Abstract
Recently, a wide range of quantitative research on the identification of environmental flow requirements (EFRs) has been conducted. However, little focus is given to EFRs to maintain multiple ecosystem services in oasis areas. The present study quantifies the EFRs in oasis areas of Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, Northwest China on the basis of three ecosystem services: (1) maintenance of riverine ecosystem health, (2) assurance of the stability of oasis–desert ecotone and riparian (Tugai) forests, and (3) restoration of oasis–desert ecotone groundwater. The identified consumptive and non-consumptive water requirements are used to quantify and determine the EFRs in Qira oasis by employing the summation and compatibility rules (maximum principle). Results indicate that the annual maximum, medium, and minimum EFRs are 0.752 × 108, 0.619 × 108, and 0.516 × 108 m3, respectively, which account for 58.75%, 48.36%, and 40.29% of the natural river runoff. The months between April and October are identified as the most important periods to maintain the EFRs. Moreover, the water requirement for groundwater restoration of the oasis–desert ecotone accounts for a large proportion, representing 48.27%, 42.32%, and 37.03% of the total EFRs at maximum, medium, and minimum levels, respectively. Therefore, to allocate the integrated EFRs, focus should be placed on the water demand of the desert vegetation’s groundwater restoration, which is crucial for maintaining desert vegetation to prevent sandstorms and soil erosion. This work provides a reference to quantify the EFRs of oasis areas in arid regions.
Highlights
Water is an extremely crucial natural resource for the socioeconomic sustainable development of arid and semiarid regions worldwide
Considering there was little human disturbance during the period from 1960 to 1979, the riverine eco-environment maintained its natural state in the absence of the establishment of water conservation measures and severe utilization of river water in the Qira oasis area
This study identifies and quantifies the environmental flow requirements (EFRs) to support the three ecosystem services in the Qira oases of Tarim Basin in accordance with the summation and compatibility rules
Summary
Water is an extremely crucial natural resource for the socioeconomic sustainable development of arid and semiarid regions worldwide. Its landscape is a typical mountain-oasis-desert ecosystem, and its oases are situated between the mountainous areas and among the desert plains; these oases are essential for human settlement, preventing desertification, and supporting vegetable cultivation [6,7], requiring a stable water supply. The increase in water demand has been attributed to anthropogenic activities such as agricultural irrigation of artificial oasis areas in the lower reaches of the river basin, thereby increasing the competition for water resources between artificial and natural oasis ecosystems. To resolve the conflict for water resources, the stability and health of natural oasis ecosystems must receive the highest priority to maintain such arid regions [4]
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