Search

Water resources are crucial for the development of ecosystems and humanity. The Yellow River Basin (YRB), as an important ecological area in China, is facing significant challenges in ecological protection and high-quality development due to global climate change and intense human activities. In order to alleviate the water resources crisis in the YRB, it is necessary to calculate the resilience of the water resources system and identify the main influencing factors. This paper considered the factors of water resources, social economy, and ecological environment, then constructed an evaluation framework of the water resources system resilience (WRSR) from three aspects: resistance, restoration, and adaptability. Taking nine provinces along the YRB as a case study, the WRSR was measured by using the entropy weight TOPSIS model, and its driving factors were analyzed with Geographical Detectors (GD). The results showed that: (1) From 2010 to 2022, the WRSR in the Yellow River Basin and various provinces was showing a fluctuating increasing trend, in which Ningxia had the highest average WRSR (0.646), while Shanxi had the lowest (0.168). (2) From three dimensions, the development trends of resistance, restoration, and adaptability in the YRB and various provinces from 2010 to 2022 were relatively stable. Shandong's resistance level far exceeded that of other provinces, having the highest average resistance value (0.692), and Ningxia had the highest average value of restoration (0.827) and adaptability (0.711). However, Gansu had the lowest average value of resistance (0.119), Sichuan had the lowest average value of restoration (0.097), and Shandong had the lowest average value of adaptability (0.110). (3) In terms of impact factors, the development and utilization rate of water resources (C13) and the development and utilization rate of surface water resources (C14) in the restoration subsystem consistently ranked in the top two of influencing factors. Similarly, the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP (C26) in the adaptability subsystem consistently ranked within the top ten. On the other hand, the natural population growth rate (C6) in the resistance subsystem, as well as the impact of ammonia nitrogen emissions (C9) and total precipitation (C2) in wastewater, exhibited an upward trend. Based on these, this paper provides relevant suggestions for improving the WRSR in the YRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The uneven distribution of global navigation satellite system (GNSS) continuous stations in the Yellow River Basin, combined with the sparse distribution of GNSS continuous stations in some regions and the weak far-field load signals, poses challenges in using GNSS vertical displacement data to invert terrestrial water storage changes (TWSCs). To achieve the inversion of water reserves in the Yellow River Basin using unevenly distributed GNSS continuous station data, in this study, we employed the Tikhonov regularization method to invert the terrestrial water storage (TWS) in the Yellow River Basin using vertical displacement data from network engineering and the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) GNSS continuous stations from 2011 to 2022. In addition, we applied an inverse distance weighting smoothing factor, which was designed to account for the GNSS station distribution density, to smooth the inversion results. Consequently, a gridded product of the TWS in the Yellow River Basin with a spatial resolution of 0.5 degrees on a daily scale was obtained. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a correlation analysis was conducted between the inversion results and the daily TWS from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS), yielding a correlation coefficient of 0.68, indicating a strong correlation, which verifies the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper. Based on the inversion results, we analyzed the spatial–temporal distribution trends and patterns in the Yellow River Basin and found that the average TWS decreased at a rate of 0.027 mm/d from 2011 to 2017, and then increased at a rate of 0.010 mm/d from 2017 to 2022. The TWS decreased from the lower-middle to lower reaches, while it increased from the upper-middle to upper reaches. Furthermore, an attribution analysis of the terrestrial water storage changes in the Yellow River Basin was conducted, and the correlation coefficients between the monthly average water storage changes inverted from the results and the monthly average precipitation, evapotranspiration, and surface temperature (AvgSurfT) from the GLDAS were 0.63, −0.65, and −0.69, respectively. This indicates that precipitation, evapotranspiration, and surface temperature were significant factors affecting the TWSCs in the Yellow River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir operation optimization is a technical measure for flood control and is beneficial owing to its reasonable and reliable control and application of existing water conservancy and hydropower hubs, while ensuring dam safety and flood control, as well as the normal operation of power supply and water supply. Considering the beneficial functions of reservoirs, namely flood control and ecological protection, this paper firstly established a two-objective optimal operation model for the reservoir group in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. We aim to maximize the average output of the cascade reservoir group and minimize the average change in ecological flow during the operation period under efficient sediment transport conditions, with the coordination degree of water and sediment as the constraints of reservoir discharge flows. The paper aims to construct an evaluation index system for reservoir operation schemes, apply a combined approach of objective and subjective evaluations, and introduce the gray target and cumulative prospect theories. By uniformly quantifying the established scheme evaluation index system, screening the reservoir operation schemes with the fuzzy evaluation method, and selecting the recommended scheme for each typical year, this paper provides a new scientific formulation of the operation schemes of reservoirs in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The selected schemes are compared with actual data, demonstrating the effectiveness of joint reservoir operation and for multidimensional benefits in terms of power generation, ecology, and flood control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yellow River, a critical water resource, faces challenges stemming from increasing water demand, which has led to detrimental effects on hydropower generation and ecological balance. This paper will address the complex task of balancing the interests of hydropower generation, water supply, and ecology within the context of cascade reservoirs, specifically Longyangxia and Liujiaxia reservoirs. Employing a systemic coupling coordination approach, we constructed a multi-objective synergetic model of the upper Yellow River in order to explore synergies and competitions among multiple objectives. The results reveal that there is a weak competitive relationship between hydropower generation and water supply, a strong synergy between hydropower generation and ecology, and a strong competitive relationship between water supply and ecology. The Pareto solution set analysis indicates a considerable percentage (59%, 20%, and 8% in wet, normal, and dry years, respectively) exhibiting excellent coordination. The probability of excellent coordination decreases with diminishing inflow. The optimization scheme with the highest coupling coordination demonstrates significant improvements in power generation, water supply, and ecological benefits in the upper Yellow River without compromising other objectives, fostering the sustainable operation of hydropower generation, water supply, and ecology in the upper Yellow River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water market development in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) unfolds new opportunities for alleviating water scarcity and improving water productivity. However, the further development of an effective water market in the basin faces challenges such as unclear water rights, regulatory deficiencies, market deficiencies, and insufficient compensation to third-parties, among others. Studying water market development in Western countries provides useful insights for addressing similar challenges, thus providing useful case studies despite the different cultural, economic, institutional, and political settings. This paper investigates water markets in the Murray–Darling Basin in Australia, the western United States, and Chile to synthesize cases of water market development that could potentially contribute to overcoming the challenges encountered in the YRB. After analyzing these cases, recommendations are made for enhancing the YRB's water market development from the perspectives of water rights systems, as well as the roles of the government and market, legal system, and third-party effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the national strategies of China, the ecological protection of the Yellow River basin (YRB) is vital for the promotion of the high-quality development (HQD) of the regional economy. This paper uses the data of prefecture-level cities in the YRB from 2004–2019 to analyze the effect of environmental regulation and local government competition on HQD. The findings show the following: (1) Environmental regulation can significantly promote HQD in the YRB, and local government competition can significantly reduce HQD. The interaction effect shows that the promotion effect of environmental regulation on HQD weakens with the intensification of competition between local governments. (2) A heterogeneity analysis shows that environmental regulation has a more significant positive impact on HQD for the lower reaches of the YRB. (3) Using a threshold effect test, it is found that the impact of environmental regulation on the HQD presents a significant nonlinear positive effect with an increase in local government competition. When the local government competition represented by the level of economic catch-up exceeds the threshold value of 3.037, this positive effect decreases significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been difficult to revise and adjust the water distribution of the Yellow River in 1987 (1987 water distribution scheme). By gathering data and studies from previous literature, this paper summarized some water distribution ideas, principles and rules in transboundary rivers. We proposed the "synthesis–dynamic–harmonious" water distribution method (SDH), and applied it to the actual conditions of the Yellow River basin. Through the SDH method, we calculated a new scheme for water distribution in the Yellow River and analyzed the results. The key findings of this study are summarized below. Firstly, the water distribution of transboundary rivers required the establishment of advanced water distribution ideas. Secondly, the proposed water distribution method took into account a variety of factors: with the change in distributable water volume, the same ratio changes and meets the minimum water demand and water efficiency constraints. Thirdly, the 1987, the water distribution scheme needed some adjustment. Fourthly, under the new Yellow River basin water distribution scheme ("19ZQT" water distribution scheme), Shandong, Inner Mongolia, and Henan account for 50% of the total water distribution. Sichuan accounts for only 0.3% of the total. Compared with the 1987 water distribution scheme, Hebei and Tianjin reduced the amount of water allocated by 51.2%, while Shaanxi increased it by 24.89%. In this paper, considering the changes in the total distributable water volume, the new Yellow River water distribution scheme ("19ZQT" water distribution scheme) assumed water distribution of 37 billion m3 and 30 billion m3, upon which calculations were performed. This study should provide a scientific and reasonable scheme for water distribution of transboundary rivers, and rational utilization of water resources. It should lay a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the Yellow River basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a detailed analysis of the impact mechanism of industrial restructuring on carbon dioxide emissions in the Yellow River Basin, this paper first calculated the carbon dioxide emission data of 57 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2009 to 2019 and constructed indicators from two dimensions: the advancement and the rationalization of the industrial structure. Then, the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model was used to empirically analyze the influencing factors of industrial structure adjustments on carbon dioxide emissions in the Yellow River Basin. Consequently, changing carbon dioxide emission trends in the Yellow River Basin under various scenarios were predicted. The research observed the following: (1) the eastern part of the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration and the Energy Golden Triangle have higher carbon dioxide emissions; (2) the advancement of industrial structures in the Yellow River Basin has a better emission reduction effect than the rationalization of industrial structures; (3) increased foreign investment will lead to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions in the Yellow River Basin, and a "Pollution Refuge Effect" will emerge; (4) accelerated industrial transformations and upgrades, high-quality economic development, and a moderate population growth rate are consistent with future development trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishment of a watershed ecological compensation mechanism between multiple subjects is an effective means to realize the collaborative governance of water pollution and maintain the security of water ecology. This paper breaks through the conventional upstream and downstream perspectives of watershed ecological compensation design research and combines them with uncertainty factors. The watershed ecological compensation mechanism for the mainstream and branches was established based on the evolutionary game and the random process. Then, taking the midstream of the Yellow River as an example, some constraint conditions and influencing factors were explored. Results show that: (1) The branch government (i.e., the Shanxi provincial government) is the key to establishing an ecological compensation mechanism between the river mainstream and branches. (2) The proportion of pollution transferred by other branches, the initial probability and the random factors are the main factors affecting the decision-making of branch governments (Shanxi and Shaanxi provincial governments). (3) The compensation and reward of the mainstream government to the branch government and the compensation of the branch government to the mainstream government are the main factors affecting the decision-making of mainstream and branch governments (Shanxi–Henan provincial governments, Shaanxi–Henan provincial governments). The study may provide scientific guidance for the construction of a watershed ecological compensation mechanism between mainstream and multiple branches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the response of vegetation to drought is of great significance to the biodiversity protection of terrestrial ecosystem. Based on the MOD13A2 NDVI, GOSIF, and SPEI data of the Yellow River Basin from 2001 to 2020, this paper used the methods of Theil–Sen median trend analysis, Mann–Kendall significance test, and Pearson correlation analysis to analyze whether the vegetation change trends monitored by MODIS and GOSIF are consistent and their sensitivity to meteorological drought. The results showed that NDVI and SIF increased significantly (p < 0.001) at the rate of 0.496 × 10−2 and 0.345 × 10−2, respectively. The significant improvement area of SIF (66.49%, p < 0.05) is higher than NDVI (50.7%, p < 0.05), and the spatial distribution trend of vegetation growth monitored by NDVI and SIF is consistent. The negative value of SPEI-12 accounts for 65.83%, with obvious periodic changes. The significant positive correlation areas of SIF-SPEI in spring, summer, and autumn (R > 0, p < 0.05) were 7.00%, 28.49%, and 2.28% respectively, which were higher than the significant positive correlation areas of NDVI-SPEI (spring: 1.79%; summer: 20.72%; autumn: 1.13%). SIF responded more strongly to SPEI in summer, and farmland SIF was significantly correlated with SPEI (0.3424, p < 0.01). The results indicate that SIF is more responsive to drought than NDVI. Analyzing the response of vegetation to meteorological drought can provide constructive reference for ecological protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to promote the sustainable development of a social economy and ecology, the social–economic–natural compound ecosystem (SENCE) conceptual framework was used to construct the water environmental carrying capacity index system. Taking the Gansu section of the Yellow River basin as an example, 18 indexes were selected from the 3 subsystems of social, economic, and natural ecology. Based on the unascertained measure theory and the obstacle factor model, the comprehensive level of water environmental carrying capacity in the Gansu section of the Yellow River basin from 2015 to 2020 was empirically evaluated, and the obstacles that hindered the water environmental carrying capacity were identified and analyzed. The results showed that the comprehensive level of water environmental carrying capacity fluctuated and increased overall, and it was grade III (critical load) from 2015 to 2017 and in 2019 and grade IV (weak load) in 2018 and 2020. Considering the ranking of the obstacle degree of each index, the obstacle factors were concentrated in the natural ecological subsystem, among which the obstacle factors were the discharge of wastewater, the population density, the urbanization rate, and the water resources development and utilization rate, which should be examined in the future. The research results and methods described in this paper could provide a theoretical reference for the evaluation of water environmental carrying capacity for other rivers and lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decoupling agricultural economic growth from agricultural water pollution is of great importance to regional sustainable development. It is necessary to further explore the decoupling state and key driving factors connecting agricultural water pollution and agricultural economic growth on the basis of accurate measurement of agricultural water pollution. Accordingly, taking the Yellow River Basin (YRB) as the research object, this study combined the water footprint theory, the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model and the Tapio decoupling model (TDM) to conduct an in-depth decoupling analysis of the connection between the agricultural grey water footprint (AGWF) and agricultural economic growth in the YRB. Specifically, this study first calculated the AGWF of the YRB during 2016–2021 and objectively evaluated the water resource utilization in this region based on the AGWF. Then, the LMDI model was used to explore the driving factors of the AGWF in the YRB. Finally, the decoupling states between the AGWF and its driving factors with agricultural GDP (AGDP) were studied using the TDM. The main results are as follows: (1) The overall AGWF in the YRB showed a decreasing trend and a slow increase, decreasing by 5.39% in 2021 compared to 2016. (2) The primary promoting factor and inhibiting factor of AGWF reduction are the efficiency effect and agricultural economic effect, respectively. (3) The decoupling states of the AGWF and AGDP presented strong decoupling (SD) and then weak decoupling (WD) in the YRB during the research period. The decoupling states between the agricultural grey water footprint intensity (AGWFI) and AGDP changed from expansive negative decoupling (END) to SD. The decoupling state of population and AGDP remained SD. This study will contribute to alleviating agricultural water pollution in the YRB and help policymakers in water-stressed countries to formulate agricultural water management policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baseflow is a stable part of streamflow and the main component of streamflow during the dry season. Baseflow plays an important role in the water cycle, and in ecological environment protection of the Yellow River basin (YRB). Taking the Zuli, Kuye, and Tuwei basins, and the Jingle sub-basin as examples, the baseflow was separated using a recursive digital filtering method. The intra-annual, inter-annual, and chronological characteristics of baseflow and the baseflow index (BFI) were analyzed, and driving factors were analyzed from the perspective of climate-change and human-impact factors. The results showed that: (1) The annual baseflow of the basins mainly declined, trending downward in all four test basins, while the BFI increased in two of the basins and remained nearly constant in the other two basins; however, the distributions of baseflow and the BFI were more uniform. (2) The intra-annual patterns for baseflow and the BFI showed changes between earlier and later periods. (3) Precipitation and soil and water conservation measures were the primary driving forces of baseflow change in the basins. The influence of the former weakened while the latter strengthened, and coal mining in the Kuye River and Tuwei River basins also influenced baseflow significantly. (4) When the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) < 0.375, the BFI of test watersheds gradually decreased with the increase in the NDVI. When 0.375 < NDVI < 0.65, the BFI of the basins gradually increased with the increase in the NDVI and the underlying surface continued to improve. When NDVI > 0.65, the increase rate of the BFI decreased and the soil and water conservation capacity of the underlying surface tended to be stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article, on the basis of quantifying the emergy water ecological footprint, a sustainability evaluation system for the overall water ecological economic system of the basin and each province (region) was proposed. And using the subjective and objective combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Entropy Weight Method (EWM) to determine the weight of the indicator system, a TOPSIS model for sustainability evaluation was constructed. And taking the Yellow River Basin as an example, the results indicate that (1) Throughout the entire basin, the sustainability of the water ecological economic system showed a fluctuating upward trend year by year during the study period, from 0.37 to 0.51. (2) In each province (region), the sustainability of the water ecological economic system had gathered in space. The overall sustainability level of the upstream Sichuan, Qinghai and Gansu provinces is high, always at level (I). The overall sustainability level of the midstream Ningxia and Neimenggu was low, always at level (IV). The overall sustainability level of the downstream Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong provinces is high, rising gradually over time, from level (III) to level (II) or (I). Against the backdrop of the rapid development of the economy and society, the contradiction between economic and social development, ecological environment protection, and sustainable utilization of water resources is becoming increasingly severe, which has become a key factor restricting the sustainable development of the ecological economic system in Yellow River Basin. Multidimensional comprehensive evaluation of the sustainability level of the regional water ecological economic system is a prerequisite for identifying sustainable development issues in the Yellow River Basin, and also the basis for formulating targeted policies for sustainable utilization of regional water resources and high-quality economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the factors affecting irrigation management performance is crucial for sustainable resource use, especially with the decentralized management mode of irrigation systems being implemented in rural China. This paper contributes to the research field by incorporating different categories of social trust and perceived organization support (POS) into the analysis of irrigation management performance, by linking multiple elements that are based on the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework. We employed principal component analysis (PCA) and ordered probit regression to analyze a database covering 785 households in the upstream of the Yellow River basin. The results suggested that social trust and POS positively affected the irrigation management performance, and social trust strengthened the positive effect of POS on the performance. Furthermore, the results indicated that personal trust and institutional trust, as well as perceived emotional support and physical support, positively affected the performance. In addition, we also found that household characteristics, household cognition, group characteristics, physical conditions, and rules-in-use also had significant impact on the performance. This paper can be used to inform the government that social trust and POS need to be considered in the common-pool resources (CPRs) management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking 57 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River basin as a research area, this study evaluates the coupling coordination level of the water–energy–carbon (WEC) system in the Yellow River basin from 2012 to 2021 and explores the driving factors of coupling coordinated development. The study revealed that: (1) the development level of the three subsystems all showed an upward trend. The development level of the carbon system exhibited the highest level. The development index of the carbon and energy systems rose steadily, whereas the development index of the water system fluctuated considerably during the research period, although the magnitude of the fluctuation gradually slowed down. (2) The coupling coordination degree displayed a distribution characteristic of "high in the east and low in the west, high in the south and low in the north". While the coupling coordination degree improved year by year, the spatial heterogeneity gradually increased. (3) The coupling coordination degree presented a positive correlation, and the agglomeration level was dominated by "high-high" and "low-low" agglomeration types. The "high-high" agglomeration area had a certain degree of spatial mobility, while the "low-low" agglomeration areas showed a tendency for spreading towards the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin. (4) Technological innovation, and the economic basis, had a significant positive impact on the coupling coordinated development, while the industrial structure bias showed a clear inhibitory effect. The positive role of opening up is not yet significant. Meanwhile, the indirect effect of each driving factor was greater than the direct effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the substantial impacts that are expected due to climate change, it is crucial that accurate rainfall-runoff results are provided for various decision-making purposes. However, these modeling results often generate uncertainty or bias due to the imperfect character of individual models. In this paper, a genetic algorithm together with a Bayesian model averaging method are employed to provide a multi-model ensemble (MME) and combined runoff prediction under climate change scenarios produced from eight rainfall-runoff models for the Yellow River Basin. The results show that the multi-model ensemble method, especially the genetic algorithm method, can produce more reliable predictions than the other considered rainfall-runoff models. These results show that it is possible to reduce the uncertainty and thus improve the accuracy for future projections using different models because an MME approach evens out the bias involved in the individual model. For the study area, the final combined predictions reveal that less runoff is expected under most climatic scenarios, which will threaten water security of the basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strategy of "Basing city, land, population and production on water resources", clarifying the water uses of each province and the influencing factors are crucial to the conservation and intensive use of water resources for the Yellow River basin. In this study, physical water use, the production-based water footprint, and the consumption-based water footprint of nine provinces in the Yellow River Basin from 2007 to 2017 are measured. Then, the key influencing factors of three kinds of water use are analyzed by the random forest model. The results show that (1) the three kinds of water use in the Yellow River basin all showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. Physical water use and the production-based water footprint present the geographical differentiation in the declining order from the upper reach to the lower reach, and then the middle reach, while the order for the consumption-based water footprint is the lower reach, the upper reach, and the middle reach. (2) Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, electricity and hot water production, supply, and chemicals are the dominant sectors of physical water use. Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, food processing, tobacco, and construction are the key sectors for production-based and consumption-based water footprints. (3) The results of the random forest model show the influencing factors and their interactions of three kinds of water use in the Yellow River basin present obvious sectoral differences. The key influencing factors exhibit a linear or nonlinear response to water use in the three perspectives. The influencing factors of water use are also differentiated among the three perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progression of agricultural production, ever-increasing industrialization, population boom, and more water-concentrated lifestyles has placed a severe burden on Yellow River Basin's existing water resources, particularly in the current century. In the context of resource and environmental constraints, improving the green efficiency of agricultural water use (AWGE) is an important measure for alleviating the shortage of water resources as well as meeting the intrinsic requirement to promote the green transformation and upgrading of agriculture. This study used the Super Slack-Based Measure (Super-SBM) to measure the AWGE of 87 regions in the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2019. Based on spatial and temporal perspectives, it applied Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) to explore the dynamic evolution and regional differences in AWGE. Then, this study used a spatial econometric model to analyze the main factors that influence AWGE in the Yellow River Basin. The results show that, firstly, the AWGE of the Yellow River Basin shows a steady upward trend from 2000 to 2019, but the differences among regions were obvious. Secondly, the AWGE showed an obvious spatial autocorrelation in the Yellow River Basin and showed significant high–high and low–low agglomeration characteristics. Thirdly, rural per capita disposable income and effective irrigation have a positive influence on AWGE, while rural labor transfer, the input intensity of agricultural machinery and water structure have a negative influence. The spatial econometric model regression results show that the influence factors of AWGE in the Yellow River Basin showed significant spatial spillover effects and spatial heterogeneity in their effect. Finally, when improving AWGE in the Yellow River Basin, plans should be formulated according to local conditions. The results of this study can provide new ideas on the study of AWGE in the Yellow River Basin and provide references for the formulation of regional agricultural water resource utilization policies as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific evaluation of water pollution in the Yellow River Basin was directly related to the sustainable utilization of water resources and the green development of the agricultural economy in this region. In this study, we focused on the planting industry, and measured the agricultural grey water footprint of 73 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2019. We used spatial autocorrelation analysis to reveal temporal and spatial differentiation characteristics, and we used the path analysis method to study the factors influencing the temporal evolution and spatial distribution. Taking 2015 as the study period, the agricultural grey water footprint showed a trend of first rising and then falling. The values and growth rates of the agricultural grey water footprint in different regions were quite different. According to the natural breakpoint method, the agricultural grey water footprints were divided into low, middle, high, and very high groups. There were obvious spatial differences in the agricultural grey water footprints, and these differences gradually decreased. Generally, the H–L and the L–L types were dominant. From 2000 to 2019, most prefecture-level cities maintained the same transition changes as those in the neighboring regions. Crop yield, economic scale, population scale, urban and rural structure, and technological innovation were found to be the key elements of spatiotemporal variation in the agricultural grey water footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Horizontal/interregional eco-compensation is an important policy to promote regional ecological and environmental cooperation and realize sustainable development for river basins. To solve these problems, a horizontal compensation framework based on integrated water rights (IWRs) transaction has been established. Taking the Yellow River basin as an example, the IWRs scheme realizes sustainable development, to a certain extent, improving the current issues of shortages, the low utilization efficiency of water resources, and weak water environmental carrying capacity. Evidence for this improvement includes: (1) an increased revenue of USD 244.71; (2) the water use efficiency in the middle and upper streams (Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Neimenggu, Shanxi) and the overall river basin being obviously improved (the maximum improvement value is 0.1273 m3/USD); (3) the overload situation of water resource carrying status being relieved in some subareas (Ningxia, Neimenggu, Henan, Shandong) and improved in the whole basin (from 0.6366 to 0.6124); (3) the water environmental carrying rate (COD and NH4+-N) of the middle and upper streams (Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Neimenggu, Shanxi) and the whole river basin obviously decreasing (with maximum decreasing values of 0.43 and 1.14, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an important practical significance to understanding and evaluating the nexus of water, energy, and food (WEF) for ensuring regional security. The Yellow River Basin is a typical area displaying the contradiction between water, energy, and food development caused by the difference in resource distribution and production attributes. The nexus of the WEF system in the Yellow River Basin is systematically and innovatively studied from different perspectives. The aim of the research is to analyze the distribution and transfer direction of single resource elements, the matching and evolution of two kinds of resources linked by water resources, and finally the nexus based on Copula function. The results show that water resources, farmland, and energy production are concentrated in different areas, while the center of gravity shifted to the northwest, northeast, and west of the basin, respectively. For the resource balance of energy production and available industrial water resources, the matching degree has become worse in recent years. For the resource balance of farmland areas and available agricultural water resources, the matching degree in the most source area and middle reaches has improved, but the gap among different sub-regions has widened slightly. It is proven that the three-dimensional t Copula is well characterized by the nexus of the WEF system in the Yellow River Basin. The joint not exceeding the probability of the WEF (W ≤ 7.08 × 1010 m3, E ≤ 6.24 × 108 TCE, F ≤ 4.23 × 107 t) is about 0.3–0.4. The WEF system in the Yellow River Basin (Gn = 0.728 and 0.688) may still have certain security risks in the future compared with other regions in the world, which needs to be regulated by more reasonable policies. This study can provide a theoretical basis for ensuring regional water, energy, and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid expansion of the Chinese economy in recent years, the urbanization process of the provinces in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) has put serious pressure on the sustainability of the water resources carrying capacity (WRCC). It is necessary to analyze and diagnose the coordination state between urbanization and the WRCC. In this study, based on the Population-Economic-Social-Spatial (PESS) framework and Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model, we developed two index systems for the urbanization and WRCC, respectively. At the basis of the two index systems, the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the two systems is calculated by applying the improved CCD model. Based on the calculated CCD for each province, the spatio-temporal analysis was performed to analyze the characteristics of CCD in the YRB. The obstacle factor model is utilized to obtain the main obstacle factors. The results show that: (1) the coordination state between the urbanization and WRCC systems was improved to some extent in 2017, compared to 2008, but there are differences in the coordination state of the different provinces in the YRB. (2) In terms of the level of urbanization, the gap between the seven provinces' performance levels widened because urbanization grew at different rates. The WRCC system's performance presented a fluctuating downward trend from 2008 to 2017 in the YRB. (3) The pressure subsystem had a significant impact on the two systems' coordination state in the YRB, while the social urbanization and response subsystem had a less significant impact on the urbanization system and the WRCC system, respectively. Due to the growth of urbanization, the imbalanced development of the WRCC and urbanization has become the principal contradiction that must be solved in order to achieve sustainability in the YRB. The analysis of the coupling relationship between urbanization and WRCC may guide the policy makers in planning for realistic goals. The results provide a guide for high-quality development in the YRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Yellow River basin, China, ecosystems suffer from the overexploitation and utilization of water resources, resulting in various environmental impacts. Consideration must be given to both human and ecosystem water requirements in water resources management. A water footprint (WF) is a tool for estimating industrial, agricultural, commercial and household water requirements and for examining the impact of consumption on water resources. The study attempts to establish an approach to analyse the dynamic processes and driving forces that result in certain WFs. Using input-output tables for provinces and municipalities, we calculate water use coefficients, the total WF and the net external WF of consumption in China's Yellow River Basin. A biproportional algorithm is employed to revise the input-output tables for analysing the temporal dynamics of the WF. The factor analysis and linear regression were used to analyse the main influencing factors of WF. Results indicate that the coefficient for water use by primary industries is highest and that coefficients for provincial water use differ significantly. Second, household consumption and residuals from capital accumulation constituted approximately half of the total WF of the Yellow River basin in 2002 and also differed significantly among provinces. Third, the ratio of the net external WF to the total WF increased, and the ratio of final consumption to the total WF declined during the period examined. Fourth, output by secondary industries correlated most strongly with the WF, followed by area under irrigation, per capita meat consumption, water consumption per 10,000-yuan increase in added value and population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the level of water use and alleviating the constraints of water shortage on economic and social development are powerful supports to realize the harmonious balance of water and economic society. In this study, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) window analysis method is applied to the study of water use level, and the SBM-DEA model (slack based measure, SBM) is combined to explore the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of composite water use index (CWUI) in nine provinces from 2012 to 2018. The Malmquist index model is used to decompose the intrinsic causes of total factor productivity (TFP) changes, and the spatial matching degree calculation method is applied to study the matching degree between CWUI and economic and social development levels (E-SDL). The results showed that: (1) the overall trend of CWUI in the nine provinces from 2012 to 2018 was increasing, with significant spatial variability in water use levels; (2) the improvement of TFP of water in the nine provinces was mainly driven by technological change (TC), and the main factor limiting the improvement of TFP of water was technical efficiency change (EC); (3) E-SDL of the nine provinces showed an increasing trend, with the spatial distribution characteristics of decreasing E-SDL of the downstream, midstream and upstream provinces in sequence; (4) the degree of matching between CWUI and E-SDL shows strong regional differences, with different types of matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatio-temporal change of the surface water is very important to agricultural, economic, and social development in the Hetao Plain, as well as the structure and function of the ecosystem. To understand the long-term changes of the surface water area in the Hetao Plain, we used all available Landsat images (7534 scenes) and adopted the modified Normalized Difference Water Index (mNDWI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to map the open-surface water from 1989 to 2019 in the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform. We further analyzed precipitation, temperature, and irrigated area, revealing the impact of climate change and human activities on long-term surface water changes. The results show the following. (1) In the last 31 years, the maximum, seasonal, and annual average water body area values in the Hetao Plain have exhibited a downward trend. Meanwhile, the number of maximum, seasonal, and permanent water bodies displayed a significant upward trend. (2) The variation of the surface water area in the Hetao Plain is mainly affected by the maximum water body area, while the variation of the water body number is mainly affected by the number of minimum water bodies. (3) Precipitation has statistically significant positive effects on the water body area and water body number, which has statistically significant negative effects with temperature and irrigation. The findings of this study can be used to help the policy-makers and farmers understand changing water resources and its driving mechanism and provide a reference for water resources management, agricultural irrigation, and ecological protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conducting water resource assessment and forecasting at a basin scale requires effective and accurate simulation of the hydrological process. However, intensive, complex human activities and environmental changes are constraining and challenging the hydrological modeling development and application by complicating the hydrological cycle within its local contexts. Six sub-catchments of the Yellow River basin, the second-largest river in China, situated in a semi-arid climate zone, have been selected for this study, considering hydrological processes under a natural period (before 1970) and under intensive human disturbance (2000–2013). The study aims to assess the capacity and performance of the hydrological models in simulating the discharge under a changing environment. Four well-documented and applied hydrological models, i.e., the Xin'anjiang (XAJ) model, GR4J model, SIMHYD model, and RCCC-WBM (Water Balance Model developed by Research Center for Climate Change) model, were selected for this assessment. The results show that (1) the annual areal temperature of all sub-catchments presented a significant rising trend, and annual precipitation exhibited insignificant decline trend; (2) as a result of climate change and intensive human activities, the annual runoff series showed a declining trend with abrupt changes mostly occurring in the 1980s with the exception of the Tangnaihai station; (3) the four hydrological models generally performed well for runoff simulation for all sub-catchments under the natural period. In terms of Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient, the XAJ model worked better in comparison to other hydrological models due to its detailed representations and complicated mechanism in runoff generation and flow-routing scheme; (4) environmental changes have impacted the performance of the four hydrological models under all sub-catchments, in particularly the Pianguan River catchment, which is could be attributed to the various human activities that in turn represent more complexity for the regional hydrological cycle to some extent, and reduce the ability to predict the runoff series; (5) the RCCC-WBM model, well known for its simple structure and principles, is considered to be acceptable for runoff simulation for both natural and human disturbance periods, and is recommended for water resource assessment under changing environments for semi-arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value accounting of water in the Yellow River Basin is a key issue in managing local water resources in an efficient, equitable, and sustainable way. In view of the dubious current theories of water resource value, the value transfer of water resources, based on energy flow, is discussed from the perspective of eco-economics. An emergy analysis method is introduced to quantify both the sediment transportation value and social value, and a quantitative system of eco-economic value indicators is constructed. The water resource values of 66 cities in the Basin were calculated, and the GIS atlas was used to describe their spatial distribution. Eight typical cities were selected for the key analysis. The results show that: (1) Among the sub-items, the social value of water per unit is the largest, reaching 30.67 Chinese Yuan/m³, and the difference between the maximum and minimum is only 0.04%, which reflects the social equity of water resources. (2) The eco-environmental value inside the river is generally higher than that of industry, and it is verified that industrial water should not intrude the eco-environmental water in the river. (3) The unit agricultural value of water is the lowest among the sub-items, and the construction of water-saving agriculture should be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]