Abstract
Based on a land use interpretation and distributed hydrological model, soil and water assessment tool (SWAT), this study simulated the hydrological cycle in Xihe River Basin in northern China. In addition, the influence of climate variability and land use change on green water resources in the basin from 1995 to 2015 was analyzed. The results show that (1) The ENS (Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient) and R2 (coefficient of determination) were 0.94 and 0.89, respectively, in the calibration period, and 0.89 and 0.88, respectively, in the validation period. These indicate high simulation accuracy; (2) Changes in green water flow and green water storage due to climate variability accounted for increases of 2.07 mm/a and 1.28 mm/a, respectively. The relative change rates were 0.49% and 0.9%, respectively, and the green water coefficient decreased by 1%; (3) Changes in green water flow and green water storage due to land use change accounted for increases of 69.15 mm and 48.82 mm, respectively. The relative change rates were 16.4% and 37.2%, respectively, and the green water coefficient increased by 10%; (4) Affected by both climate variability and land use change, green water resources increased by 121.3 mm and the green water coefficient increased by 9% in the Xihe River Basin. It is noteworthy that the influence of land use change was greater than that of climate variability.
Highlights
The concept of green water was first proposed by Falkenmark [1] in 1995 in his study on the evaluation of the influence of water resources on crop growth
Based on land use change and the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model, this study simulated the hydrological cycle in the Xihe River basin and quantified the effects of land use change and climate variability during 1995–2015
(2) Due to climate variability, the amount of green water flow and green water storage increased by 2.07 mm/a and 1.28 mm/a, respectively, and the green water coefficient was decreased by 1%
Summary
The concept of green water was first proposed by Falkenmark [1] in 1995 in his study on the evaluation of the influence of water resources on crop growth. Faramarzi et al [10] used SWAT in combination with the Sequential Uncertainty Fitting (SUFI-2) at the sub-basin level, and discussed the spatial and temporal distribution of blue and green water resources in Iran They found that irrigation methods had a major influence on hydrological cycles. Xu et al [12] reviewed the concepts and evaluation methods of blue and green water, harnessed the SWAT model combined with SUFI-2, and assessed the spatial and temporal distribution of blue water, green water flow, and storage resources in the Weihe River Basin in the last 50 years at multiple scales. Taking the Xihe River Basin as an example, this study applied the SWAT model and simulated the hydrological cycle under three scenarios to quantify the effect of climate variability and land use change on the amount, and spatial and temporal distributions of green water resources. The research results can provide a scientific basis for planning and management of regional water resources
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
