Under drought stress, desert riparian forest plants are highly self-regulating and have their own unique water use and regulation strategies, which can respond positively in several aspects such as physiology, ecology, and individual phenotypes when coping and adapting to the stresses brought by external environmental changes. In addition, as an important component of arid zone ecosystems, desert riparian forest plants maintain the cycling process of energy and material in desert areas. Therefore, it is of great ecological value to study the role played by desert riparian forest plants in desertification control and biodiversity conservation in arid zones. The purpose of this study is to provide basic data and scientific basis for the conservation, and restoration of desert riparian forests in the inland river basin of arid zone. In this paper, the physiological and ecological responses of desert riparian plants under drought stress were analyzed by reviewing the literature and focusing on the key scientific issues such as drought avoidance mechanisms, water use, and water redistribution, and the relationship between interspecific water competition and resource sharing of desert riparian plants. The results showed that: (1) In the inland river basin of arid zone, desert riparian plants show a mutual coordination of increasing soluble sugars, proline, malondialdehyde (MDA), and decreasing peroxidase (POD), to form a unique drought avoidance mechanism, and improve their drought tolerance by changing leaf stomatal conductance resulted from regulating abscisic acid (ABA) and cytokinin (CTK) content. (2) Desert riparian forest plants have their own unique water use and regulation strategies. When the degree of drought stress increased, Populus euphratica enhanced the water flow of dominant branches by actively sacrificing the inferior branches to ensure and improve the overall survival chances of the plant, while Tamarix ramosissima weaken hydraulic conductance, and increase subsurface material inputs by reducing plant height to cope with drought stress. (3) The root systems of desert riparian plants have hydraulic uplift and water redistribution functions, and, in the hydraulic uplift process of P. euphratica and T. ramosissima root systems, there is a possibility of assisting with other species in water utilization and the existence of a resource sharing mechanism.

We studied the survival adaptation strategy of Sophora alopecuroides L. to habitat conditions in an arid desert riparian ecosystem. We examined the responses of heliotropic leaf movement to light conditions and their effects on plant photochemical performance. S. alopecuroides leaves did not show any observable nyctinastic movement but they presented sensitive diaheliotropic and paraheliotropic leaf movement in the forenoon and at midday. Solar radiation was a major factor inducing leaf movement, in addition, air temperature and vapour pressure deficit could also influence the heliotropic leaf movement in the afternoon. Both diaheliotropic leaf movement in the forenoon and paraheliotropic leaf movement at midday could help maintain higher photochemical efficiency and capability of light utilisation than fixed leaves. Paraheliotropic leaf movement at midday helped plants maintain a potentially higher photosynthetic capability and relieve a risk of photoinhibition. Our findings indicated the effective adaptation strategy of S. alopecuroides to high light, high temperature, and dry conditions in arid regions. This strategy can optimise the leaf energy balance and photochemical performance and ensure photosystem II function.

Water physiological integration plays an important role and has profound effects on the population renewal and expansion of clonal plants. This work discussed the spatial distribution architecture, water sources, water physiological integration, and the ecological significance of Populus euphratica young ramets in an extremely drought environment based on field investigation, stable isotope technology, and eco‐physiological experiments. The spatial distribution architecture of P. euphratica young ramets assumes a guerrilla growth form that is adapted to significant heterogeneity and patches of habitat resources. There is obvious water integration that is characterized by an acropetally flow. The water integration process and daily flow showed the bimodal pattern following the physiological rhythm of parent trees and declined with increasing length of spacers connecting parent trees and their young daughter ramets. The young daughter ramets of P. euphratica can use the deeper soil water in a similar manner to the parent trees and obtain an average daily water acquisition of about 1.09 kg by water integration when the spacer length is about 2–3 m. It is about 5 times as much water as seedlings sucking by themselves. This lets young ramets maintain higher leaf water content and midday leaf water potential of 10.27% and 29.73%, respectively, than seedlings in same habitats. Therefore, P. euphratica young ramets can benefit from a higher survival advantage in extreme drought habitats compared to seedlings. This facilitates the establishment and growth of young ramets in those adverse habitats where P. euphratica seedlings are less likely to survive.

As an essential part of terrestrial ecosystems, convenient and accurate reconstruction of the past carbon sequestration capacity of forests is critical to assess future trends of aboveground carbon storage and ecosystem carbon cycles. In addition, the relationship between climate change and carbon sequestration of forests has been vigorously debated. In this study, dynamic change of carbon sequestration capacity in aboveground biomass of Picea schrenkiana (hereinafter abbreviated as P. schrenkiana) in the Tianshan Mountains, northwestern China, from 1850–2017, were reconstructed using dendrochronology. The main climate drivers that affected carbon sequestration capacity in aboveground biomass of P. schrenkiana were then investigated. The results showed that: (1) tree-ring width and diameter at breast height (DBH) of P. schrenkiana obtained from different altitudes and ages were an effective and convenient estimation index for reconstructing the carbon sequestration capacity of P. schrenkiana. The carbon storage of P. schrenkiana forest in 2016 in the Tianshan Mountains was 50.08 Tg C calculated using tree-ring width and DBH, which was very close to the value determined by direct field investigation data. (2) The annual carbon sequestration potential capacity of P. schrenkiana exhibited an increasing trend from 1850–2017. Temperature, especially minimum temperature, constituted the key climatic driver resulting in increased carbon sequestration capacity. The contribution rates of temperature and minimum temperature to the change of P. schrenkiana carbon sequestration capacity was 75% and 44%, respectively. (3) The significant increase of winter temperature and minimum temperature led to warming in the Tianshan Mountains, resulting in a significant increase in carbon sequestration capacity of P. schrenkiana. The results indicate that, with the continuous increase of winter temperature and minimum temperature, carbon sequestration of P. schrenkiana in the Tianshan Mountains is predicted to increase markedly in the future. The findings of this study provide a useful basis to evaluate future aboveground carbon storage and carbon cycles in mountain systems possessed similar characteristics of the Tianshan Mountains.

High salinity in water constitutes a serious problem for the aquatic environment management of Bosten Lake. Weak water exchange and water movement are the essential factors for the high total dissolved solids (TDS) content of lake water. To improve the water quality of Bosten Lake, a river–lake system connectivity project (water diversion) was introduced starting at the end of 2018, which diverted fresh water from the Kaidu River and the Huangshuigou River to Bosten Lake. In this study, the effect and its mechanism of water diversion on the TDS content of Bosten Lake were evaluated using continuous-field monitoring data. The results showed that the water diversion effectively reduced the TDS content of the lake water and changed Bosten Lake from a brackish lake back to a freshwater lake. Water diversion also improved the spatial distribution of TDS content. One year, two years, and three years after the implementation of the water diversion project, the TDS content of northern, southern, and eastern lake water significantly decreased by more than 20%, 25%, and 30%, respectively. Our study demonstrated that water diversion significantly increased the annual endogenous TDS pollutant amount discharged from the lake and reduced and homogenized the TDS content of the whole lake. TDS content reduction of the lake was realized by water diversion accelerating water movement and water exchange in the lake, especially for the northern, southern, and eastern waters. Therefore, water diversion could be used as an effective measure for water quality improvement in semi-closed inland lakes in arid areas.

The precipitation on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains significantly impacts the green economy of the Tarim Basin’s southern edge. Observations have noted an expansion of the surface water area in this region, though the reasons for this are not yet fully understood. Due to limited instrumental data, this study leverages field measurements from the third Xinjiang comprehensive expedition and multiple gridded datasets. Through trend analysis and a geographical detector model, it examines the precipitation’s decadal, interannual, and seasonal variations across key areas (Hotan River Basin, Keriya River Basin, Qarqan River Basin, and Kumukuli Basin), identifying factors behind the spatial and temporal distribution of regional precipitation. The findings reveal the following: (1) An increase in annual precipitation across the region from 187.41 mm in the 1980s to 221.23 mm in the early 21st century, at a rate of 10.21 mm/decade, with the most significant rise in the eastern Kunlun-Kumukuli Basin. (2) Precipitation exhibits clear seasonal and spatial patterns, predominantly occurring in spring and summer, accounting for 90.27% of the annual total, with a general decrease from the mountains towards downstream areas. (3) Rising average annual temperatures contribute to an unstable atmospheric structure and increased water-holding capacity, facilitating precipitation. Significant influences on precipitation changes include the North Atlantic Oscillation and solar flux, explaining 43.98% and 31.21% of the variation, respectively.