Climate warming positively affects hydrological connectivity of typical inland river in arid Central Asia

Hydrological connectivity is crucial for understanding water-ecosystem dynamics, as it serves as a key link between different landscape units. However, the variability of hydrological connectivity in Central Asia remains unexplored, which poses challenges to a comprehensive understanding of ecohydro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:NPJ climate and atmospheric science 2024-10, Vol.7 (1), p.250-12, Article 250
Main Authors: Liu, Chuanxiu, Chen, Yaning, Huang, Wenjing, Fang, Gonghuan, Li, Zhi, Zhu, Chenggang, Liu, Yongchang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
704/106/242
704/242
Arid regions
Arid zones
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Atmospheric Sciences
Climate change
Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts
Climatology
Connectivity
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Ecosystem dynamics
Evapotranspiration
Global warming
Human influences
Hydrology
Mountain regions
Mountainous areas
Remote sensing
River basins
Rivers
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Summary:Hydrological connectivity is crucial for understanding water-ecosystem dynamics, as it serves as a key link between different landscape units. However, the variability of hydrological connectivity in Central Asia remains unexplored, which poses challenges to a comprehensive understanding of ecohydrological processes. This study investigates the spatiotemporal patterns and driving mechanisms of hydrological connectivity in the Tarim River Basin (TRB), Central Asia, from 1990 to 2020, employing a novel approach that integrates remote sensing and reanalysis data. The results indicate an increasing trend in the hydrological connectivity index (HCI), with approximately 60% of the TRB exhibiting significant increases. Climate change exerts the greatest direct (0.59) and total (0.64) effects on HCI, with potential evapotranspiration (19.2%) and temperature (12.6%) being the dominant factors. In mountainous regions, climate change (0.65) is the primary driver, while human activities have a greater impact in the plains (−0.27). These findings offer a new framework for studying ecohydrological processes in arid regions.
ISSN:2397-3722
2397-3722
DOI:10.1038/s41612-024-00800-4