Assessment of water-recharging based on ecological features of riparian forest in the lower reaches of Tarim River

The occurrence and development of riparian forests which are mainly dominated by mesophytes species relate closely with surface water. Since there is no water discharge to the lower reaches of Tarim River in past 5 decade years, the riparian forests degrade severely. Based on the analyses of the monitored data of Yingsu, Argan and Luobuzhuang in 2002 and 2003, the effect of water-recharging is discussed. The water-recharging project neglects the fact that that it is flooding that controls the process of Populus euphratica colonizing on the bare surface, but focuses on groundwater influence on vegetation. The flooding control deviates inherent laws of riparian forests development, so the natural regeneration of riparian forests is checked. The response scope of riparian plants on groundwater uplift is extremely narrow, and most riparian communities have not been optimized. No seedlings of dominant species are found in flooding areas because their physio-ecological characteristics are ignored. The vegetation changes in vicinities of stream only reflect the demand of mesophytes species on the shallow groundwater, however, the water-recharging fails to provide suitable habitats for the seedlings establishment of riparian plants. The present water-recharging scheme is difficult to realize vegetation restoration.