River Basin Development Research Articles

Research on Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development of the Lower Yellow River Based on System Dynamics

The harmonious development between water resources, the economy, and the environment is the foundation of regional high-quality development, and the three are closely related. Based on a full analysis of the current situation of the lower Yellow River, this paper combines domestic and foreign studies, compares the framework of the relationship between water resources, the economy, and environment systems, selects 30 indicators such as average rainfall, natural population growth rate, PM2.5, etc., and establishes an evaluation model of the coupled coordination of the water resources–economy–environment system of the lower Yellow River, and then uses system dynamics to simulate and predict the degree of coupled coordination in the sub-scenarios. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The level of coordinated development in the water resources–environment system outperforms that of the water resources–economy and economy–environment systems in the cities along the lower Yellow River. (2) The coupling coordination degree of the lower reaches of the Yellow River increases from 0.5849 to 0.8209 during the period of 2006–2020, with an average annual increase of 2.62%. (3) A sub-scenario simulation for the 2006–2020 period indicated that the coordination development of the WEE system is optimal under the scenario 4 model, with the coupling coordination degree expected to reach 0.8928 in 2035, marking the advent of high-quality coordinated development. This study can provide a theoretical basis for the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.

Analysis of Trend in Meteorological and Hydrological Time-series using Mann-Kendall and Sen’s Slope Estimator Statistical Test in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The monthly, seasonal, annual, and decadal trends of seven hydro-meteorological variables were analysed for stations in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, controlled by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Cross River Basin Development Authority (CRBDA) from 1972 to 2021. At the 5% statistical significance level, the non-parametric Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope estimator techniques were used to detect if there was a positive or negative trend and the magnitude of the trend in hydro-meteorological data. In the present study, there was a significant statistically increasing (positive) trend in mean seasonal and annual rainfall, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and runoff. However, there was a significant statistically decreasing (negative) trend in average annual relative humidity, solar radiation, and potential evapotranspiration. The magnitudes of the trends were 19.39mm/year, 0.0314oC/year, 0.013oC/year, -0.104%/year, -8.78MJ/m2/year, -1.440mm/year, and 0.028m3/s/year for annual rainfall, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, PET, and runoff, respectively. The rising trends in precipitation, temperature, and runoff in this research area show that this region is subject to climatic variability. The results of the Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope estimator statistical tests revealed the consistency of performance in the detection of the trend for the hydro-meteorological variables.

Assessment of the Implementation Effect of a Gully Consolidation and Highland Protection (GCHP) Project Based on the GeoWEPP Model

The Gully Consolidation and Highland Protection (GCHP) project is an important governance measure for controlling source erosion and reducing soil erosion in the Loess Plateau, which has been explored and developed continuously in recent decades. However, there is no international precedent for research on the implementation effect of the GCHP project, and it is still relatively weak. In order to quantify the erosion of a small watershed under the construction of a gully head landfill, this study selected Yangjiagou (YJG) as the research area. The spatial analysis function of ArcGIS was used to process DEM and soil type data, the GeoWEPP model was used to simulate soil erosion, and the changes of runoff and sediment yield before and after gully head landfill were analyzed. The results showed that compared with the simulated original soil erosion amount, the annual runoff decreased by 13.13%, and the sediment yield decreased by 37.61% after gully head landfill, indicating that the GCHP project positively influenced soil erosion control. After the gully head landfill measures are taken, the flow path becomes shorter, so the flow scour capacity is weakened. Soil and water control is very effective in the short term, but if long-term maintenance is not carried out, the intensity of soil and water loss is likely to be aggravated. This study provides an effective verification method for the feasibility of a soil loss control scheme on the Loess Plateau and provides a reference for promoting ecological priority and efficient management in the Loess gully area. Ultimately, it will serve the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.

Global change scenarios in coastal river deltas and their sustainable development implications

Deltas play a critical role in the ambition to achieve global sustainable development given their relatively large shares in population and productive croplands, as well as their precarious low-lying position between upstream river basin development and rising seas. The large pressures on these systems risk undermining the persistence of delta societies, economies, and ecosystems. We analyse possible future development in 49 deltas around the globe under the Shared Socio-economic and Representative Concentration Pathways until 2100. Population density, urban fraction, and total and irrigated cropland fraction are three to twelve times greater in these deltas, on average, than in the rest of the world. Maximum river water discharges are projected to increase by 11–33 % and river sediment discharges are projected to decrease 26–37 % on average, depending on the scenario. Regional sea-level rise reaches almost 1.0 m by 2100 for certain deltas in the worst-case scenario, increasing to almost 2.0 m of relative rise considering land subsidence. Extreme sea levels could be much higher still—reaching over 4.0 m by 2100 for six of the 49 deltas analysed. Socio-economic conditions to support adaptation are the weakest among deltas with the greatest pressures, compounding the challenge of sustainable development. Asian and African deltas stand out as having heightened socio-economic challenges—huge population and land use pressures in most Asian deltas and the Nile delta; low capacity for adaptation in most African deltas and the Irrawaddy delta. Although, deltas in other parts of the world are not immune from these and other pressures, either. Because of unique pressures and processes operating in deltas, as in other “hotspots” such as small islands, mountains, and semi-arid areas, we recommend greater consideration and conceptualisation of environmental processes in global sustainable development agendas and in the Integrated Assessment Models used to guide global policy.

Assessment of sustainable agricultural development based on the water-energy-food nexus framework in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, China.

Water, energy and food are inextricably linked in agricultural system. Social and environmental issues arising from socio-economic development pose new challenges for sustainable agricultural development. Achieving sustainable agriculture from the perspective of water, energy and food resource conservation is of critical importance to the national strategy for high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin in China. In this study, the mass productivity and economic productivity of water and energy in agricultural system were considered, and an integrated assessment index system for agricultural system based on the Water-Energy-Food Nexus (WEFN) was proposed in three dimensions: reliability, coordination and resilience. Based on these indicators, the agricultural water-energy-food nexus index (AWEFNI) and integrated risk index (IRI) were performed to assess the current status of agricultural development in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. Results indicate that the AWEFNI in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River is increasing year by year, and the level of sustainable agricultural development is improving, but the overall level is lower. The AWEFNI values vary widely among provinces. The reliability of single subsystem in the study area accounts for more than 1/3 of the AWEFNI, with poor water endowment， rich food and energy resource endowments, the coordination of the AWEFN is weakening. The resilience of the third subsystem is gradually declining. The contradiction in water and energy supply and demand in Ningxia is the most prominent among the five provinces, and the level of AWEFN development is the lowest, so the regulation policies should be implemented as soon as possible to promote the synergistic development of AWEFN around the region.

Research on the Impact of Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Policies on Carbon Emission Efficiency of the Yellow River Basin: A Perspective of Policy Collaboration Effect

With China’s proposed carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, energy conservation and emission reduction are becoming increasingly urgent for the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Based on a systematic combing through of the energy saving and emission reduction (ESER) policies in the Yellow River Basin, this paper empirically analyzed the impacts of objectives collaboration and measures collaboration of ESER policies on the carbon emission efficiency of prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin, by comprehensively adopting the super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM) model and the two-way fixed-effect model. The results of the study found that: (1) with the continuous improvement in policies, the collaboration level of ESER policies in the Yellow River Basin has been significantly improved; (2) the dual-objective collaboration of ESER policies has a significant promotional effect on the carbon emission efficiency of the Yellow River Basin with a lag effect, while the impact of multi-objective collaboration is not significant; (3) the dual-measure collaboration and multi-measure collaboration of ESER policies can effectively promote the improvement in carbon emission efficiency in the Yellow River Basin. This indicates that, in terms of carbon emission reduction in the Yellow River Basin, the objective setting of ESER policies can not be too much, and should pay attention to the mutual coordination of different policy measures to strengthen the carbon reduction effect of ESER policies collaboration.

Green Finance and High Quality Development in the Yellow River Basin

The unbalanced economic and ecological development, inefficient spatial governance, and single financial entity in each region of the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin have restricted the level of development in the basin. Green finance is an important factor influencing high-quality development, providing financial support for the green development of the Yellow River Basin through green credit and green leasing. Taking the regional natural resource conditions and industrial development characteristics of the Yellow River Basin as important supports, we construct the financial system and regional governance countermeasures of green leasing and green credit respectively, so as to optimize the regional economic layout and build a scientific spatial financial planning system.

A Survey on Data-Driven Runoff Forecasting Models Based on Neural Networks

As an important branch of time series forecasting, runoff forecasting provides a reliable decision-making basis for the rational use of water resources, economic development and ecological management of river basins. With the revolution of computing power, the data-driven model has become the mainstream runoff forecasting method. This survey will introduce and explore several types of existing neural network for runoff forecasting: convolutional neural network (CNN), recurrent neural network (RNN) and Transformer. The advantages and limitations of these referenced models are also discussed. In addition, this paper also discusses the future improvement directions of runoff forecasting models from the three directions of accuracy, robustness and interpretability. Through plug-and-play lightweight attention mechanism modules, reliable ensemble methods, and forward-looking interpretability methods, the potential of runoff forecasting models can be further tapped to improve the overall performance.

A dataset of functional traits for compound pinnate leaves of plants in the Huangshui River Valley of Qinghai Province, China.

Here, we present data collected from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau that describes the variation of leaf functional traits across 32 plant species and could be used to investigate plant community functioning and predict the impact of climate change on biogeochemical cycles. The sampling area is located in Huangshui River Valley, in the southeast of Qinghai Province, China (36° 19' to 36° 53' N, 100° 59' to 102° 48' E). The area contains an alpine meadow typical of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This dataset includes field survey data on the functional properties of compound leaves from herbaceous species in the Huangshui River Basin of Qinghai Province, China, at altitudes from 1800 m to 4000 m in the summer of 2021. Data were collected from 326 plots, including 646 data points of compound leaf plants, spanning 32 compound leaf plant species belonging to 14 genera and four families. The study species were chosen from 47 families, 165 genera and 336 species present in the plots and all compound leaf plants were chosen within each plot. We picked the parts containing leaves, petioles and rachis from the study plants and separated the leaves from the plants. The cut compound leaf part was a leaflet, while the petiole and rachis were linear elements. The dataset includes information about the leaflet trait variation (i.e. leaflet area, leaflet dry mass, specific leaflet area and leaflet nitrogen content per unit dry mass) and linear elements' biomass and nitrogen content per unit dry mass (i.e. both petiole and rachis) of 646 compound leaves. This dataset can be used to analyse the evolution of leaf traits and the basic functioning of ecosystems. Moreover, the dataset provides an important basis for studying the species distribution and protection of biodiversity of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and evaluating ecosystem services. These data also support the high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin and have empirical and practical value for alpine biodiversity protection and ecosystem management.

ANALYSIS OF IMPACT OF RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE VARIABILITY ON MALARIA INCIDENCE IN YAMALTU/DEBA LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA.

Despite significant advancements achieved in the last two decades in reducing the worldwide impact of malaria, the disease still poses a substantial public health challenge. Moreover, there exists a growing apprehension that climate change could potentially broaden the regions conducive to disease transmission. This research focuses on investigating the impact of climate variability on malaria incidence in the Yamaltu/Deba Local Government Area (LGA) of Gombe State, Nigeria, from 2013 to 2022. Precipitation and temperature records were sourced from the Upper Benue River Basin Development Authority’s Dadin-Kowa Meteorological station, while confirmed uncomplicated malaria cases were obtained from the Gombe State Primary Healthcare Development Agency.The study entails an examination of the relationship between climate variability and malaria incidence in the study area. Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient was employed for this purpose. Furthermore, time series analysis was conducted to assess trends in rainfall, temperature, and malaria cases. The findings revealed an increasing trend in both rainfall and malaria cases, while maximum and minimum temperatures displayed negligible decreases over the specified period. Notably, correlation analysis unveiled a positive relationship between rainfall and malaria, with an r value of 0.319. Conversely, maximum and minimum temperatures exhibited a strong negative correlation, with r values of -0.152 and -0.534, respectively. Seasonal analysis highlighted a greater prevalence of malaria cases during the late rainy season, specifically in the months of July and October. October emerged as the month with the highest recorded malaria cases, totaling 44,351 cases, while May exhibited the lowest number of cases at 15,488. Given these findings, it is recommended to prioritize vector control initiatives and raise public awareness regarding the effective implementation of intervention measures, such as indoor residual sprays. These efforts are especially crucial during peak periods characterized by favorable weather conditions to mitigate malaria outbreaks effectively.

Differences in High-Quality Development and Its Influencing Factors between Yellow River Basin and Yangtze River Economic Belt

As a national strategy, the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) and the ecological protection and high-quality development (HQD) of the Yellow River Basin (YRB) are of great significance for promoting the HQD of the regional economy. Based on the panel data in the YRB and the YREB from 2006 to 2019, this paper constructed an evaluation index system of HQD with five dimensions of “innovation development, coordination development, green development, openness development, and sharing development”, and we used the entropy weight method, kernel density method, and Tobit panel model to analyze the differences in the HQD and the similarities and differences of the influencing factors between the two regions. The research findings were as follows: (1) The HQD of the YRB and the YREB was consistent with the national trend, showing a fluctuating upward trend. The HQD of the YRB was always lower than that of the YREB. The kernel density curves in both regions had a rightward trailing pattern, with polarization and unbalanced development. (2) From the perspective of the spatial distribution pattern, the HQD of the YRB presented a spatial distribution characteristic of “high at both ends and low in the middle”. In contrast, the HQD of the YREB maintained the characteristic of “high in the east and low in the west”. (3) The level of human capital, the level of foreign direct investment, and the economic scale played a significant positive role in improving the HQD of the YRB. The level of human capital, urbanization, foreign direct investment, and economic scale significantly improved the HQD of the YREB.

Impact of different industrial activities on heavy metals in floodplain soil and ecological risk assessment based on bioavailability: A case study from the Middle Yellow River Basin, northern China

Understanding the impact of different industrial activities on heavy metals and conducting scientific ecological risk assessments are critical to the management of heavy metal pollution. The present study compared soils affected by different industrial activities in three types of industrial cities (coal city, oil-gas city, and economic city) to control samples and examined the ecological risk based on bioavailability in the Middle Yellow River Basin. The findings revealed that the impact characteristics of different industrial activities on soil heavy metals in the research area were different. Both coal-based and oil-gas industry activities had a minor impact on soil heavy metals, whereas economic industry activities in the southern part had a major impact, as evidenced by significant enrichment of Cd, Hg, Cu, Pb, and Zn. In principal component analysis, the soil heavy metals affected by economic industry activities designated a distinct source from the control samples, particularly the anthropogenic sources represented by Hg and Cd. In the context of heavy metals in chemical form, three types of industrial activities all had an effect on bioavailability (0.72–24.27%) and could increase migratory activity in the environment. Furthermore, both traditional and improved assessments, based on total content and bioavailability, showed a low ecological risk near coal cities and oil-gas cities in the middle and northern parts, while there was a medium-high ecological risk near economically developed cities in the south, particularly Tianshui, Baoji, Qishan, Xianyang, Xi'an, and Tongchuan. In comparison, improved risk assessment based on bioavailability tends to not only compensate for an overestimation in traditional risk assessment from the perspective of total content, but additionally achieve a more reasonable, effective, and advanced assessment of heavy metal risks in scientific research. The outcome of this study has significance for the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.

Dynamic Vegetation Responses to Climate and Land Use Changes over the Inner Mongolia Reach of the Yellow River Basin, China

Ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin (YRB), China, aroused remarkable concerns from China’s Central Government, and has been a major national strategy. The Inner Mongolia reach of the Yellow River Basin (IM-YRB) is a typical dryland with pervasive vegetation restoration through the actions of the ecological projects that have been conducted in recent years. However, how climate changes and human activities, such as land use and land cover (LULC) changes, jointly impact vegetation variations in this region remains poorly understood. Here, using an explainable machine learning technique, we evaluated linkages between the kernel normalized difference vegetation index (kNDVI) and air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and LULC changes, and relevant marginal contributions of these four drivers to the observed vegetation changes. The grassland fraction on a pixel level was selected as the quantitative LULC variable due to its key role in regional LULC. We found that interannual kNDVI changes in most areas of this study region were negatively sensitive to temperature, but positively sensitive to precipitation and soil moisture, with area fractions of 71.74%, 96.93%, and 89.33%, respectively. The area fraction of negative kNDVI sensitivity to LULC was roughly equivalent to that of positive kNDVI sensitivity. The contributions of air temperature, precipitation, soil moisture, and LULC to overall kNDVI changes were 21.54%, 33.32%, 32.19%, and 12.95%, respectively. Moisture conditions also play a critical role in vegetation changes, which was reflected by the fluctuating growth of kNDVI as interannual changes in precipitation. Nonetheless, kNDVI changes are also affected by LULC, and LULC became the dominant factor behind the kNDVI anomalies over the grassland restoration regions from barren over the IM-YRB. This research provides theoretical support for dryland vegetation restoration under the influence of climate change.

Horizontal ecological compensation mechanism and green low-carbon development in river basins: evidence from Xin'an River basin.

The Basin Horizontal Ecological Compensation Mechanism (BHEC) is a significant institutional innovation in China's water environment management, aimed at achieving green, low-carbon, and high-quality development in the basin. This paper examines the current status of the spatial association network of green low-carbon development in Xin'an River basin, using social network analysis based on data from prefecture-level cities between 2006 and 2019. Using a dual difference model, the paper explores the important role of BHEC in promoting green low-carbon development from the perspectives of production and consumption and analyzes the path of BHEC's promotion of green low-carbon development in detail. The results indicate that (1) the green low-carbon development in the Xin'an River basin is universally connected in space, but this connection is uneven among the cities in the basin, presenting a network spatial structure with the central region as the core and the north and south regions approaching the core. (2) BHEC contributes to green low-carbon development, and the "two-wheel drive" of green technology progress and green technology efficiency is essential to improve green low-carbon development. (3) From the perspective of consumption affecting green low-carbon development, the positive impact of BHEC on green low-carbon development is inseparable from the synergistic guarantee of public participation. (4) From the production side of green low-carbon development, the ecological effect, structural effect, and technological effect are significant transmission factors of compensation policies affecting green low-carbon development. (5) The "blood transfusion" pilot policy is more helpful to improve green low-carbon development, and compensation policy has positive spillover effects. Finally, the paper argues that the trans-basin ecological compensation policy is expected to become a long-term mechanism to promote green low-carbon and high-quality development in the basin, providing a theoretical and practical basis for developing countries to achieve green low-carbon development through an ecological compensation system.

Identifying the Driving Forces of Alpine Wetland Dynamic Changes in the Yellow River Source National Park from 2000 to 2020

The Yellow River Source National Park (YRSNP), one of largest alpine wetlands in China which serves as the origin of the Yellow River, is situated in the heart of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The alpine wetland ecosystem, which is its primary ecological system, is crucial for maintaining ecological balance, preserving biodiversity, and facilitating the sustainable development of the Yellow River Basin. In this study, based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform combined with Landsat 5 7 8 remote sensing images, we used a random forest classification model to identify and classify the alpine wetland from 2000 to 2020 and analyze its pattern of dynamic changes. The main driving forces that drive the change of the alpine wetland area in the YRSNP from 2000 to 2020 are identified using a random forest regression analysis in combination with data on precipitation, temperature, potential evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and population density. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the average overall accuracy of remote sensing classification and extraction of the YRSNP alpine wetlands is 0.8492 and the Kappa coefficient is 0.8051. (2) From 2000 to 2020, the shrinking trend of the YRSNP alpine wetland area is restrained. However, the lake wetland, marsh wetland, and marsh meadow all increase by 0.58%, 0.06%, and 3.34%, respectively, whereas the river wetland shows a declining trend. (3) The results of the identification of driving forces indicate that soil moisture is the main factor influencing the dynamic changes of the alpine wetland, although the decline in population density has a favorable impact on the alpine wetland. The results can provide scientific basis for maintaining the stability, diversity, and sustainability of the alpine wetland ecosystem in the Yellow River Source National Park.

Regional Economic Growth and Environmental Protection in China: The Yellow River Basin Economic Zone as an Example

This study used the coordinated development of the regional economy and ecological environment in the Yellow River basin as the research object and selected 13 indicators representing the regional economic subsystem that reflect economic scale, economic structure, and economic efficiency in order to explore a path of high-quality economic development suitable for China’s national conditions and realize the modernization of China with common prosperity for all people. The coupling weights of each indicator were then calculated separately, along with the degree of orderliness between the two subsystems of the regional economy and ecological environment. Finally, the degree of synergy between the two subsystems was calculated. The subjective weights and objective weights of each indicator were first estimated using hierarchical analysis (AHP) and conflicting correlation among criteria (CRITIC). The findings reveal a strong growth tendency in the regional economic development of the Yellow River basin and a wave-like growth pattern in ecological environment indicators. Since it overtook the ecological economy in 2017, the orderliness of the regional economic subsystem has continued this growth trend, demonstrating that the regional economy is in front of the ecological environment and is in a dominant position. The Yellow River basin’s composite system of regional economic and natural environment exhibits a low-level synergy stage and an M-shaped development pattern of alternating increases and decreases. As a result, many solutions are suggested, including promoting high-quality growth with greater levels of opening, modifying the regional economic structure, and stepping up ecological environmental protection.

Assessment of Stakeholder Involvement and Borehole Water Projects Delivery in Kogi West Senatorial District, Nigeria

There is huge challenges in the supply of clean water for household consumption in many countries, in particular, Nigeria. Kogi West Senatorial District (KWSD) has witnessed more borehole projects in Nigeria but the challenge of clean water still persists. This has necessitated more research into the field of water resources to combat such challenges in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study assessed the effects of stakeholders’ involvement in KWSD, Nigeria, with a view to improving the delivery of borehole water projects in the study area. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 267 stakeholders comprising Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority (LNRBDA) staff, community leaders and community members that were selected using simple random sampling technique. The study objective was assessed with inferential statistics (Partial Least Square in Structural Equation Modelling). The results disclose the direct path coefficients for Initiation stage (bIS), Planning stage (bPS), Execution stage (“bES”), Monitoring and closure stage (bMS), Post construction stage (bPCS), Budget (cBG), Time Delivery (cTD) and Stakeholder’s Satisfaction (cSS). The results illustrated positives and significant relationship with bES -> cBG (β = 0.422, t = 5.708), bES -> cSS (β = 0.495, t = 6.366), bES -> cTD (β = 0.493, t = 7.422), bMS -> cBG (β = 0.164, t = 2.643), bPCS -> cTD (β = 0.257, t = 5.7084.440), and negative significant relationship with bMS -> cTD (β = -0.184, t = 2.547) and bPS -> cSS (β = - 0.182, t = 2.586). The study concludes that stakeholders’ involvement is a strong predictor of viable Borehole water projects delivery in the study area.

Ecological Security Assessment Based on the “Importance–Sensitivity–Connectivity” Index and Pattern Construction: A Case Study of Xiliu Ditch in the Yellow River Basin, China

Resource, environmental, and ecological issues have become major constraints to the development of many regions. The Yellow River Basin is an important barrier for maintaining ecological security in northern China, but it has been impacted by problems such as severe soil erosion and declining biodiversity. The rational construction of ecological security patterns is important to enhance ecosystem functions and maintain regional ecological security. In this study, a comprehensive ecological security assessment system was constructed by selecting ecosystem service importance, ecological sensitivity, and landscape connectivity to assess the ecological security of Xiliu Ditch, an ecologically fragile region of the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River Basin in China. The assessment results showed significant spatial heterogeneity, with medium- and low-security value areas dominating, while high-security value areas accounted for only 18.7% of the study area. Seventeen ecological sources were identified from the high-security areas, which were mainly composed of grassland, woodland, and water bodies, most of which are distributed in the southern part of the study area. Twenty ecological corridors were selected by the minimum cumulative resistance model and gravity model and classified into 15 construction corridors and 5 potential corridors. Forty-six ecological nodes were defined, including twenty strategic points, nine potential strategic points, and seventeen break points. On this basis, we constructed an ecological security pattern of “two belts, three cores, six zones, multiple corridors and multiple nodes” and proposed corresponding ecological governance measures. This study explores the ecological security pattern at the small watershed scale, which helps to realize the fine management of the Xiliu Ditch basin and, on this basis, can provide scientific support for the ecological protection and sustainable development of the Yellow River basin. In addition, the ecological security assessment system proposed in this study can provide new ideas for the construction of ecological security patterns in similar ecologically fragile areas around the globe.

Analysis on the coupling characteristics of urban ecological structure and local economy in the Yellow River Basin

The Yellow River Basin is an important part of China's ecological protection areas, but the stable development of the Yellow River Basin cannot be guaranteed due to the unreasonable setting of the local ecological structure and the slow pace of economic development. Many scholars at home and abroad have researched the ecological structure and urbanization level of the Yellow River Basin, but there is still a lack of work to analyze the coupling characteristics of the two. In this paper, the entropy weight method is used to study the coupling characteristics of economic development and ecological structure in the Yellow River Basin. The ecological environment, urbanization evaluation system and the ecological environment and urbanization coupling coordination characteristic evaluation system are constructed. The results show that the comprehensive evaluation coefficient of urbanization has increased by 276.2% from 2011 to 2020. The annual average increase of the comprehensive evaluation index of the ecological environment is over 35%. The degree of matching between the level of urban modernization and the ecological environment is basically above 95%.

The Influence Mechanism of Farmer Behavior on the Spatial Pattern Evolution of Agricultural Production in the Yanhe River Basin

Featuring complex and fractured terrain, the Loess hilly and gully regions suffer poor grain production capacity. The behavior of farmers, the major users of agricultural production space, significantly influences the agricultural production space. Hence, it is essential to explore the evolution rules of the agricultural production space under the influence of farmer behavior and reveal the influencing mechanism of agricultural production space change, which will facilitate the promotion of ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Relying on six-stage remote sensing images of the Yanhe River Basin from 1995 to 2018, this study utilized a land use dynamic index, transfer matrix and landscape pattern index to analyze the spatial pattern evolution of agricultural production in the Yanhe River Basin. Furthermore, the geographic detector model was applied to quantitatively analyze the influencing factors of the spatial pattern evolution of agricultural production. The results demonstrated the following: (1) From 1995 to 2018, the overall area of cultivated land in the Yanhe River Basin decreased by 927.02 km2, with a change degree of 21.07%. The spatial structure of agricultural production changed, mainly transferring the cultivated land to woodland and grassland. (2) The spatial form of agricultural production has changed from fragmentation to regularity, and the complexity of the production space shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. (3) The evolution of the spatial pattern of agricultural production was affected by multiple factors of farmer behavior, where significant interactive enhancement effects existed. Specifically, labor input was the dominant factor affecting the overall scale of the production space, with an influence value of 0.202; fertilization input and cultivated land transfer were the key factors affecting the spatial distribution of production, with influence values of 0.264 and 0.242, respectively; income level and social interaction were the base factors affecting the spatial form of production, with influence values of 0.558 and 0.438, respectively. The research results provide scientific support for the improvement of agricultural production quality and the spatial evolution mechanism of agricultural production in the Yanhe River Basin.