Aili et al. (2026) Water-Resource Sustainability and Adaptive Management in a Cryosphere-Dependent Endorheic Basin: A Case Study of the Cherchen River, NW China

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Environments
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-14
• Authors: Aishajiang Aili, Qiao Xu, Yan Xu, Dong Cui, Tao Lin, Kamalitdin Idirisov
• DOI: 10.3390/environments13090505

Research Groups

• Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources, Lanzhou University
• State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Regions, Xi'an University of Technology
• National Engineering Research Center for Water Resources Allocation, Beijing

Short Summary

This study assesses the water-resource sustainability in the Cherchen River Basin by integrating hydrological records, groundwater-resource assessment, and sectoral water-use statistics. A four-stage framework is proposed to diagnose water-resource sustainability and develop an adaptive assessment-to-management approach.

Objective

• Investigate the current state of water-resource sustainability in the Cherchen River Basin under 2020 reference-year conditions.
• Develop a framework for adaptive assessment and management of water resources in cryosphere-dependent endorheic basins.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: The study focuses on the Cherchen River Basin, a cryosphere-dependent endorheic basin in northwestern China.
• Temporal Scale: The study considers 2020 as the reference year for analysis and assessment.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not specified in the paper.
• Data sources:
  • Multi-source hydrological records
  • Groundwater-resource assessment data
  • Sectoral water-use statistics
  • Groundwater-quality constraints

Main Results

• Total water supply was approximately 471.85 million m3, with surface water and groundwater contributing 77.3% and 22.6%, respectively.
• Agriculture accounted for 96.8% of socioeconomic water use, with an average irrigation application of 659 m3/mu and high-efficiency irrigation covering 41.1% of cropland.
• Groundwater abstraction reached approximately 106.69 million m3, indicating high groundwater dependence.

Contributions

This study provides a comprehensive diagnosis of water-resource sustainability in the Cherchen River Basin and proposes an adaptive assessment-to-management framework for cryosphere-dependent endorheic basins. The findings highlight the importance of considering sectoral water-use statistics and groundwater-quality constraints in assessing water-resource sustainability.

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.: 51709259)
• National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.: 2016YFC0401404)

Citation

@article{Aili2026WaterResource,
  author = {Aili, Aishajiang and Xu, Qiao and Xu, Yan and Cui, Dong and Lin, Tao and Idirisov, Kamalitdin},
  title = {Water-Resource Sustainability and Adaptive Management in a Cryosphere-Dependent Endorheic Basin: A Case Study of the Cherchen River, NW China},
  journal = {Environments},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/environments13090505},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/environments13090505}
}