Effects of afforestation on water resource variations in the Inner Mongolian Plateau

PeerJ

article

Qiang Xiao¹  Yang Xiao²  Ying Luo¹  Changsu Song³  Jiacheng Bi⁴ 

[1] Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences;College of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Jishou University;State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences;State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research

关键词: Afforestation;    Water resource;    Evapotranspiration;    Drought;    Inner Mongolian Plateau;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.7525

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Afforestation is a key approach used to effectively prevent ecosystem degradation, which in itself is a key reason for the obstruction of sustainable societal development. In order to suppress sand and dust storms as a result of ecological environmental degradation in North China, the Government of China has sanctioned the planting of a large number of trees in Inner Mongolia. However, water resources in the Inner Mongolian Plateau are insufficient to sustain this effort because such a large number of trees consume a large amount of water, which also significantly increases evapotranspiration. This study uses spatiotemporal trend analyses and abrupt change analyses to determine the effects of afforestation on water resource variations in the Inner Mongolian Plateau. Results show that even though water resources in Inner Mongolia fluctuate, this resource has generally exhibited a declining trend from 1980 to 2015, corresponding to the NDVI trend. On spatial-temporal scales, water resources decreased significantly in the eastern section of the plateau, especially in the Horqin District and the Hulunbuir Plateau. By contrast, water resources increased as a whole in the western section of the plateau (Alxa Plateau). Driving analysis results show that water resource variation is mainly due to the contribution of change in precipitation (positive effect), which accounted for 39.35% of total changes in water resources, followed by the evapotranspiration (negative effect). In other words, afforestation with the primary aim of improving ecosystem has effectually upset the water resource balance of Inner Mongolia Plateau.

【 授权许可】

CC BY