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The Recent Evolution of the Oasis Environment in the Taklimakan Desert, China

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Water and Sustainability in Arid Regions

Abstract

Numerous natural and anthropogenic factors have caused soil salinization, land surface degradation, and desertification in Keriya County in China’s Xinjiang region. Information from multi-temporal remotely sensed data such as the Soil Salinity Index (SSI) has contributed significantly to an understanding of these environmental changes. The approach to calculating SSI is based on the spectral bands of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) or Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+). A soil salinity map of the Keriya County area was produced from Landsat ETM+ images, with an overall accuracy of 72.73% and kappa coefficient of 0.6689. The analysis of the recent evolution of the oasis of Keriya County was carried out by coupling climatic and socioeconomic data with information derived from multi-temporal remotely sensed data such as the SSI, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and different land use classes. Such analysis appeared to be very useful in identifying and monitoring changes occurring in the oasis ecosystem and for understanding the consequences of human-induced land degradation processes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. PRODIG UMR 8586 CNRS–EPHE, Université Paris I, Paris IV, Paris VII, Paris, France

    Yalikun Tashi (Research Engineer)

  2. Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China

    Yalikun Tashi (Research Engineer)

  3. Université Paris X Nanterre, Pôle de Recherche pour l’Organisation et la Diffusion de l’Information Géographique (PRODIG, UMR 8586) CNRS–EPHE Université Paris I, Paris IV, Paris VII, Paris, France

    Philippe C. Chamard (Associate Professor)

  4. Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Paris, France

    Marie-Françoise Courel (Professor) & Yiliminuer Tuerxun (PhD candidate)

  5. Pôle de Recherche pour l’Organisation et la Diffusion de l’Information Géographique (PRODIG, UMR 8586) CNRS–EPHE, Université Paris I, Paris IV, Paris VII, France, Paris, France

    Yalikun Tashi (Research Engineer) & Marie-Françoise Courel (Professor)

  6. College of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ministry of Education, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, China

    Tashpolat Tiyip (Professor)

  7. Office of Arid Lands Studies, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tuczon, AZ, AZ, USA

    Sam Drake (Research Scientist)

Authors
  1. Yalikun Tashi
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  2. Philippe C. Chamard
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  3. Marie-Françoise Courel
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  4. Tashpolat Tiyip
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  5. Yiliminuer Tuerxun
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  6. Sam Drake
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. GDR CNRS 2524 Res-Eau-Ville, rue Saint Guillaume 28, Paris, 75007, France

    Graciela Schneier-Madanes

  2. Dépt. Sciences Humaines et Sociales, CNRS, rue Michel-Ange 3, Paris CX 16, 75794, France

    Marie-Francoise Courel

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Tashi, Y., Chamard, P.C., Courel, MF., Tiyip, T., Tuerxun, Y., Drake, S. (2010). The Recent Evolution of the Oasis Environment in the Taklimakan Desert, China. In: Schneier-Madanes, G., Courel, MF. (eds) Water and Sustainability in Arid Regions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2776-4_4

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