Forecasting changes of hydrological and hydrochemical conditions in the Aral Sea

The increase of irretrievable river water withdrawals and regulation of river flow has a negative effect on the natural regime of the Aral Sea. The Ainu Darya River and the Syr Darya River Basins are the largest irrigated farming areas. Their favorable soil and climatic conditions ensure guaranteed yields of various crops on irrigated lands. Since 1961, for the drastic increase of irretrievable river water withdrawal, mainly for irrigation, the inflow of fiver water into the Aral Sea has started to decrease significantly, accordingly the sea＇s hydrological and hydrochemical regimes disrupted dramatically. The sea level has continued to drop as evaporation exceeds inflow. This negatively transforms the natural environment and worsens socio-economic conditions in Priaralie as a whole, especially in the lower reaches of Amu Darya and Syr Darya, where natural conditions are largely determined by the sea＇s impact. At present, this causes desertification of the nonirrigated zone in the deltas, spreading to new areas as the Aral Sea dries out.

Spatial distribution of vegetation and the influencing factors in Qaidam Basin based on NDVI

The spatial distribution of vegetation in Qaidam Basin was analyzed using GIMMS（Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies） /NDVI（Normalized Difference Vegetation Index） data set from January 1982 to December 2006.Based on the data of precipitation,terrain,stream systems,land use and the map of vegetation distribution in Qaidam Basin,we studied the factors influencing the spatial distribution of vegetation.The results showed that the vegetation was generally low in Qaidam Basin and there was a clear semi-ring structure from southeast to northwest.In some areas,the existence of rivers,lakes and spring belts turned this semi-ring structure into a non-continuous state and formed distinct bright spots and continuous linear features.There were four main factors that affected the spatial distribution of vegetation coverage in Qaidam Basin,i.e.,precipitation,hydrological conditions,altitude and human activities.Precipitation and altitude have a correlation and determine the basic pattern of vegetation distribution in Qaidam Basin.The impacts of hydrological conditions and human activities were mainly embodied in partial areas,and often broke the pattern of vegetation distribution dominated by precipitation and altitude.

Spatiotemporal variations in the organic carbon accumulation rate in mangrove sediments from the Yingluo Bay,China,since 1900

Mangroves can not only provide multiple ecosystem service functions,but are also efficient carbon producers,capturers,and sinks.The estimation of the organic carbon accumulation rate(OCAR)in mangrove sediments is fundamental for elucidating the role of mangroves in the global carbon budget.In particular,understanding the past changes in the OCAR in mangrove sediments is vital for predicting the future role of mangroves in the rapidly changing environment.In this study,three dated sediment cores from interior and fringe of mangroves in the Yingluo Bay,China,were used to reconstruct the spatiotemporal variations of the calculated OCAR since 1900 in this area.The increasing OCAR in the mangrove interior was attributed to mangrove flourishment induced by climate change characterized by the rising temperature.However,in the mangrove fringe,the strengthening hydrodynamic conditions under the sea level rise were responsible for the decreasing OCAR,particularly after the1940 s.Furthermore,the duration of inundation by seawater was the primary factors controlling the spatial variability of the OCAR from the mangrove fringe to interior,while the strengthened hydrodynamic conditions after the 1940 s broke this original pattern.

Potential Impacts of Various Land Use Forms on Land Degradation in Arid Regions （Case Study： Kuwait）

During the last 20 years, land use in Kuwait was remarkably changed in various forms. Such changes resulted in positively constructive, as well as, adversely destructive impacts on the local environment and ecology. In 1993-1994, a buffer zone of 15 km wide and more than 200 km long was established between Iraq and Kuwait. This allowed the restoration of biodiversity, enhancement of ecological conditions and stabilization of fragile soils. In 1991, long bund walls were constructed along the Saudi-Kuwaiti borders by Saudi Arabia and in 1993-1994, a ground trench was dug along the Iraqi-Kuwaiti borders by Kuwait. Bund walls are piles of excavated soils, 2-3 m high, 3-5 m wide and several tens of kilometers length. Constructing 1 km length of a bund wall required 2,500-3,000 m3 （1,000 m length x 5 m average width x 0.5 m depth） amount of soil, which disturbed a groundcover strip of an average area of 10,000 m2 （1,000 m length x 10 m average width）. Border trenches are ground hollows 2-3 m deep, 3-5 m wide and 220 km long. The amount of excavated soil from digging 1 km long trench ranged from 6,000-8,000 m3. Field work indicated that 1 km long of trench had disturbed a groundcover of an average area of 12,000 m2 （1,000 m length ~ 12 m average width）. Such man-induced land features are closely related to land degradation processes, as they were of adverse environmental impacts on soil, surface hydrologic conditions and natural vegetation. The main objective of this study is to assess the immediate and long term impacts of the introduced land use forms in selected areas in Kuwait, such as Wadi AI Batin （Western part of Kuwait）. To achieve such an objective, intensive field program was designed and implemented and the collected data and available information were analyzed and interpreted.

Response of Stream Pollution Characteristics to Catchment Land Cover in Cao-E River Basin, China

This study addressed the relationship of river water pollution characteristics to land covers and human activities in the catchments in a complete river system named Cao-E River in eastern China.Based on the hydrogeochemical data collected monthly over a period of 3 years,cluster analysis(CA) and principal component analysis(PCA) were adopted to categorize the river reaches and reveal their pollution characteristics.According to the differences of water quality in the river reaches and land use patterns and average population densities in their catchments,the whole river system could be categorized into three groups of river reaches,i.e.,non-point sources pollution reaches(NPSPR),urban reaches(UR) and mixed sources pollution reaches(MSPR).In UR and MSPR,the water quality was mainly impacted by nutrient and organic pollution,while in NPSPR nutrient pollution was the main cause.The nitrate was the main nitrogen form in NPSPR and particulate phosphorus was the main phosphorus form in MSPR.There were no apparent trends for the variations of pollutant concentrations with increasing river flows in NPSPR and MSPR,while in UR the pollutant concentrations decreased with increasing river flows.Thus dry season was the critical period for water pollution control in UR.Therefore,catchment land covers and human activities had significant impact on river reach water pollution type,nutrient forms and water quality responses to hydrological conditions,which might be crucial for developing strategies to combat water pollution in watershed scale.