Assessment of the Irrigation Water Requirement and Water Supply Risk in the Tarim River Basin, Northwest China

Abstract

Studying the relationship between agricultural irrigation water requirements (IWR) and water supply is significant for optimizing the sustainable management of water resources in Tarim River Basin (TRB). However, the related studies have not quantified the total IWR and the imbalance of irrigation water supply and requirements in the TRB. The study analyzed the spatial-temporal variations of IWR by a modified Penman–Monteith (PM) method during 1990–2015. Five major crops—rice, wheat, maize, cotton, and fruit trees—are chosen for calculating the IWR. It was found that the IWR increased significantly, from 193.14 × 108 m3 in 1990 to 471.89 × 108 m3 in 2015, for a total increase of 278.74 × 108 m3. For the first period (1990–2002), the total IWR remained stable at 200 × 108 m3 but started to increase from 2003 onwards. Significantly more irrigation water was consumed in the oasis regions of the Tienshan Mountains (southern slope) and the Yarkand River (plains). Furthermore, there was an intensified conflict between IWR and water supply in the major sub-basins. The ratios of IWR to river discharge (IWR/Q) for the Weigan-Kuqa River Basin (WKRB), Aksu River Basin (ARB), Kaxgar River Basin (KGRB), and Yarkand River Basin (YRB) were 0.93, 0.68, 1.05, and 0.79, respectively. The IWR/Q experienced serious annual imbalances, as high flows occurred in July and August, whereas critical high IWR occurred in May and June. Seasonal water shortages further aggravate the water stress in the arid region.

Historic and Simulated Desert-Oasis Ecotone Changes in the Arid Tarim River Basin, China

“…This has led to a shortage of water in the basin, which is mainly used for agriculture. The demand for agricultural irrigation water is large and accounts for about 96% of the total water use in the Tarim River Basin [28].…”

“…The proportion of agricultural water in the basin has long been as high as about 95%, which is much higher than the Chinese average (65%) and the world average (70%). At present, the development of water resources in the Tarim River Basin has greatly exceeded the carrying capacity of regional water resources [28]. For example, the groundwater level in the Kaxgar River Basin dropped by nearly 1 m between 2004 and 2010 and the water crisis has become more prominent [25].…”

Water Balance Supporting the Irrigation Water Demand in Java Island, Indonesia

“…e result above is quite different from arid regions, which have low rainfall (Li et al, 2020). Countries in arid regions focus on water use efficiency for irrigation, either by using technology or planting pattern optimization (Seckler et al, 1998;Wang et al, 2019) and water resource optimization by recycling the water (Huang & Yin, 2017). In Java, however, the water resource problems are solved by focusing on water resource optimization by improving the planning to expand the irrigation eld area.…”

Spatiotemporal Evolution Characteristics in Ecosystem Service Values Based on Land Use/Cover Change in the Tarim River Basin, China

“…Because of its unique geographical location and special topography, the climate in the basin has been dry (average temperature of 10.7 • C). In the past 50 years, the average temperature of the basin has increased at a rate of 0.276 • C/10a with less rainfall (average annual precipitation is 17.4-42.8 mm), and in the past 50 years, the precipitation in the basin has increased at a rate of 6.05 mm/10a, and the evaporation intensity is large (the evaporation is 1800-2900 mm) [34], which indicates that the climate in the basin is affected by global changes and is developing from warm dry to warm wet. The Basin has an average altitude of between 800 and 2000 m and features a diversity of geological landform units, such as deserts, oases, mountains, and plateaus.…”