2025-06-01 JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES 2025 35(卷), 6(期), (1351-1364页)
Nebkhas, which play a fundamental role in stabilizing ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions, are currently threatened by global warming and anthropogenic activities. This study focuses on a tamarisk-nebkha profile situated in the lower reaches of the Shule River Basin, an arid region in northwestern China. Using radioactive dating and the physicochemical properties of sediments, this study reconstructed changes in the nebkha's hydro-ecological conditions over the past decades. The results revealed a significant decline in fine particle fraction, carbonate content, and low-frequency magnetic susceptibility, along with a notable increase in the Si2O3/Al2O3 ratio, since the 1990s. These findings indicate the intensification of the desertification process and the degradation of hydrological conditions within the nebkha. Primary factors contributing to these transformations include the steadily rising temperature, which leads to an increased evaporation rate, and a substantial rise in human water consumption. These indicate an elevated risk of future nebkha reactivation. This reactivation, in turn, could potentially accelerate the process of regional desertification and lead to an ecological crisis.