Fractal study of sustainable proportions of natural and artificial oases

Abstract

The sustained development of an artificial oasis depends critically on the stability of the natural oasis associated with it. This work theoretically investigates the most suitable ratio of natural oasis area to artificial oasis area in oasis ecosystems, as quantified by the percentage of artificial oasis (PAO). Based on data from oases observed in Xinjiang Province, China, this paper analyzes the PAO distribution for these oases via fractal theory. The results allowed us to draw the following conclusions. (1) The PAO distribution possesses fractal characteristics, and the fractal dimension of the PAO decreases as the oasis evolves. (2) The interval of the fractal dimension of the PAO is 0–1.7068, and the interval of the expectation of the PAO is 0–85.01%. This indicates that the natural oasis should occupy at least around 15% of the total oasis area. (3) The fractal dimension and the expectation of the PAO for the ecosystem of oases in Xinjiang Province, China, are currently 0.5369 and 53.51%, respectively. These results show that the development of artificial oases in Xinjiang Province should continue, although the corresponding natural oases should also be maintained and developed at the same time.