Assessing Surface Water Hydrological Connectivity and Spatiotemporal Evolution in Xinjiang (2000–2020)

ABSTRACT Assessing hydrological connectivity is crucial for maintaining the health and integrity of wetland and river‐lake ecosystems in arid regions as it plays a key role in watershed ecological balance and sustainable development. We utilized the Joint Research Center's global surface water dataset. We combined these data with connectivity indices and circuit theory to analyze the hydrological connectivity and spatiotemporal evolution of surface water in Xinjiang from 2000 to 2020. We determined that an increase in surface water area generally enhances regional hydrological connectivity. However, the fragmentation of water bodies may affect the quality of the potential connectivity by increasing the number of connecting pathways. The expansion and fragmentation of water patches alter their role in hydrological connectivity, with patches near large catchment areas often serving as critical connection points. Additionally, we found that the combined impacts of climate change and human activities led to an increase in the number of ecological corridors in Xinjiang from 427 in 2000 to 527 in 2020, with surrounding ecological pinch points and barrier areas showing increasing trends. This study provides new evidence for the spatiotemporal evolution of hydrological connectivity in Xinjiang from 2000 to 2020 and identifies priority areas for protecting and enhancing hydrological network connectivity. Our results provide a scientific basis for optimizing the conservation framework of river‐lake networks in Xinjiang, maintaining the integrity of aquatic ecosystems, and accelerating the environmental restoration of river‐lake networks.