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Arid Land Geography ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (7): 1106-1115.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.093

• The Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Development and utilization potential of surface water resources of the counties on the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains from the perspective of supply and demand balance

ZHOU Honghua(), YANG Yuhai, ZHU Chenggang(), FANG Gonghuan   

  1. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2024-02-26 Revised:2024-04-03 Online:2024-07-25 Published:2024-07-30
  • Contact: ZHU Chenggang E-mail:zhouhh@ms.xjb.ac.cn;zhuchg@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Abstract:

Quantitative analysis of the water resources potential is helpful for determining the amount of regional water resources. This in turn is significant for guiding scientific planning and sustainable utilization of regional water resources in the future. In this study, we initially discussed the surface water resources potential of the county units on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains by balancing water supply and demand. The analysis considered surface runoff, ecological water demand, and the amount of available surface water to determine the necessity of protecting water resources in this region. The results showed that: (1) The runoff of rivers on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains showed a significant increase after 2000, with the average annual runoff increasing by 23.36% from 2001 to 2010 and 42.89% from 2011 to 2020 compared with that before 2000, among which the Qarqan River showed the largest increase and the Hotan River showed the smallest increase. (2) The ecological base flows for the Qarqan River Basin, Keriya River Basin, and Hotan River Basin were 4.67×108 m3, 5.38×108 m3, and 20.26×108 m3, respectively, and the ecological water demands of natural vegetation were 4.34×108 m3, 4.00×108 m3, and 2.62×108 m3, respectively. (3) The current surface water consumption of each county unit on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains ranged from 0.1×108 to 8.73×108 m3, and the potential of surface water resources ranged from −0.07×108 to 3.17×108 m3; additionally, the spatial difference was significant. The surface water resource potential was greater than 2.00×108 m3 in Moyu County, Tiemenguan City 38th Regiment, Qira County, Qiemo County, Hotan County, Minfeng County, and Lop County. The current surface water resources storage capacity of the region is insufficient, and the use of water resources is relatively low. Despite the significant surface water potential of this region, it is difficult to use this water due to regional characteristics; consequently, in the future, the county units on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains need to formulate and revise a more appropriate surface water resources usage plan and strengthen the construction of basic surface water conservancy projects to enhance the efficiency of surface water resources allocation and utilization, thus ensuring water resources support for facilitating the region’s development.

Key words: northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains, surface runoff, supply and demand balance, ecological water demand, surface water resource potential