Changes in Water Resources Systems:
Methodologies to Maintain Water Security and Ensure Integrated Management
(Proceedings of Symposium HS3006 at IUGG2007, Perugia, July 2007). IAHS Publ. 315, 2007, 236-243.
Ecological
impacts of water resources utilization in the Tarim River Basin of China
Chen Yaning, Hao Xinming, Li Weihong & Xu Changchun
Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang 830011, China
Abstract Water resources and ecosystem stability are the most conspicuous and sensitive issues in arid areas of China. In this paper, exploitation of water resources and the corresponding environmental problems in the Tarim River during the past five decades are evaluated. An increasing use of water in the source area caused problems with secondary salinization of the soil; whilst an increasing consumption of water in the upper- and middle-reach areas caused droughts in the lower-reach area. Serious water pollution intensifies scarcity of water resources. Groundwater levels have dropped substantially and ecosystems have been seriously damaged. The purposes of our study were to reveal the relationship between exploitation of water resources and ecosystem succession, to put forward the measures for rationally utilizing the water resources and effectively protect the ecosystem integrity in the Tarim River watershed, and to provide the scientific basis for overall harnessing of the Tarim River.
Key words ecology; Tarim River; water consumption; water management; water
resources