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Estimation of water consumption of riparian forest in the lower reaches of Tarim River, northwest China

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to estimate the water consumption of a Populus euphratica forest. Findings provide a scientific basis for water allocation to the lower reaches of the Tarim River, in Northwest China. In this paper, several different methods were used to gather data. The heat-pulse technique was applied to determine the stem sap flow of P. euphratica sample trees from May to September of 2015. Then, the P. euphratica sapwood area estimation model was established based on the correlation between the sapwood area and the tree biometric parameters. Finally, the water consumption of P. euphratica (n = 3000) trees was calculated. The results showed that the estimated sapwood area of P. euphratica (n = 3000) was 677,000 cm2, and the total water consumed by these trees during the measurement period was 23,000,000 L. The P. euphratica sap flow varies due to changing environmental factors. The average daily sap flow velocities were 814.3, 1461.75, 1907.27, 1657.51 and 1173.65 mL h−1 from May to September, respectively. The average daily accumulated sap flow was 22.44, 34.76, 46.98, 40.59 and 32.90 L from May to September, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis showed that variation of sap flow was positively related to solar radiation (R s) (R 2 = 0.715), air temperature (T a) (R 2 = 0.744), soil temperature (T s) (R 2 = 0.806), wind speed (W s) (R 2 = 0.104). At the same time, sap flow was negatively related to air humidity (H) (R 2 = −0.305). Stepwise regression analysis showed that solar radiation, air temperature, soil temperature and air humidity are the main factors influencing the P. euphratica sap flow variation.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31360200, 31270742, 31570536) and the German Volkswagen Foundation within the framework of the EcoCAR project (Az.: 88497). We thank the Tarim River Basin Administration Bureau for providing hydrological data and the Forestry Department of Qarkilik (Ruoqiang) for their logistical support during our field work in Arghan. We also deliver our sincere gratitude to the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship program for their financial support and the University of Goettingen, Germany, for allowing me an academic stay as a visiting scholar for a short period. We also thank the editors and anonymous reviewers who helped to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, College of Resources and Environmental Science, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830046, China

    Maierdang Keyimu & Ümüt Halik

  2. Faculty of Mathematics and Geography, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt, 85072, Eichstaett, Germany

    Ümüt Halik

  3. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Science (CAS), Urumqi, 830046, China

    Alishir Kurban

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  1. Maierdang Keyimu
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Correspondence to Ümüt Halik.

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This article is part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on ‘‘Water in Central Asia’’, guest edited by Daniel Karthe, Iskandar Abdullaev, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Dietrich Borchardt, Sergey Chalov, Jerker Jarsjö, Lanhai Li and Jeff Nittrouer.

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Keyimu, M., Halik, Ü. & Kurban, A. Estimation of water consumption of riparian forest in the lower reaches of Tarim River, northwest China. Environ Earth Sci 76, 547 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-6801-8

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