Shrinking and drying up of Baiyangdian Lake wetland: A natural or human cause?

The shrinking and drying up of wetlands in arid and semiarid areas of China have been widely observed in the recent years, but there has been no consensus on whether the aggravation is caused by human activities or by global climate warming. For a better understanding of the cause, this study investigates the dynamic changes of Baiyangdian Lake wetland over the last 40 years. It is shown that since the 1980s, Baiyangdian Lake has suffered from an insufficient water input and shrunk considerably. By using SPSS11.0, this study undertakes a detailed analysis on the significance of the effects of the possible driving factors for the degradation. It is identified that the North China Plain has been warming up significantly in recent years, which causes a significant reduction in the precipitation and inflow to the lake. Although human disturbances such as the irrigation and storage of water in reservoirs do not play a decisive role, they accelerate the degradation and their effects should be minimized.