Abstract
Abstract. This paper quantitatively analyzed the evolution of human–water relationships in the Heihe River basin of northern China over the past 2000 years by reconstructing the catchment water balance by partitioning precipitation into evapotranspiration and runoff. The results provided the basis for investigating the impacts of societies on hydrological systems. Based on transition theory and the rates of changes of the population, human water consumption and the area of natural oases, the evolution of human–water relationships can be divided into four stages: predevelopment (206 BC–AD 1368), take-off (AD 1368–1949), acceleration (AD 1949–2000), and the start of a rebalancing between human and ecological needs (post AD 2000). Our analysis of the evolutionary process revealed that there were large differences in the rate and scale of changes and the period over which they occurred. The transition of the human–water relationship had no fixed pattern. This understanding of the dynamics of the human–water relationship will assist policy makers in identifying management practices that require improvement by understanding how today's problems were created in the past, which may lead to more sustainable catchment management in the future.
Highlights
The development of land and water resources within catchments over thousands of years has led to spectacular growth in agricultural production along with increased human consumption of water, significant modification of catchment vegetation, and serious degradation of ecosystems, worldwide (Carpenter et al, 2011; Falkenmark and Lannerstad, 2005; Röckstrom et al, 2009; Vörösmarty et al, 2010)
The overarching goal of this paper is to reveal the evolutionary processes of human–water relationships in the Heihe River basin, an important part of the Hexi Corridor, for a period spanning approximately 2000 years over which hydrologic, social and environmental systems interacted
This paper represents an attempt to reveal the evolutionary processes of the human–water relationships in the Heihe River basin (HRB) over the past 2000 years
Summary
The development of land and water resources within catchments over thousands of years has led to spectacular growth in agricultural production along with increased human consumption of water, significant modification of catchment vegetation, and serious degradation of ecosystems, worldwide (Carpenter et al, 2011; Falkenmark and Lannerstad, 2005; Röckstrom et al, 2009; Vörösmarty et al, 2010). Understanding the connections and feedback mechanisms between changes in human activities and hydrological systems in the long term, and uncovering the mechanisms governing the human–water feedback loop, can help us to understand how today’s conditions and problems were created in the past, and have important implications for future management (Sivapalan et al, 2012; Liu et al, 2013; Montanari et al, 2013; Savenije et al, 2013). At present, there is limited understanding of the major modes of interactions between the human and hydrologic systems over long timescales. Developing such understanding is the aim of social hydrology (Savenije et al, 2013)
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