Desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin during 1990–2020
Desertification poses a significant ecological threat to global sustainability, notably within arid regions such as the Tarim Basin surrounding the extensive Taklimakan Desert in Northwest China. This study used the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and Random Forest (RF) to analyze multi-temporal...
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| Format: | Article |
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KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Regional Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666660X25000349 |
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| author | YU Xiang LEI Jiaqiang GAO Xin SUN Lingxiao LYU Zhentao Ireneusz MALIK Malgorzata WISTUBA |
| author_facet | YU Xiang LEI Jiaqiang GAO Xin SUN Lingxiao LYU Zhentao Ireneusz MALIK Malgorzata WISTUBA |
| author_sort | YU Xiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Desertification poses a significant ecological threat to global sustainability, notably within arid regions such as the Tarim Basin surrounding the extensive Taklimakan Desert in Northwest China. This study used the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and Random Forest (RF) to analyze multi-temporal Landsat images to reveal desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin spanning from 1990 to 2020. The results showed that land use types of the Tarim Basin were classified into three types: artificial oases, natural oases, and desertified land. To robustly quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use, we introduced the Desertification Change Index (DCI), a novel metric specifically designed to measure the transformation sensitivity of land use types. Our analysis demonstrated that from 1990 to 2020, artificial oases showed a continuous increasing trend, while desertified land decreased significantly. Natural oases decreased during 1990–2000, then continued to grow, and showed a decreasing trend again after 2015. Moreover, natural oases have mainly been converted into desertified land and artificial oases. Artificial oases were mainly converted into natural oases, and most of desertified land was converted into natural oases. Regions with significant oasis expansion (DCI=2) were mostly concentrated within the influence radius of artificial oases. In contrast, regions with significant oasis degradation (DCI= –2) were generally farther from artificial oases. Finally, this study found that the changes in land use types of the Tarim Basin are mainly driven by human activities, which play a dual role—mitigating desertification by controlling oasis expansion and exacerbating desertification through unsustainable resource utilization. Ultimately, this research provides essential insights for policy-makers and land managers aiming to devise adaptive and sustainable desertification control measures in the Tarim Basin and similarly arid regions globally. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0aa11ab00a8243aa88e4efc98c1fd2a5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-660X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co. Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Regional Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-0aa11ab00a8243aa88e4efc98c1fd2a52025-08-20T03:50:58ZengKeAi Communications Co. Ltd.Regional Sustainability2666-660X2025-06-016310022610.1016/j.regsus.2025.100226Desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin during 1990–2020YU Xiang0LEI Jiaqiang1GAO Xin2SUN Lingxiao3LYU Zhentao4Ireneusz MALIK5Malgorzata WISTUBA6Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; Corresponding author.Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China; National Engineering Technology Research Center for Desert-Oasis Ecological Construction, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Sosnowiec, 41-200, PolandKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011, China; Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia in Katowice, Sosnowiec, 41-200, PolandDesertification poses a significant ecological threat to global sustainability, notably within arid regions such as the Tarim Basin surrounding the extensive Taklimakan Desert in Northwest China. This study used the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and Random Forest (RF) to analyze multi-temporal Landsat images to reveal desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin spanning from 1990 to 2020. The results showed that land use types of the Tarim Basin were classified into three types: artificial oases, natural oases, and desertified land. To robustly quantify the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use, we introduced the Desertification Change Index (DCI), a novel metric specifically designed to measure the transformation sensitivity of land use types. Our analysis demonstrated that from 1990 to 2020, artificial oases showed a continuous increasing trend, while desertified land decreased significantly. Natural oases decreased during 1990–2000, then continued to grow, and showed a decreasing trend again after 2015. Moreover, natural oases have mainly been converted into desertified land and artificial oases. Artificial oases were mainly converted into natural oases, and most of desertified land was converted into natural oases. Regions with significant oasis expansion (DCI=2) were mostly concentrated within the influence radius of artificial oases. In contrast, regions with significant oasis degradation (DCI= –2) were generally farther from artificial oases. Finally, this study found that the changes in land use types of the Tarim Basin are mainly driven by human activities, which play a dual role—mitigating desertification by controlling oasis expansion and exacerbating desertification through unsustainable resource utilization. Ultimately, this research provides essential insights for policy-makers and land managers aiming to devise adaptive and sustainable desertification control measures in the Tarim Basin and similarly arid regions globally.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666660X25000349Random Forest (RF)Desertification Change Index (DCI)Artificial oasesNatural oasesDesertified landTarim Basin |
| spellingShingle | YU Xiang LEI Jiaqiang GAO Xin SUN Lingxiao LYU Zhentao Ireneusz MALIK Malgorzata WISTUBA Desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin during 1990–2020 Regional Sustainability Random Forest (RF) Desertification Change Index (DCI) Artificial oases Natural oases Desertified land Tarim Basin |
| title | Desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin during 1990–2020 |
| title_full | Desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin during 1990–2020 |
| title_fullStr | Desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin during 1990–2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin during 1990–2020 |
| title_short | Desertification dynamics in the Tarim Basin during 1990–2020 |
| title_sort | desertification dynamics in the tarim basin during 1990 2020 |
| topic | Random Forest (RF) Desertification Change Index (DCI) Artificial oases Natural oases Desertified land Tarim Basin |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666660X25000349 |
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