Abstract
With the continuous growth of economic water consumption in arid regions, many endorheic rivers and terminal lakes have desiccated. As an important ecological engineering measure, water transport in arid regions has vital ecological significance for protecting the regional ecological environment and delaying desertification. In this study, Qingtu Lake, the terminal lake of Shiyang River, was selected to analyze the ecological effects of water transport by means of remote sensing interpretations and current year field investigations. The results demonstrated that, in July 2018, the water surface had formed and recovered to 5.68 km2. Additionally, Qingtu Lake formed a spatial gradient distribution in groundwater depth. The depth increased in gradient from the waterside to the desert edge. There was a significant increase in the overall regional vegetation coverage, which mainly occurred in the water areas because of the extensive growth in Phragmites australis, which reached 10.54 km2 in area in 2018. Furthermore, the regional vegetation formed a gradient distribution, which transitioned from hygrophytes to xerophytes. This study can provide guidelines for the protection and restoration of lakes in arid regions.
Highlights
Water, as the most crucial ecological factor, is the basis for the formation, development and stability of oasis ecosystems in arid regions [1]
For endorheic rivers, which are among the key water sources in arid regions, the contradiction between the economy and the environment in the process of water resource development has been prominent for a long time
In the Tarim River, ecological water transportation into the lower reaches has been implemented since May 2000 through releases from the Daxihaizi Reservoir planned in a way to keep each release within the river channels [9]
Summary
As the most crucial ecological factor, is the basis for the formation, development and stability of oasis ecosystems in arid regions [1]. In the Tarim River, ecological water transportation into the lower reaches has been implemented since May 2000 through releases from the Daxihaizi Reservoir planned in a way to keep each release within the river channels [9] It raised the groundwater depth from 9.87 m to 2.66 m after the fourth water delivery [10], and restored the endangered. The Heihe River and Shiyang River have adopted similar approaches to restore the ecosystems of lower reaches and terminal lakes and numerous scholars analyze the ecological effects of the water transport from different angles. Many studies have presented that ecological water transport plays a promoting role in raising the groundwater level of the lower reaches and the terminal lakes, increasing the vegetation richness and wetland area, and prolonging the growing season of riparian vegetation [13,14,15]. The results provide a scientific basis and data support for assessing the ecological effects of water transport to Qingtu Lake, optimizing the water transportation scheduling scheme and improving the restoration efficiency of the Qingtu Lake ecosystem
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