Environmental degradation in the Hexi Corridor region of China over the last 50 years and comprehensive mitigation and rehabilitation strategies |
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| Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">G?WangEmail author Y?Ding Y?Shen Y?Lai |
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| Institution: | (1) Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 730000 Lanzhou, People's Republic of China;(2) College of Resource and Environment, Lanzhou University, 730000 Lanzhou, People's Republic of China |
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| Abstract: | The regional hydrology and ecosystems of the Hexi Corridor region of northwestern China have changed over the last half century under the driving force of intense human activity and regional climate changes. Streamflow issuing from mountains in the eastern section of the Corridor by way of the Shiyang River has decreased significantly. Annual mountain outflow from the Heihe and Shule Rivers in the central and western portions of the Corridor, respectively, have tended to increase; however, their downstream discharge has decreased sharply. These lower reaches clearly display anthropogenic hydrological features. Water salinization and pollution have worsened. Presently, up to 208 km of river courses exhibit the poorest water pollution grades of IV and V. Overall, the forested area in the south Qilian Mountain region has decreased by 16.5% in the last 50 years, but has recently begun to show a gradual increase. However, natural desert forests in the northern portion of the Hexi Corridor have continued in a trend of degradation and rapid disappearance, with 3431 km2 lost in Minqin and Ejin counties alone. Grasslands have been progressively degraded and their area decreased such that grasslands in the Hexi Corridor region only cover 46.86% of their former area. Desertification has been exacerbated and the grasslands' stock capacity reduced. In the Hexi Corridor region desertification has proceeded swiftly over the last 50 years, reaching, in the early 1980s, a maximum annual rate of 2.15% of total initial grassland area. However, from the late 1980s through the 1990s their desertification rate has dropped significantly. A unified watershed-scale plan for water use and management in different regions of the Hexi Corridor, considering water demands for economic development as well as ecosystem maintenance and remediation, must be implemented. The improved and ultimate sustainability of regional development for the Hexi Corridor is linked to following ecological criteria in exploiting land resources, and to systematically protect ecosystem function, allowing for sound ecosystem development. |
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