Oasis land-use change and its effects on the oasis eco-environment in Keriya Oasis, China

Abstract

Land-use change in oases of arid zones play a significant role in the sustainable development and stability of oases. This paper presents a typical case of successful efforts to mitigate land-use change, its drivers and effects on the oasis eco-environment at Keriya Oasis in the western arid zone of China using remotely-sensed data, official statistics, and data collected by field investigation. Mathematical models were developed to quantify important elements related to land-use change, including net change and total change. The results indicate that: (1) approximately 17% of land-use types of Keriya Oasis changed between 1991 and 2002; (2) socioeconomic development, climate change, and economic polices contributed to land-use change in the oasis; (3) inappropriate human activities were the main cause of land-use change and eco-environmental degradation in the oasis; and (4) the stability of the oasis is threatened by land-use change and unexpected eco-environmental changes in the oasis and oasis–desert ecotone. The study suggests irrational human activity in arid zones, and that caution should be exercised to maintain stability and sustainable development of oases.

Keywords:

• land use change
• eco-environment effects
• net and total change
• Keriya Oasis
• arid zone

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40661002) and the Key Research Foundation of Xinjiang Higher Education (XJEDU2006109). The authors gratefully thank Keriya Meteorological Stations for kindly providing climatic data. The authors also extend their thanks to anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions on the paper.