Impacts of climate change and human activities on water resources in the Ebinur Lake Basin, Northwest China

doi:10.1007/s40333-021-0067-4

Journal of Arid Land

2021, Vol. 13

Issue (6): 581-598 DOI: 10.1007/s40333-021-0067-4 CSTR: 32276.14.s40333-021-0067-4

Research article

Impacts of climate change and human activities on water resources in the Ebinur Lake Basin, Northwest China

WANG Yuejian¹^,², GU Xinchen³^,⁴, YANG Guang³^,⁴^,^*(

), YAO Junqiang⁵^,^*(

), LIAO Na¹^,²

¹Department of Geography, College of Science, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China
²Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Key Laboratory of Oasis Town and Mountain-Basin System Ecology, Shihezi 832000, China
³College of Water and Architectural Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China
⁴Xinjiang Production & Construction Group Key Laboratory of Modern Water-Saving Irrigation, Shihezi 832000, China
⁵Institute of Desert Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Urumqi 830002, China

Download:

HTML

PDF(1473KB)
Export: BibTeX | EndNote (RIS)

Abstract

Changing climatic conditions and extensive human activities have influenced the global water cycle. In recent years, significant changes in climate and land use have degraded the watershed ecosystem of the Ebinur Lake Basin in Xinjiang, Northwest China. In this paper, variations of runoff, temperature, precipitation, reference evapotranspiration, lake area, socio-economic water usage, groundwater level and water quality in the Ebinur Lake Basin from 1961 to 2015 were systematically analyzed by the Mann-Kendall test methods (M-K) mutation test, the cumulative levelling method, the climate-sensitive method and land-use change index. In addition, we evaluated the effects of human activities on land use change and water quality. The results reveal that there was a significant increase in temperature and precipitation from 1961 to 2015, despite a decrease in reference evapotranspiration. The Wenquan station was not significantly affected by human activities as it is situated at a higher altitude. Runoff at this station increased significantly with climate warming. In contrast, runoff at the Jinghe station was severely affected by numerous human activities. Runoff decreased without obvious fluctuations. The contributions of climate change to runoff variation at the Jinghe and Wenquan stations were 46.87% and 58.94%, respectively; and the contributions of human activities were 53.13% and 41.06%, respectively. Land-use patterns in the basin have changed significantly between 1990 and 2015: urban and rural constructed lands, saline-alkali land, bare land, cultivated land, and forest land have expanded, while areas under grassland, lake, ice/snow and river/channel have declined. Human activities have dramatically intensified land degradation and desertification. From 1961 to 2015, both the inflow into the Ebinur Lake and the area of the lake have declined year by year; groundwater levels have dropped significantly, and the water quality has deteriorated during the study period. In the oasis irrigation area below the runoff pass, human activities mainly influenced the utilization mode and quantity of water resources. Changes in the hydrology and quantity of water resources were driven primarily by the continuous expansion of cultivated land and oasis, as well as the growth of population and the construction of hydraulic engineering projects. After 2015, the effects of some ecological protection projects were observed. However, there was no obvious sign of ecological improvement in the basin, and some environmental problems continue to persist. On this basis, this study recommends that the expansion of oasis should be limited according to the carrying capacity of the local water bodies. Moreover, in order to ensure the ecological security of the basin, it is necessary to determine the optimal oasis area for sustainable development and improve the efficiency of water resources exploitation and utilization.

Key words： climate change human activities runoff water resources groundwater level climate-sensitive method Ebinur Lake Basin

Received: 11 July 2020 Published: 10 June 2021

Corresponding Authors:

About author: YAO Junqiang (E-mail: yaojq1987@126.com)
YANG Guang (E-mail: mikeyork@163.com);

	Service
	E-mail this article
	Add to my bookshelf
	Add to citation manager
	E-mail Alert
	RSS
	Articles by authors
	Yuejian WANG
	Xinchen GU
	Guang YANG
	Junqiang YAO
	Na LIAO

Cite this article:

WANG Yuejian, GU Xinchen, YANG Guang, YAO Junqiang, LIAO Na. Impacts of climate change and human activities on water resources in the Ebinur Lake Basin, Northwest China. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(6): 581-598.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-021-0067-4 OR http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2021/V13/I6/581

Fig. 1 Overview of the Ebinur Lake Basin. DEM, digital elevation model.

Fig. 2 Temperature (a) and precipitation (b) at the four hydrological stations in the Ebinur Lake Basin from 1961 to 2015

Fig. 3 Reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) at the three hydrological stations in the Ebinur Lake Basin from 1961 to 2015

Fig. 4 Land-use change in the Ebinur Lake Basin from 1990 to 2015. (a), 1990; (b), 2000; (c), 2005; (d), 2010; (e), 2015.

Fig. 5 Cumulative anomaly (a and c) and Mann-Kendall (M-K) mutation test analysis (b and d) of annual runoff at the Jinghe station (a and b) and Wenquan station (c and d) during 1961-2015. UFK represents a standard normal distribution. UBK= -UFK. The green lines represent a 95% confidence interval.

Table 1 Impacts of climate change and human activities on runoff at the Jinghe and Wenquan stations

Fig. 6 Changes in the area of the Ebinur Lake from 1950 to 2019

Fig. 7 Amount of water entering the lake (a) annually and (b) monthly during the period 1989-2019

Fig. 8 Population and water diversion volume during 1961-2019 (a) and agricultural water use and irrigation area during 1980-2019 (b) in the Ebinur Lake Basin

Fig. 9 Surface water diversion and groundwater exploitation during 2005-2019 (a) and groundwater level of three observation wells during 1990-2019 (b) in the Ebinur Lake Basin. Monitor-1, observation groundwater well was located at 200 m north of the Water Conservancy Bureau of Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture; Monitor-2, observation groundwater well was located in the state passenger transport company; Monitor-3, observation groundwater well was located in Qingdeli Township.

Fig. 10 Water salinity (a) and water hardness (b) at the four hydrological stations in the Ebinur Lake Basin during 1999-2019. It should be noted that due to the lack of corresponding data at the Ala Pass station from 2016 to 2019, only the water hardness values of 1999-2015 were analyzed for this station.

Fig. 11 Salinity and lake area (a) and phosphorus level (b) of the Ebinur Lake from 2002 to 2018. The standard classes of total phosphorus are referenced from the State Environmental Protection Administration and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (2002).


[1]	Abuduwaili J, Xu J R, Mu G J, et al. 2007. Effect of soil dust from Ebinur Lake on soil salts and landscape of surrounding regions. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 29(6):928-939. (in Chinese)

[2]	Alvarenga R A F, Erb K H, Haberl H, et al. 2015. Global land use impacts on biomass production-a spatial-differentiated resource-related life cycle impact assessment method. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 20:440-450. doi: 10.1007/s11367-014-0843-x

[3]	Bai Z L, Bao A M, Zhao J, et al. 2012. Land use/cover changes of Ebinur Lake Watershed in recent forty years. Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation, 32(2):172-177, 271. (in Chinese)

[4]	Boehmer K, Memon A, Mitchell B. 2000. Towards sustainable water management in Southeast Asia experiences from Indonesia and Malaysia. Water International, 25(3):356-377. doi: 10.1080/02508060008686843

[5]	Buysse P, Flechard C R, Hamon Y, et al. 2016. Impacts of water regime and land-use on soil CO₂ efflux in a small temperate agricultural catchment. Biogeochemistry, 130(3):267-288. doi: 10.1007/s10533-016-0256-y

[6]	Carraro C, Edenhofer O, Flachsland C, et al. 2015. The IPCC at a crossroads: Opportunities for reform. Science, 350(6256):34-35. doi: 10.1126/science.aac4419 pmid: 26430104

[7]	Chen S Y, Shi Y Y, Guo Y Z, et al. 2010. Temporal and spatial variation of annual mean air temperature in arid and semiarid region in northwest China over a recent 46 year period. Journal of Arid Land, 2(1):87-97. doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1227.2010.00087

[8]	Chen Y N, Yang Q, Luo Y, et al. 2012. Ponder on the issues of water resources in the arid region of northwest China. Arid Land Geography, 35(1):1-9. (in Chinese)

[9]	Chen Y N, Li Z, Fan Y T, et al. 2014. Research progress on the impact of climate change on water resources in the arid region of Northwest China. Acta Geographica Sinica, 69(9):1295-1304. (in Chinese)

[10]	Dong W, Liu Z H, Zhu J. 2009. The supply-demand analysis of water resources and their regulating counter-measures in the Ebinur Lake Basin, Xinjiang Region. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 31(4):766-770. (in Chinese)

[11]	Dooge J C I, Bruen M, Parmentier B. 1999. A simple model for estimating the sensitivity of runoff to long-term changes in precipitation without a change in vegetation. Advances in Water Resources, 23(2):153-163. doi: 10.1016/S0309-1708(99)00019-6

[12]	Gu X C, Yang G, He X L, et al. 2020. Hydrological process simulation in Manas River Basin using CMADS. Open Geosciences, 12(1):946-957. doi: 10.1515/geo-2020-0127

[13]	Hammouri N, Adamowski J, Freiwan M, et al. 2017. Climate change impacts on surface water resources in arid and semi-arid regions: A case study in northern Jordan. Acta Geodaetica Et Geophysica, 52(1):141-156. doi: 10.1007/s40328-016-0163-7

[14]	Harrison P A, Dunford R, Savin C, et al. 2015. Cross-sectoral impacts of climate change and socio-economic change for multiple, European land- and water-based sectors. Climatic Change, 128(3-4):279-292. doi: 10.1007/s10584-014-1239-4

[15]	Hu R J, Ma H, Fan Z L, et al. 2002. The climate trend demonstrated by changes of the lakes in Xinjiang since recent years. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 16(1):20-27. (in Chinese)

[16]	Huang Q X, He C Y, Liu Z F, et al. 2014. Modeling the impacts of drying trend scenarios on land systems in northern China using an integrated SD and CA model. Science China-Earth Sciences, 57(4):839-854. doi: 10.1007/s11430-013-4799-7

[17]	Kadioglu M. 1997. Trends in surface air temperature data over Turkey. International Journal of Climatology, 17(5):511-520. doi: 10.1002/(ISSN)1097-0088

[18]	Lee R M, Biggs T W. 2015. Impacts of land use, climate variability, and management on thermal structure, anoxia, and transparency in hypereutrophic urban water supply reservoirs. Hydrobiologia, 745(1):263-284. doi: 10.1007/s10750-014-2112-1

[19]	Leng G Y, Tang Q H, Huang M Y, et al. 2015. A comparative analysis of the impacts of climate change and irrigation on land surface and subsurface hydrology in the North China Plain. Regional Environmental Change, 15(2):251-263. doi: 10.1007/s10113-014-0640-x

[20]	Li L J, Zhang L, Wang H, et al. 2007. Assessing the impact of climate variability and human activities on streamflow from the Wuding River basin in China. Hydrological Processes, 21(25):3485-3491. doi: 10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1085

[21]	Li X B, Hao J M, Ding Z Y, et al. 2005. Effect of land use change on groundwater resource in salinity transforming region—A case study of Quzhou County in Hebei Province. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 19(5):152-154, 200. (in Chinese)

[22]	Ling H B, Xu H L, Fu J Y, et al. 2012. Surface runoff processes and sustainable utilization of water resources in Manas River Basin, Xinjiang, China. Journal of Arid Land, 4(3):271-280. doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1227.2012.00271

[23]	Liu J Y, Shao Q Q, Yan X D, et al. 2016. The climatic impacts of land use and land cover change compared among countries. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 26(7):889-903. doi: 10.1007/s11442-016-1305-0

[24]	Liu S H, Wu C J, Shen H Q. 2000. A GIS based model of urban land use growth in Beijing. Acta Geographica Sinica, 55(4):407-416. (in Chinese)

[25]	Liu S W, Zhou H R, Liang X Q, et al. 2011. Trend analysis of the precipitation and runoff in Ebinur Lake Basin. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 25(5):21-25. (in Chinese)

[26]	Luo G P, Zhou C H, Chen X. 2003. Process of land use/land cover change in the oasis of arid region. Acta Geographica Sinica, 58(1):63-72. (in Chinese)

[27]	Madhusoodhanan C G, Sreeja K G, Eldho T I. 2016. Climate change impact assessments on the water resources of India under extensive human interventions. Ambio, 45(6):725-741. doi: 10.1007/s13280-016-0784-7

[28]	Meng X Y, Meng B C, Wang Y J, et al. 2015. Influence of climate change and human activities on water resources in Ebinur Lake in recent 60 years. Journal of China Hydrology, 35(2):90-96. (in Chinese)

[29]	Mirzaei M, Solgi E, Salmanmahiny A. 2016. Assessment of impacts of land use changes on surface water using L-THIA model (case study: Zayandehrud river basin). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 188, doi: 10.1007/s10661-016-5705-5. doi: 10.1007/s10661-016-5705-5

[30]	Mora C, Frazier A G, Longman R J, et al. 2013. The projected timing of climate departure from recent variability. Nature, 502:183-187, doi: 10.1038/nature12540. doi: 10.1038/nature12540

[31]	Mu M X, Wang W K, Du D, et al. 2007. The eco-environment problems and countermeasures about the development and utilization of the groundwater resources in Kuitun River Valley, in Xinjiang. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 21(12):15-20. (in Chinese)

[32]	Narsimlu B, Gosain A K, Chahar B R. 2013. Assessment of future climate change impacts on water resources of upper Sind River Basin, India using SWAT model. Water Resources Management, 27(10):3647-3662. doi: 10.1007/s11269-013-0371-7

[33]	Ohmura A, Wild M. 2002. Is the hydrological cycle accelerating? Science, 298(5597):1345-1346. doi: 10.1126/science.1078972

[34]	Patz J A, McGeehin M A, Bernard S M, et al. 2000. The potential health impacts of climate variability and change for the United States: executive summary of the report of the health sector of the U.S. National Assessment. Environmental Health Perspectives, 108(4):367-376. pmid: 10753097

[35]	Priess J A, Schweitzer C, Batkhishig O, et al. 2015. Impacts of agricultural land-use dynamics on erosion risks and options for land and water management in Northern Mongolia. Environmental Earth Sciences, 73(2):697-708. doi: 10.1007/s12665-014-3380-9

[36]	Qiao M, Zhou S B, Lu L. 2010. Trends in runoff variations of the Ebinur Lake Basin during the last 48 years. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 24(6):236-239. (in Chinese)

[37]	Resources Bureau and Family Planning Committee of Bortala Mongolia Autonomous Prefecture. 1960-2015. Statistical Yearbook of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)

[38]	Shrestha S, Htut A Y. 2016. Land use and climate change impacts on the hydrology of the Bago River Basin, Myanmar. Environmental Modeling & Assessment, 21(6):819-833.

[39]	Tamene L, Le Q B, Vlek P L G. 2014. A landscape planning and management tool for land and water resources management: An example application in Northern Ethiopia. Water Resources Management, 28(2):407-424. doi: 10.1007/s11269-013-0490-1

[40]	The State Environmental Protection Administration and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China. 2002. Environmental quality standards for surface water, GB 3838—2002.[2020-06-01]. http://www.mee.gov.cn/ywgz/fgbz/bz/bzwb/shjbh/shjzlbz/200206/t20020601_66497.shtml.

[41]	Tzabiras J, Vasiliades L, Sidiropoulos P, et al. 2016. Evaluation of water resources management strategies to overturn climate change impacts on Lake Karla Watershed. Water Resources Management, 30(15):5819-5844. doi: 10.1007/s11269-016-1536-y

[42]	Viola M R, Mello C R, Beskow S, et al. 2014. Impacts of land-use changes on the hydrology of the Grande River Basin headwaters, Southeastern Brazil. Water Resources Management, 28(13):4537-4550. doi: 10.1007/s11269-014-0749-1

[43]	Wang X L, Bao Y H. 1999. Study on the methods of land use dynamic change research. Progress in Geography, 18(1):83-89. (in Chinese)

[44]	Wang Y J, Liu Z H, Yao J Q, et al. 2017. Effect of climate and land use change in Ebinur Lake Basin during the past five decades on hydrology and water resources. Water Resources, 44(2):204-215. doi: 10.1134/S0097807817020166

[45]	Water Conservancy Bureau of Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture. 2019. Report on ecological environment protection work of Water Conservancy Bureau of Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture since 2017.[2020-06-01]. http://www.xjboz.gov.cn/info/1356/66617.htm.(in Chinese)

[46]	Xia J, Liu C Z, Ren G Y. 2011. Opportunity and challenge of the climate change impact on the water resource of China. Advance in Earth Sciences, 26(1):1-12. (in Chinese)

[47]	Yang G, Xue L Q, He X L, et al. 2017. Change in land use and evapotranspiration in the Manas River Basin, China with long-term water-saving measures. Scientific Reports, 7(1):17874, doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18030-5. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18030-5

[48]	Yang G, Li F D, Chen D, et al. 2019. Assessment of changes in oasis scale and water management in the arid Manas River Basin, north western China. Science of the Total Environment, 691:506-515. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.143

[49]	Yang G, Tian L J, Li X L, et al. 2020. Numerical assessment of the effect of water-saving irrigation on the water cycle at the Manas River Basin oasis, China. Science of the Total Environment, 707:135587, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135587. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135587

[50]	Yao J Q, Chen Y N. 2014. Trend analysis of temperature and precipitation in the Syr Darya Basin in Central Asia. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 120(3-4):521-531. doi: 10.1007/s00704-014-1187-y

[51]	Yao J Q, Liu Z H, Yang Q, et al. 2014. Responses of runoff to climate change and human activities in the Ebinur Lake Catchment, western China. Water Resources, 41(6):738-747. doi: 10.1134/S0097807814060220

[1]	CHEN Zhuo, SHAO Minghao, HU Zihao, GAO Xin, LEI Jiaqiang. *Potential distribution of Haloxylon ammodendron* in Central Asia under climate change**[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(9): 1255-1269.

[2]	LI Mingqian, WANG He, DU Wei, GU Hongbiao, ZHOU Fanchao, CHI Baoming. Responses of runoff to changes in climate and human activities in the Liuhe River Basin, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(8): 1023-1043.

[3]	SUN Chao, BAI Xuelian, WANG Xinping, ZHAO Wenzhi, WEI Lemin. Response of vegetation variation to climate change and human activities in the Shiyang River Basin of China during 2001-2022[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(8): 1044-1061.

[4]	YAN Yujie, CHENG Yiben, XIN Zhiming, ZHOU Junyu, ZHOU Mengyao, WANG Xiaoyu. Impacts of climate change and human activities on vegetation dynamics on the Mongolian Plateau, East Asia from 2000 to 2023[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(8): 1062-1079.

[5]	YANG Jianhua, LI Yaqian, ZHOU Lei, ZHANG Zhenqing, ZHOU Hongkui, WU Jianjun. Effects of temperature and precipitation on drought trends in Xinjiang, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(8): 1098-1117.

[6]	HAN Qifei, XU Wei, LI Chaofan. Effects of nitrogen deposition on the carbon budget and water stress in Central Asia under climate change[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(8): 1118-1129.

[7]	WANG Tongxia, CHEN Fulong, LONG Aihua, ZHANG Zhengyong, HE Chaofei, LYU Tingbo, LIU Bo, HUANG Yanhao. Glacier area change and its impact on runoff in the Manas River Basin, Northwest China from 2000 to 2020[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(7): 877-894.

[8]	DU Lan, TIAN Shengchuan, ZHAO Nan, ZHANG Bin, MU Xiaohan, TANG Lisong, ZHENG Xinjun, LI Yan. Climate and topography regulate the spatial pattern of soil salinization and its effects on shrub community structure in Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(7): 925-942.

[9]	Haq S MARIFATUL, Darwish MOHAMMED, Waheed MUHAMMAD, Kumar MANOJ, Siddiqui H MANZER, Bussmann W RAINER. *Predicting potential invasion risks of Leucaena leucocephala* (Lam.) de Wit in the arid area of Saudi Arabia**[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(7): 983-999.

[10]	Seyed Morteza MOUSAVI, Hossein BABAZADEH, Mahdi SARAI-TABRIZI, Amir KHOSROJERDI. Assessment of rehabilitation strategies for lakes affected by anthropogenic and climatic changes: A case study of the Urmia Lake, Iran[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(6): 752-767.

[11]	LI Chuanhua, ZHANG Liang, WANG Hongjie, PENG Lixiao, YIN Peng, MIAO Peidong. Influence of vapor pressure deficit on vegetation growth in China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(6): 779-797.

[12]	LU Haitian, ZHAO Ruifeng, ZHAO Liu, LIU Jiaxin, LYU Binyang, YANG Xinyue. Impact of climate change and human activities on the spatiotemporal dynamics of surface water area in Gansu Province, China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(6): 798-815.

[13]	WANG Xingbo, ZHANG Shuanghu, TIAN Yiman. Assessment of runoff changes in the sub-basin of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River basin, China based on multiple methods[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(4): 461-482.

[14]	YANG Zhiwei, CHEN Rensheng, LIU Zhangwen, ZHAO Yanni, LIU Yiwen, WU Wentong. Spatiotemporal variability of rain-on-snow events in the arid region of Northwest China[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(4): 483-499.

[15]	XU Wenjie, DING Jianli, BAO Qingling, WANG Jinjie, XU Kun. Improving the accuracy of precipitation estimates in a typical inland arid area of China using a dynamic Bayesian model averaging approach[J]. Journal of Arid Land, 2024, 16(3): 331-354.

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared

Discussed