Li et al. (2026) Declining Ecological Water Consumption of Marsh Wetlands and the Driving Forces in Semi-Arid Plateau Region: A Case Study in the Bashang Plateau, China

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Identification

• Journal: Land
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-03-12
• Authors: Chonglin Li, Peiyu Sun, Wei Sun, Wanbing Sun, Dapeng Li, Chengli Liu, Jianming Hong, Xuedong Wang, Yinghai Ke
• DOI: 10.3390/land15030450

Research Groups

Researchers studying wetland hydrology and ecology in semi-arid regions of China, specifically focusing on the Bashang Plateau.

Short Summary

This study investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics and driving forces of marsh wetland ecological water consumption (EWC) in the Bashang Plateau, China, from 1986 to 2021, revealing a significant decline in wetland area and EWC primarily driven by precipitation, surface water area, and indirectly by increased forest EWC due to large-scale afforestation.

Objective

• To investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of marsh wetland ecological water consumption (EWC) in the Bashang Plateau, China, from 1986 to 2021, and identify its main driving forces.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Bashang Plateau, China. Data downscaled from 0.05° to a 250 m resolution.
• Temporal Scale: 1986 to 2021 (36 years).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Random Forest model, Granger causality analysis.
• Data sources: GLASS evapotranspiration (ET) product, flux measurements, land cover data.

Main Results

• The marsh wetland area declined by 74%, from 552.81 square kilometres to 143.69 square kilometres.
• Forestland expanded by 217% during the study period.
• Marsh wetland EWC decreased by 67.2%, from 125 million cubic metres to 41 million cubic metres.
• Precipitation and surface water area were identified as direct drivers of marsh wetland EWC decline.
• Groundwater table, forest EWC, and cropland EWC acted as indirect drivers.
• Increased forest EWC, associated with large-scale afforestation, significantly contributed to groundwater table decline, thereby influencing marsh wetland EWC.
• The Random Forest model for downscaling ET showed good agreement with flux measurements (Root Mean Square Error = 21.94 millimetres, R² = 0.83).

Contributions

• This study provides a comprehensive analysis of marsh wetland EWC dynamics and its drivers in a semi-arid region over a long period.
• It highlights the significant and often overlooked role of increased forest EWC due to afforestation as a major indirect driver of groundwater table decline and subsequent marsh wetland degradation, offering a novel perspective beyond commonly reported factors like cropland water use.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Li2026Declining,
  author = {Li, Chonglin and Sun, Peiyu and Sun, Wei and Sun, Wanbing and Li, Dapeng and Liu, Chengli and Hong, Jianming and Wang, Xuedong and Ke, Yinghai},
  title = {Declining Ecological Water Consumption of Marsh Wetlands and the Driving Forces in Semi-Arid Plateau Region: A Case Study in the Bashang Plateau, China},
  journal = {Land},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/land15030450},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/land15030450}
}