The Application Of Gaia Hypothesis And Maximum Entropy Production Hypothesis To The Ecological Restoration Of Ejina Oasis

Under continuously changing environmental conditions, the earth's surface layer still keeps habitable for most of the species. Gaia Hypothesis states that this is because the biota regulates the environment and keeps its major factors within a range that most species can tolerate, and earth can be seen as a geophysiological organism. At present it is difficult to test and prove this theory because of the limitations of temporal and spatial scales, so it becomes a very much debated hypothesis . The hypothesis of Maximum Entropy Production (MEP) states that open systems far from equilibrium tend towards states of maximum entropy production, for example, the mean-annual climate system of earth is in the state of MEP due to the heat transport from the equatorial area to the poles by atmospheric circulation and ocean currents. Although the two hypotheses suggest that systems bear obvious teleological intents, they are heuristic to the research of earth sciences and ecology, and have made many achievements in the practical studies. This paper gives a detailed analysis of the two hypotheses, including major viewpoints, evidences and tests, discussions, etc. Then the author uses the ideas from the two hypotheses to study the ecological restoration of Ejina Oasis located in the western part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.Ejina Oasis, situated in the lower reaches of Heihe River, is the largest natural oasis in the Heihe River Basin. With the discharge from upper and middle reaches decreasing from the 1950s on and the impacts of global warming, this oasis has experienced the intensification of evaporation and the sensitively rising of surface temperature, decline of groundwater level and severe vegetation degeneration, and desertification processes is devouring the oasis. Phenomena of oases shrinking accompanied with the shrinking of water systems from lower reaches to sources are very common in dryland. The entropy production of different oases is calculated in different channel sections of the Heihe River Basin, and it is found that the values decrease from the lower to the upper reaches, among which Ejina oasis is the highest, and emergy analysis also indicates its great...