Remote sensing analysis of desert vegetation and its landscape changes: The case in middle reaches of Tarim River Basin, Xinjiang, China

Based on remote sensing information sources including B/W aerial photos of 1983,pseudo-color aerial photos of 1992 and JERS-1/OPS VNIR image of 1996, vegetation types ofYingbazha, in the middle reaches of the Tarim River Basin in Xinjiang, China are mapped usingARC/INFO and related software. The changes in vegetation areas and distribution conditions areanalyzed. As a result of natural and human influences, vegetation changes have temporal andspatial characteristics. According to the principles of landscape ecology and geographical informa-tion science, the landscape changes are indicated. Moreover, the remote sensing and GIS tech-niques are integrated to study vegetation and its landscape.

A simulation-based two-stage interval-stochastic programming model for water resources management in Kaidu-Konqi watershed,China

This study presented a simulation-based two-stage interval-stochastic programming （STIP） model to support water resources management in the Kaidu-Konqi watershed in Northwest China. The modeling system coupled a distributed hydrological model with an interval two-stage stochastic programing （ITSP）. The distributed hydrological model was used for establishing a rainfall-runoff forecast system, while random parameters were pro- vided by the statistical analysis of simulation outcomes water resources management planning in Kaidu-Konqi The developed STIP model was applied to a real case of watershed, where three scenarios with different water re- sources management policies were analyzed. The results indicated that water shortage mainly occurred in agri- culture, ecology and forestry sectors. In comparison, the water demand from municipality, industry and stock- breeding sectors can be satisfied due to their lower consumptions and higher economic values. Different policies for ecological water allocation can result in varied system benefits, and can help to identify desired water allocation plans with a maximum economic benefit and a minimum risk of system disruption under uncertainty.

Utilization of water resources, ecological balance and land desertification in the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang

Because of the human exploitation and utilization of water resources in the Tarim Basin,the water resources consumption has changed from mainly natural ecosystem to artificial oasisecosystem, and the environment has changed correspondingly. The basic changes are: desertifi-cation and oasis development coexist, both "the human being advance and the desert retreat" and"the desert advance and the human being retreat" coexist, but the latter is dominant. In the upperreaches, water volume drawing to irrigated agricultural areas has increased, artificial oases havebeen enlarging and moving from the deltas in the lower reaches of many rivers to the piedmontplains. In the middle and lower reaches of the Tarim River, the stream flow has decreased, old oa-ses have declined, natural vegetations have been degenerating, desertification has been enlarging,and the environment has deteriorated. The transition regions, which consist of forestlands, grass-lands and waters between the desert and the oases, have been decreasing continuously, theirshelter function to the oases has been weakened, and the desert is threatening the oases seri-ously.