Reducing human activity promotes environmental restoration in arid and semi-arid regions: A case study in Northwest China

Author(s):  
Chuanhua Li ◽  
Yutao Wang ◽  
Xiaodong Wu ◽  
Hongjuan Cao ◽  
Wangping Li ◽  
...  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1726-1744
Author(s):  
Abdelhafid Mebarkia ◽  
Abdelmadjid Boufekane

Abstract Water resources scarcity in Algeria, their fragility and their unequal distribution have resulted in a serious shortage, which, in spite of all the efforts, seems inevitable. This study consists of evaluating the impact of human activity on the water quality of Aïnzeda lake (NE Algeria), a typical case study of the difficulties posed by the problem of surface water quality in semi-arid regions. Principal component analysis (PCA) and the trend method were applied to interpret the physico-chemical data of monthly analyzed samples, over a 25-year period (1988–2012). The trend method results show that most chemical elements have a direct relationship with urbanization and agricultural practices in the area. The change in the watershed climatic conditions (increase of 9% in air temperature, 7% in the lake water temperature, and decrease of 8% in precipitation) is also responsible for the degradation of the water quality. The PCA shows that salinization (51.73%), and anthropogenic and agricultural pollution (13.49%) are the most significant degradation factors. These two approaches have enabled us to prove that aridity and anthropogenic or agricultural activities have a negative impact on the lake's surface water quality.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 632
Author(s):  
Weinan Lu ◽  
Wenxin Liu ◽  
Mengyang Hou ◽  
Yuanjie Deng ◽  
Yue Deng ◽  
...  

Improving agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) is an important way to solve the shortage of water resources in arid and semi-arid regions. This study used the Super-DEA (data envelopment analysis) to measure the AWUE of 52 cities in Northwest China from 2000 to 2018. Based on spatial and temporal perspectives, it applied Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) to explore the dynamic evolution and regional differences of AWUE. A spatial econometric model was then used to analyze the main factors that influence the AWUE in Northwest China. The results showed firstly that the overall AWUE in Northwest China from 2000 to 2018 presented a steady upward trend. However, only a few cities achieved effective agricultural water usage by 2018, and the differences among cities were obvious. Secondly, AWUE showed an obvious spatial autocorrelation in Northwest China and showed significant high–high and low–low agglomeration characteristics. Thirdly, economic growth, urbanization development, and effective irrigation have significant, positive effects on AWUE, while per capita water resource has a significant, negative influence. Finally, when improving the AWUE in arid and semi-arid regions, plans should be formulated according to local conditions. The results of this study can provide new ideas on the study of AWUE in arid and semi-arid regions and provide references for the formulation of regional agricultural water resource utilization policies as well.


Author(s):  
Hao Han ◽  
Jingming Hou ◽  
Rengui Jiang ◽  
Jiahui Gong ◽  
Ganggang Bai ◽  
...  

Abstract Precipitation variations mostly affect the water resource planning in semi-arid regions of northwest China. The objective of this study is to quantitatively explore the spatial and temporal variations of precipitation in different time scales in Xi'an city area. The Mann–Kendall test and wavelet analysis methods were applied to analyze the precipitation variability. In terms of temporal variation of precipitation, the results indicated that the annual precipitation exhibited a significant decreasing trend during 1951–2018. Except for summer precipitation representing a slightly increasing trend, the other seasonal precipitations had a similar decreasing trend to annual precipitation throughout 1951–2018. The monthly precipitation had different change trends, showing the precipitation from June to September could account for 58.4% of the total annual precipitation. In addition, it was clear that annual precipitation had a significant periodic change, with the periods of 6, 13, 19, and 27 years. For the spatial variation of precipitation during 1961–2018, the results showed that annual and seasonal precipitation exhibited obvious spatial differences, indicating an increasing spatial trend from north to south. Thus, understanding the precipitation variation in Xi'an city can provide a theoretical foundation of future water resources management for other cities in semi-arid regions of northwest China.


2018 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 33-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiqing Wang ◽  
Wenping Li ◽  
Tao Li ◽  
Xiaoqin Li ◽  
Shiliang Liu

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-217
Author(s):  
Boan Chen ◽  
Quanlong Feng ◽  
Bowen Niu ◽  
Jianyu Yang ◽  
Bingbo Gao ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ismail Abd-Elaty ◽  
Martina Zelenakova ◽  
Salvatore Straface ◽  
Zuzana Vranayová ◽  
Mohamed Abu-hashim ◽  
...  

<p>Groundwater is the main source of drinking water in the Nile Delta. Unfortunately, it might be polluted by seepage from polluted streams. This study was carried out to investigate the possible measures  to  protect groundwater  in the Nile delta aquifer using a numerical model (MT3DMS - Mass Transport 3-Dimension Multi-Species). The sources of groundwater contamination were identified and the total dissolved solids (TDS) was taken as an indicator for the contamination. Different strategies were investigated for mitigating the impact of polluted water: i) allocating polluted drains and canals in lower permeability layers; ii)  installing cut-off walls in the polluted drains, and finally, iii) using lining materials in polluted drains and canals. Results indicated these measures effective to mitigate the groundwater pollution. In particular, the cut-off wall was effective for contamination reduction in shallow aquifers, whereas it had no effect in the deep aquifer, while lining materials in polluted drains and canals were able to prevent contamination and to protect the freshwater in the aquifers.  It is worth mentioning that this study was partially supported by a bilateral project between ASRT (Egypt) and CNR (Italy).</p><p> </p><p> </p>


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