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Effects of ecological water conveyance on the ring increments of Populus euphratica in the lower reaches of Tarim River

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Forest Research

Abstract

Because of long-term drying of the lower reaches of the Tarim River, oasis ecosystems are facing serious threats and have started to degenerate. An ecological water conveyance project has been started in the lower reaches of the Tarim River to save the degenerated ecosystem. The effects of ecological water conveyance on the ring width increments of Populus euphratica were studied by use of the trend analysis method, the moving t test technique, and a regression equation based on ring increment data from the past 40 years in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. Results showed that the ring increments of Populus euphratica in four monitoring transects along the river can be divided into two parts, 1970–2001 and 2002–2008. This division implies that ecological water conveyance had a positive effect on the increase of ring increments. The ring increments of Populus euphratica in Yinsu, Kardayii, Alagan, and Yiganbjma increased by 79.37, 174.5, 75.61, and 71.81% after ecological water conveyance. The years 2002, 2001, 2001, and 2002 were the transition years in the Yinsu, Alagan, Kardayi, and Yiganbjma transects, respectively. The ring width increments in Yinsu, Kardayi, Alagan, and Yiganbjma as a result of ecological water conveyance were 1.41, 0.987, 0.265, and 0.671 mm, respectively. The main cause of the changes in ring width increments was the rise of groundwater level. The results from this study should contribute to improved management of the ecosystems in the lower reaches of the Tarim River, and can also provide a scientific basis for implementing similar projects in other arid and semiarid areas.

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Acknowledgments

The work was financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2009CB421102) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (30970549,40971284). Special thanks are due to two anonymous reviewers for invaluable advice in preparing this manuscript. The authors would like to express their cordial gratitude for assistance in this research to Peng Zhang, Qingqing Zhang, Xinfeng Zhao and Xiaoli Shi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Road, Urumqi, 830011, Xinjiang, China

    Pujia Yu, Hailiang Xu, Shiwei Liu, Hongyan An & Jinyi Fu

  2. Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130012, Jilin, China

    Pujia Yu & Shiwei Liu

  3. National Field Observation and Research Station for Oasis Farmland Ecosystem in Aksu, Xinjiang, Aksu, 843000, Xinjiang, China

    Pujia Yu, Hailiang Xu, Hongyan An & Jinyi Fu

  4. Department of Geography Science and Tourism, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, 830054, Xinjiang, China

    Mao Ye & Junjun Gong

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  1. Pujia Yu
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  2. Hailiang Xu
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  3. Mao Ye
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  4. Shiwei Liu
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  6. Hongyan An
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  7. Jinyi Fu
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Correspondence to Hailiang Xu.

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Yu, P., Xu, H., Ye, M. et al. Effects of ecological water conveyance on the ring increments of Populus euphratica in the lower reaches of Tarim River. J For Res 17, 413–420 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-011-0312-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10310-011-0312-3

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