Impacts of the Desertification on the Agricultural Production in the Oases at the Lower Reaches of Tarim River, Xinjiang

Desertification is one of the most serious environmental disasters in the world. The desertification in the lower reaches of Tarim River has seriously impacted the agricultural production in the oases. In this paper, the desertification status and its impacts on the agricultural production in the typical farms in the lower reaches of Tarim River are investigated and researched. The results show that the main impacts of the desertification on the agricultural production in the lower reaches of Tarim River include the increasingly reduction of the stream flow to the lower reaches of Tarim River, enlargement of the area of both discarded farmlands and fertile soils, reduction of the area of swamplands, enlargement of the area suffering from wind disasters and drought, and relative reduction of the area of saline or alkaline land. Some measures are suggested for alleviating the harmfulness of desertification on the oasis agriculture in the lower reaches of Tarim River, they are to strengthen the management, increase the stream flow to the lower reaches of Tarim River, develop the watereconomizing irrigation techniques, reduce the waste of water resources, regulate-the structure of crops, increase the utilization ratio of water resources, protect the desert vegetation, maintain the ecology, and complete the shelter-forest systems.