Identifying and mapping potential groundwater-dependent ecosystems for a semi-arid and semi-humid area in the Weihe River, China

Xu, Wenjin; Kong, Feihe; Mao, Ruichen; Song, Jinxi; Sun, Haotian; Wu, Qiong; Bai, Haifeng

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.127789

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The decrease in the anthropogenic WSI during 2016–2020 contributed to 77–80% of the increasing trend in vegetation at B1–B3, while the negative effect of the increasing climatic WSI was sufficiently eliminated. Therefore, the state of groundwater depth should be given much attention in these identified groundwater‐dependent ecosystems (Eamus et al, 2006; Xu et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial–temporal variations in vegetation with changing water stress in the Kongqi River basin, China

et al. 2023

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Identifying dominant water stress on vegetation growth over the arid basins is essential to better understand ecosystems and water interactions, which are fundamental in managing regional water resources. The Kongqi River basin is an ecologically sensitive area with limited water resources in the northern part of Tarim Basin in northwest China. How is the spatial distribution of vegetation controlled by natural conditions and anthropogenic regulation of water resources is a concern for ecology system protection. This study explores the spatio–temporal variations in the remote‐sensing vegetation index across the basin and identifies water stress forces with the Mann–Kendall trend test and linear regression analysis. Results show that the controls of vegetation change are different among geomorphological units over the past 20 years. In the northern mountains, the increasing vegetation trend mainly responds to climate change, particularly to increased precipitation. In contrast, in the plain area, the vegetation change is controlled by changes in hydrologic and anthropogenic water stresses. A significant rise in surface water and groundwater utilization counteracts the negative effect of the increasing hydrologic water stress in the upstream oasis. However, the increasing anthropogenic water stress contributed to more than 50% of vegetation decay in the downstream area during 2004–2015. The ecological water conveyance beginning in 2016 has promoted vegetation restoration, but the effect decreased with distance to the upstream area and showed a delay in response. This study provides evidence for ecological consequence of anthropogenic water stress that is beneficial to improve water resources management and ecosystem restoration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial–temporal variations in vegetation with changing water stress in the Kongqi River basin, China

et al. 2023

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“…There is no apparent regularity in the distribution of GDE between the two sub-periods (2002-2014 and 2015-2021) in this study. The GDEs are also detected in the deeper loess hills and gullies, as shown in Figure 5, where the relationship between the groundwater level and the NDVI is uneven in the Loess hills [46]. In some cases, the GDEs have been found in areas where the water table reaches a depth of approximately 20 m [47,48], as well as in Loess areas, where the soil layer is thicker with an average thickness of over 50 m and a maximum depth of more than 100 m. Our results indicate that GDEs are still present in these areas, so this result is considered plausible.…”

Section: Changes In the Potential Gdes In The Loess Areasmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Changes In the Potential Gdes In The Loess Areasmentioning

confidence: 92%

Effects of Groundwater Table Decline on Vegetation in Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems

Qiu,

Wang,

et al. 2023

Forests

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The distribution map of groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) is generally used for the scientific management of vegetation and groundwater resources, and is instructive for forest resource conservation. The groundwater table in the Loess zone has declined over the past few years, but no study has yet been conducted to assess the impact of this decline on GDEs. This study used data from the GRACE gravity satellite to delineate groundwater fluctuation periods from 2002 to 2021, to develop a method to identify whether vegetation is potentially associated with groundwater using three criteria, and to verify the accuracy of this method. Study results show that the groundwater changes in the Loess zone can be divided into two periods, 2002–2014 and 2015–2021, with groundwater declines becoming more rapid after 2015. We did not observe the spatial variation pattern of GDEs in the Loess areas, but there was a significant change in the area of GDEs during the two periods studied, with a 13.56% decrease in the very likely GDEs’ group area and an 11.68% increase in the unlikely GDEs’ group area between 2015 and 2021 compared to 2002–2014, with little change in the neutral, likely, and very unlikely group areas. This study provides a reference for exploring the relationship between vegetation and groundwater, as well as for the scientific management of water resources.

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“…Any changes to the groundwater system will have corresponding effects on the ecological environment. In arid and semi-arid areas, the ecological environment is closely related to groundwater, and further research on the GEF can provide a scientific foundation for the exploitation and utilization of groundwater resources and ecological protection in the basin [5].…”

Section: Definition Of Groundwater Ecological Functionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influencing Factors and Evaluation of Groundwater Ecological Function in Arid/Semiarid Regions of China: A Review

Cui,

Yan,

Wang

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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In arid and semi-arid areas, due to drought climate and shortage of water resources, groundwater is crucial for natural ecological protection and economic development. It serves a dual role as a resource function and an ecological function. However, with the continuous improvement of the exploitation and utilization of groundwater by human activities during rapid economic development, the phenomenon of groundwater overexploitation is becoming more and more serious, which has destroyed the natural balance of groundwater recharge and discharge. As a result, natural vegetation has lost the maintenance of the ecological function of groundwater, and a series of ecological and environmental problems have occurred, such as natural vegetation degradation, land desertification, sandstorms, and so on. In recent years, scholars have carried out research on groundwater resource management and optimization of water resource allocation, trying to solve the problem of water balance in arid regions. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding and systematization regarding influencing factors and degeneration mechanisms related to groundwater's ecological function. By summarizing and analyzing the previous research results, this paper summarizes the influencing factors, evaluation methods, existing problems and future directions of groundwater ecological function research in China to provide a reference for rational exploitation and utilization of groundwater and ecological protection. This paper is divided into four main contents. The first part introduces the definition of groundwater ecological function (GEF); the second part summarizes the research status of influencing factors of GEF, including the groundwater table depth, vegetation root system and lithologic structure of vadose zone, etc.; the third part analyzes the evaluation of groundwater ecological function; the fourth part discusses the existing problems in the study of groundwater ecological functions, and based on the above research the evaluation framework of GEF is proposed with the Shiyang River basin as a case study; and finally, it highlights the future research directions about GEF.

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Identifying and mapping potential groundwater-dependent ecosystems for a semi-arid and semi-humid area in the Weihe River, China

Cited by 17 publications

References 51 publications

Spatial–temporal variations in vegetation with changing water stress in the Kongqi River basin, China

Spatial–temporal variations in vegetation with changing water stress in the Kongqi River basin, China

Effects of Groundwater Table Decline on Vegetation in Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems

Influencing Factors and Evaluation of Groundwater Ecological Function in Arid/Semiarid Regions of China: A Review

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