Deforestation: A Continuous Battle—A Case Study from Central Asia and Other Countries

Khan, Faria; Sohail, Zaineb; Khan, Tahira; Fatima, Bukhtawar; Malik, Fatima; Bukhari, Syeda Fatma Hassan; Imadi, Sameen Ruqia; Gul, Alvina

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-99728-5_4

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Forests in the region have mainly a protective role, contributing to combating desertification and preventing natural disasters (e.g., mudflows, floods, and droughts). Mountain forests are particularly important for water supply, but the disturbance of mountain forests in Central Asia through overgrazing, illegal logging, drought, and wildfires [13,14] have altered forest hydrological processes and accelerated soil erosion, mudflows, landslides, and downstream flooding [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of Mountainous Hydrological Processes in the Aktash River Watershed of Uzbekistan, Central Asia, over the Past Two Decades

Ouyang,

Stanturf,

Williams

et al. 2023

Hydrology

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Estimation of hydrological processes is critical to water resource management, water supply planning, ecological protection, and climate change impact assessment. Mountains in Central Asia are the major source of water for rivers and agricultural practices. The disturbance of mountain forests in the region has altered the hydrological processes and accelerated soil erosion, mudflow, landslides, and flooding. We used the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model calibrated and validated with remote sensing data to quantify the mountainous hydrological processes in the Aktash River watershed (ARW) of Uzbekistan, Central Asia. Simulations showed that the daily surface runoff and streamflow closely responded to daily precipitation. Groundwater discharge reached its maximum in winter because of snowmelt. The wet months were from July to December, and the dry months were from January to June. The magnitudes of the seasonal hydrological processes were in the following order: fall > summer > winter > spring for precipitation and surface runoff; summer > spring > fall > winter for evapotranspiration (ET); winter > spring > fall > summer for snowmelt; fall > winter > summer > spring for water yield and streamflow; and winter > fall > spring > summer for groundwater discharge. The Mann–Kendall statistical test revealed a significant increasing trend for the annual precipitation (τ = 0.45, p < 0.01) and surface runoff (τ = 0.41, p < 0.02) over the past 17 years from 2003 to 2019. Compared to rangeland, forested land decreased monthly and annual average surface runoff by 20%, and increased monthly and annual average groundwater recharge by about 5%. Agricultural land had much higher unit-area values (mm/km2/y) of ET, groundwater recharge, and water yield than those of urban, forest, and range lands. Our research findings provide useful information to farmers, foresters, and decision makers for better water resource management in the ARW, Central Asia, and other mountain watersheds with similar conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantification of Mountainous Hydrological Processes in the Aktash River Watershed of Uzbekistan, Central Asia, over the Past Two Decades

Ouyang,

Stanturf,

Williams

et al. 2023

Hydrology

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“…Over 60% of the rural Kyrgyz population directly depends on natural resources for their livelihoods [5,6]. The high reliance on firewood usage negatively impacts the riparian forests, and therefore, the local ecosystem becomes unbalanced [7]. Besides the nonsustainable exploitation of forest wood, rural floodplain communities extensively use solid fuels such as charcoal and cow dung to meet the primary needs (i.e., space heating because of the long and harsh winters) [8].…”

Section: Introduction 1background and Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Profiling of a High-Altitude Kyrgyz Community: Challenges and Motivations to Preserve Floodplain Ecosystems Based on Household Survey

et al. 2021

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The floodplain areas along the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan are essential as they hold the riparian (local) ecosystems because they provide firewood, pastureland, and areas for recreation and protection against erosion. Due to limited access to adequate, reliable, and sustainable energy services, the rural population usually derived their energy needs from multiple natural energy resources (i.e., firewood, charcoal, agricultural residues, animal dung, and wood branches). This is considered a common and predominant practice in rural Kyrgyzstan. This situation leads to a negative impact on local ecosystem services. In addition to that, the reliance on solid fuels contributes to indoor and outdoor air pollution, which is partially threatening the local ecosystem services. By contrast, the employment of renewable-based energy supply systems would substantially reduce the burden on the environment, which is mainly untapped. To integrate renewable energies, it is important to understand the energy behavior of floodplain communities. In that response, the presented article is the first attempt to capture the energy identity of the floodplain community of Kyrgyzstan based on a quantitative energy-based (on-site) household survey. Furthermore, the present research article synthesizes the driving factors that have a (direct or indirect) impact on the energy and local ecosystem services. In addition, the present article proposes a brief pathway for the sustainable energy transition. The article records the recommendation to integrate renewable energies to preserve the local ecosystems of Kyrgyzstan.

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Deforestation and Forests Degradation Impacts on the Environment

Kumar

Saikia

2022

Water Science and Technology Library

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Deforestation: A Continuous Battle—A Case Study from Central Asia and Other Countries

Cited by 5 publications

References 66 publications

Quantification of Mountainous Hydrological Processes in the Aktash River Watershed of Uzbekistan, Central Asia, over the Past Two Decades

Quantification of Mountainous Hydrological Processes in the Aktash River Watershed of Uzbekistan, Central Asia, over the Past Two Decades

Energy Profiling of a High-Altitude Kyrgyz Community: Challenges and Motivations to Preserve Floodplain Ecosystems Based on Household Survey

Deforestation and Forests Degradation Impacts on the Environment

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