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Water scarcity is one of the most prominent issues worldwide in relation to sustainable development, especially in arid areas. To gain a better understanding of the trade-off between improving agricultural productivity and maintaining the stability of an oasis ecosystem in these areas, this study took the Heihe River Basin in northwestern China as a case to explore the changes in oasis dynamics and their human driving forces. The results showed that along with the 11.0% expansion of agricultural land, the total water demand for irrigation increased by 6.3% during 2000-2010. Although tremendous economic incentives for farmers spurred the oasis expansion and cropping system changes, the key driving force behind the oasis expansion in the study area was closely related to sufficient irrigation water guaranteed by new water sources (excessive consumption of groundwater and surface water) and water conservation efforts that were the results of the water-saving society" project (cropping system adjustments and technological improvements in irrigation). This loose regulation of water resource management can be considered to be partially attributable to the ignorance of the ecological value of water resources. Sustainable land use in the study area can only be achieved through the strict regulation of the management of surface water and groundwater resources throughout the basin and the invisible water provided by the water conservation measures. Copyright (C) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.