[Objective] This study aimed to evaluate the environmental effects coming from land changes in Hotan oasis during 1980-2010. [Method] 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 for short） were calculated. [Result] 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. [Conclu- sion] 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.
[Objective] The main purpose is to reveal the laws and driving mechanism of oasification and desertification in Hotan River Basin during the period of 1972-2010. [Method] The visual interpretation method was used to process TM/ETM＋ image based on field work and investigation of Hotan Oasis. These interpretation dates have been reclassified to desert and oasis. Then, the driving mechanism of desertification and oasification was analyzed. [Result] The analysis indicated that the oasification velocity（91.24 km^2/year） was faster than the desertification’s（77.78 km^2/year）,with a rapid growth of 5.59 km^2/year in oasis area in the mid-lower reaches of the Hotan River. [Coclusion] There existed spatial coupling linked by water consumption between oasification in the middle reaches and desertification in the lower reaches.And the changing trends were opposite not only for the oasis area, but also for the oasification area and oasification velocity between the middle and the lower reaches of the Hotan River Basin. With climatic warming, population growth, economical development, scientific and technological progress, and in particular the implementation of national policies, the cropland area increased and oasis expanded, speeding up the oasification and water consumption in the middle reaches. Hence it is urgent to prevent the Hotan Oasis from exacerbating the current water supply-demand imbalance and prohibit the expansion of arable land to transitional belt between oasis and desert.
