Configuration of water resources for a typical river basin in an arid region of China based on the ecological water requirements (EWRs) of desert riparian vegetation

Desert riparian vegetation is a natural cover promoting the stability and development of inland river ecosystems in arid regions. Calculating the ecological water requirements (EWRs) of desert riparian vegetation is an important step in achieving reasonable water utilization. Therefore, this study examined the Tarim River, located in an extremely arid region of China, and collected relevant data on hydrology, weather and vegetation using remote sensing. Subsequently, we analyzed the spatial distribution of the desert riparian vegetation in four sections of the Tarim River and calculated the EWR of the desert riparian vegetation using the phreatic evaporation model; additionally, we determined the required runoffs at five hydrologic stations based on the water balance principle. Ultimately, the necessary protection ranges and goals for desert riparian vegetation were established according to the water resource variations in the Tarim River. Our research showed that the total area of desert riparian vegetation along the Tarim River is 16,285.3 km2; this distribution area gradually decreased as the distance from the river increased, and areas varied in the different river sections. The EWRs of desert riparian vegetation from Sections 1 to 5 are 5.698 × 108, 7.585 × 108, 4.900 × 108, 4.101 × 108 m3 and 1.078 × 108 m3, respectively. Therefore, the total EWR of the study region is 23.362 × 108 m3. In terms of the transpiration law of the “unimodal type”, the peak value of EWR of natural vegetation occurs in July, and the decreasing trend appears in the other months. Based on the water balance principle, the required runoffs in Alar, Xinquman, Yingbaza, Wusiman and Qiala were determined to be 47.105 × 108, 35.174 × 108, 22.734 × 108, 15.775 × 108 and 7.707 × 108 m3, respectively. According to the water resource frequency and the EWR of the desert riparian vegetation along the Tarim River, we divided the region into three protection ranges: key protection (8.9-11.8 km from the river), basic protection (15.8-21.8 km from the river) and influence protection (43.0 km from the river). This research not only provides a reasonable calculation method for EWR on the scale of a river basin but also supports the healthy development of the desert riparian vegetation ecosystem and helps to achieve the optimal water allocation for this river.