources with a water deficit rate of 5.14% in 2010. Based on the trend of the data, water deficit will continue to increase as the population grows in the future. Water resource is a limiting factor to agricultural development in this region and proper management of water use and strategies for water resource conservation are urgently needed. Especially, based on our results we suggest that current irrigation methods need to be greatly improved to save the water that was lost from evaporation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T23:24:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3087c69a6cc45c6a7427e376d0d0986 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2095-3119 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T23:24:32Z |
| publishDate | 2013-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Integrative Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3087c69a6cc45c6a7427e376d0d09862022-12-21T20:47:52ZengElsevierJournal of Integrative Agriculture2095-31192013-08-0112814091413Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou CountyZhong-ju MENG0Yong GAO1Yi YU2Xiao-meng REN3Ecology and Environment College, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019, P.R.ChinaEcology and Environment College, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019, P.R.China; Correspondence GAO Yong, Tel: +86-471-4318835International Center for Bamboo and Rattan, State Forestry Administration, Beijing 100714, P.R.ChinaMeteorological Institute of Inner Mongolia, Huhhot 010051, P.R.ChinaHetao Plain, composed of hundreds of oases, is one of the most important grain-producing areas in China. Most crops, especially wheat and corn, depend on irrigation, thus water availability is a key issue for grain productivity on this land. The Yellow River is the main water source for irrigation and a crisis of water resources for agricultural use occurs because of increasingly reduced river flows and water-using competition with industry and human residential use. In order to understand the current situation and distribution of water resources on these oases, we collected 20-yr's data of river runoff, irrigation volumes, infiltration and precipitation to examine the relationships between water resources distribution and its agricultural use. We found that the oasis in Dengkou county was short of water resources with a water deficit rate of 5.14% in 2010. Based on the trend of the data, water deficit will continue to increase as the population grows in the future. Water resource is a limiting factor to agricultural development in this region and proper management of water use and strategies for water resource conservation are urgently needed. Especially, based on our results we suggest that current irrigation methods need to be greatly improved to save the water that was lost from evaporation.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311913605456irrigationoasisUlan Buh Desertwater crisiswater conservationwater resources |
| spellingShingle | Zhong-ju MENG Yong GAO Yi YU Xiao-meng REN Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou County Journal of Integrative Agriculture irrigation oasis Ulan Buh Desert water crisis water conservation water resources |
| title | Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou County |
| title_full | Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou County |
| title_fullStr | Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou County |
| title_full_unstemmed | Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou County |
| title_short | Crisis of Water Resources on the Ulan Buh Desert Oases, Inner Mongolia, China-A Case Study of Dengkou County |
| title_sort | crisis of water resources on the ulan buh desert oases inner mongolia china a case study of dengkou county |
| topic | irrigation oasis Ulan Buh Desert water crisis water conservation water resources |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311913605456 |
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