Ecological water demand of natural vegetation in the lower Tarim River

We have appraised the relationships between soil moisture, groundwater depth, and plant species diversity in the lower reaches of the Tarim River in western China, by analyzing field data from 25 monitoring wells across eight study sites and 25 permanent vegetation survey plots. It is noted that groundwater depth, soil moisture and plant species diversity are closely related. It has been proven that the critical phreatic water depth is five meters in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. We acquired the mean phreatic evaporation of different groundwater levels every month by averaging the two results of phreatic evaporation using the Qunk and Averyanov formulas. Based on different vegetation types and acreage with different groundwater depth, the total ecological water demand （EWD） of natural vegetation in 2005 was 2.4×10^8 m^3 in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. Analyzing the monthly EWD, we found that the EWD in the growth season （from April to September） is 81% of the year＇s total EWD. The EWD in May, June and July was 47% of the year＇s total EWD, which indicates the best time for dispensing artificial water. This research aims at realizing the sustainable development of water resources and provides a scientific basis for water resource management and sound collocation of the Tarim River Basin.

Ecological water demand:the case of the slope systems in the East Liaohe River Basin

The ecological water demand (EWD) is the least water amount required to maintain the structure and the function of the special eco-system and the temporal scale of a study on the EWD must be a season's time. Based on GIS and RS with the source information of hydrological data of 46 hydrological gauges covering 52 years and the digital images of Landsat TM in 1986, 1996 and 2000, the landscape patterns, precipitation and runoff in the East Liaohe River Basin were analyzed. With the result of the above analysis, the spatial and temporal changes of the ecological water demand in the slope systems (EWDSS) of the East Liaohe River Basin (ELRB) were derived. Landscapes in the ELRB are dispersed and strongly disturbed by human actions. The hydrological regime in ELRB has distinct spatial variations. The average annual EWDSS in the ELRB is 504.72 mm (324.08-618.89 mm), and the average EWDSS in the growth season (from May to September) is 88.29% of the year's total EWDSS .The ultimate guaranteeing ratio of the EWDSS in ELRB is 90%. The scarce EWDSS area in the whole year and in the growth season are 60.47% and 74.01% of the entire basin respectively. The trend of scarce EWDSS area is most serious according to the quantity and area of scarce EWDSS regions.

Study on integrated calculation of ecological water demand for basin system

The operation of reservoir(s) has a certain impact on the downstream hydrologic regime,and even endangers the ecological water safety of river corridor and ecosystems which interact with river system.Therefore,ecological operation needs to be carried out in order to ensure ecological water use of downstream zone.The key technological support is the estimation and integrated calculation of ecological water demand.The connotation of the integrated calculation on ecological water demand lies on that the ecological water demand of different ecosystems is integrated to meet the requirements of water allocation and operation on watershed scale in terms of hydrological cycle.Considering the practical requirement of ecological operation of reservoir(s),this study proposed an integrated calculation approach of ecological water demand according to the ecological water demand in various ecosystems as well as the hydraulic connection among them;it established an integrated calculation model of regional ecological water demand by means of the distributed hydrological model,and studied the integrated calculation in Yalong River basin which is the source area of the west route of South-North Water Transfer Project as an example.The results indicated that the integrated calculation model more effectively combined the ecological water demand and hydraulic connection of ecosystems in time and space,compared with the lumped water balance analysis,since the former conquered the defect of insufficient ecological water source and supplement on multiple spatial and temporal scales,and met the demand of ecological operation of reservoir(s).

The Ecological Water Demand of Different Vegetation Types in the Bashang Area,Northwest Hebei Province

In order to construct stable vegetation for reducing wind and sand disasters and soil erosion in the Bashang Area of Northwest Hebei Province in China,it is very important to understand the ecological water demand of different vegetation types in this area.Based on observed data and the Irmak-Allen formula,we investigated the ecological water demand and ecological water shortage of arbor,shrub and grassland in Bashang Area of northwestern Hebei province.The results showed that the actual evapotranspiration values of the three vegetation types in the growing seasons in the study area from high to low were arbor forest(401.81 mm),shrub(358.78 mm)and grassland(346.02 mm).The minimum ecological water requirements of arbor forest,shrub and grassland in the growing season were 243.96 mm,218.35 mm and 211.36 mm,respectively,and the optimal ecological water requirements were 472.99 mm,423.34 mm and 409.77 mm,respectively.In addition,the optimal ecological water shortage values were 198.56 mm for arbor forest,148.91 mm for shrub and 135.34 mm for grassland.The ecological water shortage of vegetation has obvious seasonality,with the largest water shortage in May and June,and a lower and steady water surplus in July to October.Therefore,an artificial water supplementation in May and June would alleviate the drought stress of the vegetation.The rainfall in Bashang Area of Northwest Hebei Province can meet the requirements of minimum ecological water demand for arbor forest,but the gap between the rainfall and the optimal ecological water requirement is too large to support good growth of an arbor forest,which could explain why the degradation of poplar protective forests has occurred in Bashang Area.

A preliminary study on ecological waterdemand estimation in the arid region─A case in the Qaidam Basin

The paper emphasized the relationship between environment and water taking ecological demand water (EWD) in the Qaidam Basin─an inner basin in northwestern China, as a key issue to discuss based on landscape umpping. First of all. the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem can be reflected well by landscape pattern; secondly, landscape patterns adjust closely with environmental changes; finally, water condition is the key ecological factor for landscape pattern in the arid region.The landsat TM image of 1:100,000 on September 22, 1996 were calibrated with topographical map of the same scale, and then landscape patterns were interpreted and mapped. As a result the Qaidam Basin could be divided into 14 main types, including 67 subtypes. Concerning the characteristics of the EWD of each sub-type, the EWD in the whole basin could be estimated according to the following formula:V= (E - P ) * S = r (KEo - P ) * S Where, V is the ecological demand for Water (m3), E is the evaporation potential on terrestrial surface (m). P is the precipitation in landscape unit (m), S is the area of landscape unit (m2), Eo is the evaporation potential on water surface (m), K is the evaporation coefficient, and r is the coverage.According to the results, the ecological demand for water of desert vegetation is about 9,65×108m3, while it is about 24.48×108m3 for the lake in the inner basin. Therefore, the total EWD occupies approximately 65.7％ of the total water resources in the basin. In conclusion, the quantitative method based on landscape ecological mapping is feasible, which attentively transfers the 'point'information to the 'area'. However, the preliminary results are expccted to improve by further field delta.