Saving the “Green Corridor”: Recharging Groundwater to Restore Riparian Forest Along the Lower Tarim River, China

Abstract

Recovery of a “green corridor” in the lower Tarim River is underway, following extensive agricultural development and irrigation beginning in the 1950s that lowered water tables in the river basin and killed native willow poplar or Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) trees. In 2000, a groundwater recharge project began to restore vegetation in the green corridor. After seven water discharges (diverted from a nearby lake), groundwater rose from 6 meters to 2 meters near Taitema Lake and vegetation began to recover. The overall restoration of the green corridor and the Tarim River depends on long-term, comprehensive management of the river basin. The main hydrological challenges are to mitigate water loss through seepage and evaporation by improving structures such as dikes, water gates, and irrigation canals. Management efforts should also consider river regulation, optimal water allocation, water conservation, water price policy, and grassland improvement, rather than just water transfers.