Abstract
It is of great practical significance to construct a water-based ecological network in arid and semi-arid areas. The spatial distribution of water resources is one of the most important factors in determining the ecological stability of such areas. In this study, groundwater level trends were analyzed with a model called Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD). The temporal and spatial evolution of groundwater depth data from 1990 to 2016 were analyzed. The surface water bodies were analyzed using a point pattern analysis method. Based on this, a water-based ecological network was constructed with a minimum cumulative resistance surface model. The study indicated that the trend lines for the groundwater tables of 17 wells could be divided into five types in Denko County. The landscape types that changed from a desert landscape to an oasis landscape had a positive impact on groundwater. Precipitation trend was related to the spatial distribution of the groundwater depth, and the spatial pattern of the water nodes was characterized by a small-scale highly aggregated distribution and a large-scale uniform distribution in Denko County. These results suggest that for the stability of arid and semi-arid ecological environments, the appropriate human intervention (such as construction of an artificial oasis) is of great significance. Based on the analysis of groundwater and surface water bodies, a water-based ecological network in Denko County, which consisted of 391 ecological sources and 7360 ecological corridors, was constructed in 2016. The water-based ecological network constructed in this study was more sustainable and stable, and also suitable for arid and semi-arid areas, which is of great practical significance and application value.
Highlights
Desertification has become one of the most serious environmental and socio-economic problems worldwide because of its widespread distribution and harmful intensities [1], and is serious in the arid and semi-arid areas of Northwest China [2]
The change in ecological hydrological processes has led to the evolution of landscape patterns, and vice versa [5]
Fourier spectrum analysis takes the sine function or exponential function as the basis function, and the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) algorithm can decompose a set of finite long-time series signals into finite intrinsic mode functions (IMFs)
Summary
Desertification has become one of the most serious environmental and socio-economic problems worldwide because of its widespread distribution and harmful intensities [1], and is serious in the arid and semi-arid areas of Northwest China [2]. Urbanization has led to the acceleration of desertification; humans play a vital role in this process [3]. Well drilling represents an increasing trend in Northwest China where this human environmental interference changes the landscape pattern, and affects the regional eco-hydrological processes. The interaction between eco-hydrological processes and landscape pattern is the most concerning scientific problem at present [4]. The change in ecological hydrological processes has led to the evolution of landscape patterns, and vice versa [5].
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