Landscape Dynamics of Drylands across Greater Central Asia: People, Societies and Ecosystems (Landscape Series, 17)

This volume is a compilation of studies on interactions of changes in land cover, land use and climate with people, societies and ecosystems in drylands of Greater Central Asia. It explores the effects of collapse of socialist governance and management systems on land use in various parts of Central Asia, including former Soviet Union republics, Mongolia and northern drylands of China. Often, regional land-atmosphere feedbacks may have large global importance. Remote sensing is a primary tool in studying vast dryland territories where in situ observations are sporadic. State-of-the-art methods of satellite remote sensing combined with GIS and models are used to tackle science questions and provide an outlook of current changes at land surface and potential scenarios for the future. In 10 chapters, contributing authors cover topics such as water resources, effects of institutional changes on urban centers and agriculture, landscape dynamics, and the primary drivers of environmental changes in dryland environment. Satellite observations that have accumulated during the last five decades provide a rich time series of the dynamic land surface, enabling systematic analysis of changes in land cover and land use from space. The book is a truly international effort by a team of scientists from the U.S., Europe and Central Asia. It is directed at the broad science community including graduate students, academics and other professionals at all levels within natural and social sciences. In particular, it will appeal to geographers, environmental and social scientists, economists, agricultural scientists, and remote sensing specialists. Preface Contents About the Editors Acronyms Chapter 1: Multiple Perspectives on Drylands Across Greater Central Asia References Chapter 2: Dry Land Belt of Northern Eurasia: Contemporary Environmental Changes 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Observed Climatic Changes 2.2.1 Changes in Regional Surface Air Temperature 2.2.2 Changes in Atmospheric Circulation 2.2.3 Changes in Atmospheric Precipitation 2.2.4 Changes in the Cryosphere 2.2.5 Changes in River Discharge 2.3 Conclusions References Chapter 3: Recent Land Surface Dynamics Across Drylands in Greater Central Asia 3.1 Introduction 3.1.1 Spatiotemporal Variation in Major Land Cover Types 3.1.2 Significant Trends in Land Surface Temperature 3.1.3 Linking Observed LST Trends to Major Land Cover Types 3.2 Study Area 3.3 Data 3.4 Methods 3.4.1 Visualizing Spatiotemporal Stability and Variation 3.4.2 Detecting Significant Trends in the Thermal Regime and Linking to Political Entities 3.4.3 Linking Changes in the Thermal Regime to Major Land Cover Types 3.5 Results 3.5.1 Regional Stability and Variation of Major Land Cover Types 3.5.2 Significant Changes in the Thermal Regime Linked to Political Entities 3.5.3 Changes in the Thermal Regime Linked to Major Land Cover Types 3.6 Discussion 3.6.1 Regional Stability and Variation of Major LCTs 3.6.2 Significant Thermal Trends Linked to Political Entities 3.6.3 Significant Thermal Trends Linked to Major LCTs 3.7 Conclusions References Chapter 4: Quantifying the Anthropogenic Signature in Drylands of Central Asia and Its Impact on Water Scarcity and Dust Emissions 4.1 Introduction: Anthropogenic Dust Assessments 4.2 Reconstruction of the Human Growth in the Region 4.3 Quantifying the Water Resources Used for the Agriculture 4.3.1 Water Use for Agriculture 4.3.2 Analysis of Changes in Regional Water Stress 4.4 Conclusions References Chapter 5: The Complexity and Challenges of Central Asia’s Water-Energy-Food Systems 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Water-Energy-Food in Central Asia 5.2.1 Perspective 5.2.2 Interrelationships 5.3 A Systems Approach 5.3.1 Perspective 5.3.2 The Soviet Experiment and Its Aftermath 5.4 WEF Challenges 5.4.1 Water 5.4.2 Energy 5.4.3 Food 5.5 Conclusions References Chapter 6: Assessment of the Influences of Dust Storms on Cotton Production in Tajikistan 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Dust Storms, Dust Hazes, and Their Effects 6.3 Cotton Production and Dust Impacts on Yields 6.4 Conclusions References Chapter 7: Population and Urban Dynamics in Drylands of China 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Methods 7.2.1 Study Area 7.2.2 Data and Methods 7.2.2.1 Urban Built-Up Land of the Drylands Region and the Provincial Capital Cities 7.2.2.2 Demographic, Socio-Economic, and Environmental Data and Analysis 7.3 Findings 7.3.1 Population Dynamics 7.3.2 Urban Population Change and Urban Built-Up Land in the Provinces in Drylands China 7.3.3 Urban Expansion in Drylands Provincial Capital Cities and Environmental Impacts 7.4 Discussion 7.4.1 Possible Drivers for Population Dynamics 7.4.2 Urban Expansion 7.4.3 Urbanization in the Context of Drylands 7.5 Conclusions References Chapter 8: Hydrology and Erosion Risk Parameters for Grasslands in Central Asia 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Methods 8.2.1 Study Area 8.2.2 Data and Methods 8.3 Results and Discussion References Chapter 9: A Conceptual Framework for Ecosystem Stewardship Based on Landscape Dynamics: Case Studies from Kazakhstan and Mongolia 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Landscape Dynamics and Ecosystem Stewardship 9.3 Case Study from Kazakhstan 9.3.1 The Study Area 9.3.2 Methods 9.3.3 Long-Term Changes in the Integral Vegetative Index (IVI) across Kazakhstan 9.3.4 Spatiotemporal Changes of the Steppes 9.3.5 Summary 9.4 Case Study Mongolia 9.4.1 Study Area 9.4.2 Materials and Methods 9.4.3 Results 9.4.4 Annual and Monthly NDVI Trends 9.4.5 Seasonal NDVI Trends 9.4.6 SAVI Changes and Trends 9.4.7 Climatic Trends 9.4.8 Comparison of SPOT VGT and AVHRR 9.5 Discussion 9.6 Summary 9.7 Outlook References Chapter 10: Social-Ecological Systems Across the Asian Drylands Belt (ADB) 10.1 Social-Ecological Systems of the Asian Drylands Belt 10.2 Variability and Changes in Temperature and Precipitation 10.3 Divergent Dynamics in Land Cover 10.4 Interrelationships Among SES Indicators 10.5 Priority Issues for the Sustainability of SES in the ADB 10.5.1 Water Scarcity 10.5.2 Intensified Land-Use and Land-Cover Changes 10.5.3 Climatic Extremes and Climatic Change 10.5.4 Globalization and Cross-Country Effects 10.5.5 Unforeseeable Institutional Changes and Shifts 10.6 Outlook References Index Preface -- Multiple Perspectives on Eurasian Drylands -- Dry Land Belt of Northern Eurasia: Contemporary Environmental Changes -- Recent Land Surface Dynamics in Greater Central Asia -- Quantifying the Anthropogenic Signature in Drylands of Central Asia and Its Impact on Water Scarcity and Dust Emissions -- The Complexity and Challenges of Central Asia's Water-Energy-Food Systems -- Assessment of the influences of dust storms on cotton production in Tajikistan -- Population and Urban Dynamics in Drylands of China -- Hydrology and Erosion Risk Parameters for Grasslands in Central Asia -- A Conceptual Framework for Ecosystem Stewardship Based on Landscape Dynamics: Case Studies From Kazakhstan and Mongolia -- Social-Ecological Systems across the Asian Drylands Belt (ADB) -- Index