Comprehensive Evaluation of Environmental Effects from Land Change in Hotan Oasis, Xinjiang

This study aimed to evaluate the environmental effects coming from land changes in Hotan oasis during 1980-2010. Based on the Driving Force-State-Response model, expert weight method and entropy method were used to determine weight, and then the composite indexes of environmental effects (CIE) were calculated. During the period from 1980 to 2010, CIE had presented a rising trend whether expert weight method or entropy method in the study area, while the CIE presents downtrend basically in lower reaches. It was the arable land expansion in middle reaches that led to serious land degradation in lower reaches, and may endanger ecosystem safety in Hotan River green corridor. Therefore, it is suggested that the agricultural land use should be restructured, such as reducing the sown areas of some crops with large amount of water consumption. Meanwhile, the effective measures should be taken to distribute water resources and utilize them reasonably. In addition, the oasis-desert ecotone, as well as the groundwater resources, should be also protected.