VEGETATION AND WATER VARIATION OF EJIN BANNER OASIS: NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE EXPANSION OF THE BADAIN JARAN DESERT

Du, Jiaxin , Fu, Bihong , Guo, Qiang , Shi, Pilong

2019-01-01 null null   null(卷), null(期), (null页)

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The Ejin Banner, as an essential and vulnerable oasis area, locates in arid and semi-arid region, northwestern China. To assess the water and vegetation variation from 2000 to 2015, this study selected the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) and the Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI) as indicators to interpret the Landsat TM/OLI images. The results indicate that the water have witnessed a significant increase from 0 to 70.7283 km(2) during this period. Meanwhile, the area of vegetation had a growth of 92.8%, rising from 137.3508 km(2) in 2000 to 264.7539 km(2) in 2015. In addition, the meteorological statistics test suggested that the warmer and wetter climate promoted the vegetation and water resources recover. Important as the oases are, results suggest that the oases reversion can effectively suppress the expansion of the Badain Jaran Desert, emphasizing the value of the oases protection for preventing the eco-environment deterioration and desertification.