Impact Analysis of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Karez in Turpan Basin of China

Abstract

Karez systems are ancient hydraulic works that use underground waterways to divert water by gravity and have historically been popular in arid regions across Central Asia. Karez systems have undergone thousands of years of development and have been used for irrigation in 40 countries and regions worldwide. Although there are different opinions about the origin of karezes, the role and significance of karezes are similar. The Turpan Basin is a relatively closed inland basin in China, far from the ocean, with a very dry climate and high evaporation rates. However, due to the ice and snow meltwater of the Tianshan Mountains, the groundwater resources in the basin are abundant. Karezes are an important support for Turpan’s farming civilization and tourism culture and represent a great masterpiece of how people in arid areas have used the natural environment. This study used historical CORONA images to visually interpret the karez system in the 1970s and compared it with the karez system in 2020 to analyze the spatial distribution variation characteristics of the karezes. The impact of land use/land cover change on the karezes was also analyzed. The results showed that from 1970 to 2020, as the population grew, there was an increase in arable land and built-up areas while the water area decreased. In general, the increase in arable land and built-up areas, the decrease in water area, and the increase in the number of electromechanical wells have combined to reduce the number of karez systems. Based on the CORONA image from 1970, it is possible to visualize the shaft area that existed in 1970 but did not exist in 2020. Some karez shafts that existed in bare terrain areas in 1970 were truncated when the land use/land cover type changed to arable land. The area where the disappeared karez shafts were located is approximately 87.77 square kilometers. Through the study of the changes in the spatial distribution of karezes and the impact of land use/land cover change on karezes, this research provides a valuable reference for the construction of karez conservation areas or urban planning. The investigation of the distribution of historical karezes is of great significance for studying the changes in karezes and excavating the historical and cultural value of karezes.