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The concept of new quality productivity of agricultural water conservancy represents a new development in advancing water productivity. It is a crucial link in achieving high-quality water resource development. Enhancing new quality productivity of water conservancy is critical for sustainable development of farmlands and promoting high-quality agricultural water management. Specifically, the new quality productivity of agricultural conservancy is a practical approach to advancing agricultural modernization and high-quality development. To accelerate the implementation of new quality productivity in agricultural water conservancy, this paper constructs a research framework based on an in-depth analysis of the relationship between productivity of agricultural water conservancy and overall water conservancy productivity. The framework addresses some key issues, including strategic objectives, system layouts, and essential components in water conservancy. Our analysis focuses on research in the core aspects of agricultural water conservancy productivity and proposes a future perspective of new quality productivity of agricultural water conservancy. These include theoretical research, technological innovations, and farmland transformations. Our analysis provides a theoretical basis for promoting the formation and development of new quality productivity in agricultural water conservancy.

【Objective】 Understanding water demand and water availability in a region is fundamental to securing its sustainable development. Taking Yinqin irrigation district as an example, this paper analyzes the balance between water supply and water demand in attempts to help improve regional water resources management. 【Objective】 The quota method and the related development planning forecast were first used to evaluate the variation in water supply and demand from 2018 to 2025 under different conditions. We then introduced a supply-demand water balance index (RWRI) and classified the balance into three types: water surplus, in balance, and water shortage. The RWRI was further divided into nine conditions. All these were used to evaluate the balance between water supply and demand in the district under different conditions. 【Result】 When the required water guarantee is 50%, RWRI in the district in 2018 and 2025 is 1.06 and 0.92, respectively, indicating that water supply and demand are in balance and water can support normal activities. When the required guarantee is increased to 75% and 90%, however, RWRI in the district is 1.71 and 2.56, representing high and extreme water shortage, respectively. These will be improved in 2025, with the associated RWRI being 1.29 (75% guarantee rate) and 1.45 (90% guarantee rate), indicating mild and high water shortage, respectively. 【Conclusion】 Water supply and demand in Yinqin irrigation area is expected to improve in the future, though it is unlikely to meet the demand of all sectors for water, especially in dry years.

【Background】 Water scarcity in northern China is a limiting factor to its economic development and improving water management is hence essential to sustaining its development. The recently proposed water management in China can be summarized into five strategies: Prioritize water saving, balance regional variation, comprehensive remediation, and balance the roles of planning and free market played in water management, with saving water being the top priority. Various water saving policies have been proposed, some of which have been mandated. Evaluating water saving potential in a region is thus essential to alleviating the detrimental impact of its water shortage and sustaining economic and social development. Currently, there is a lack of such evaluation methods. 【Objective】 The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap by proposing and testing an evaluating method. 【Method】 Based on the primacy of water saving potential, we first clarified the connotation of water-saving potential and its interpretation in different sectors. We then derived formulae, with the sources of water in consideration, to calculate the water saving potential at regional scale. As an illustrative example, the method was applied to Henan province to help plan water management and evaluate the amount of water that the province can potentially save. 【Result】 The volume of the water that Henan can potentially save in 2025 is 1.072 billion m3, which could increase to 1.665 billion m3 by 2035 if the management improvements can be gradually implemented. This is massive, representing that, compared to the current water usage level, it will reduce provincial water consumption in 2025 and 2035 by 4.6% and 7.1% respectively. Among all sectors, the potential in saving agricultural water use is the greatest. 【Conclusion】 For Henan province, implementation of the five water management strategies could substantially improve its water usage. The method we developed is generic and can be applied to other regions helping improve their water resource management.

The Yellow River Basin is not only an important ecological barrier and an important grain production core area, but also a key area for China to win the battle of poverty alleviation. 【Objective】 Scientifically evaluate the high-quality development level of the Yellow River Basin and analyze its key constraints. 【Method】 Based on the study and understanding of the major national strategies of the Yellow River, this paper gave the definition and connotation interpretation of the concept of high-quality development, and proposed the judgment criteria for high-quality development, including social harmony and stability, orderly economic growth, safe supply of resources, ecological health and livability and culture advanced leadership (collectively referred to as the “Five Criteria”). Based on the “Five Criteria”, this paper built a high-quality development evaluation system and evaluated the high-quality development level of the Yellow River Basin from 2008 to 2018. 【Result】 The results show: ①The level of high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin is increasing, from a low level in 2008 to a medium level; ②In the standard level, “ecological health and livability” is the main restrictive criterion, while “safe supply of resources” is the primary advantage criterion for the high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin; ③The spatial and temporal differences of high-quality development level in the Yellow River Basin are obvious. Among the provinces, Shandong is the most stable. In the time dimension, the differences among provinces are the first gradually shrink after expansion. 【Conclusion】 The level of high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin needs to be further improved.

There is an interdependent symbiotic relationship between humans and water; scientific and effective assessment of the human–water symbiosis relationship is of great significance for the promotion of sustainable development. This study developed a novel framework of the human–water symbiosis relationship under an integrated perspective, which included theoretical interpretation, quantitative assessment, pattern discrimination, and an attribution analysis. Based on the symbiosis theory, the theoretical analysis of the human–water relationship was carried out to analyze the three basic elements of the human–water system, and then the evaluation index system of the human–water symbiosis system was constructed to quantitatively assess the development level of the human system and the water system. The Lotka–Volterra model was used to identify the symbiotic pattern, and the human–water symbiosis index was calculated to characterize the health state of the human–water symbiosis system. The main influencing factors of the human–water symbiosis system were further identified through an attribution analysis. Finally, a case study was carried out with 18 cities in Henan Province. Results reveal that (a) the proposed method can effectively realize the quantitative characterization of the human–water symbiosis relationship, with good applicability and obvious advantages; (b) the human–water symbiosis pattern of cities in Henan Province is dominated by the "human system parasitizes water system (H+W−)" pattern, and more attention should be paid to the water system in the subsequent development of it; and (c) the main factors influencing the human system, the water system, and the human–water symbiosis system are the research and development (R&D) personnel equivalent full-time (H7), per capita water resources (W1), and proportion of water conservancy and ecological water conservancy construction investment (W6), respectively. The findings can provide theoretical and methodological support for the study of the human–water symbiosis relationship and sustainable development in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the increasing sediment content and increasing sediment flux of the Yellow River over the years, it is of significance to investigate the potential interfacial force mechanism between pollutants and Yellow River sediment. This article has reviewed the current research on the Yellow River sediments' mineral structures while investigating the potential interaction force between sediment and pollutants in the water environment. This article has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the influence of sediment on the migration of pollutants in the water environment. What is more, the authors have provided an outlook on the future applications of sediment in ecological environmental systems. Yellow River sediment mainly included minerals and some clay phases, while its irregular surface provided sites for the interface adsorption of pollutants. The interface force between the sediment and pollutants is mainly attributed to promoting bacterial growth on the surface of sediments, physisorption, and chemisorption forces. The sediments carry and transport pollutants during the long-distance water flow migration process. The sediment should be effectively utilized and better integrated into ecological or environmental restoration systems. This article provides a reference for studying the behavior of Yellow River sediment and the direction of future efficient utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]