River Basin Water Research Articles

Optimizing Water Distribution in Transboundary Rivers Based on a Synthesis–Dynamic–Harmonious Approach: A Case Study of the Yellow River Basin, China

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.

Microplastics pollution in the Yellow River basin: current status and control strategy

Microplastics pollution has attracted worldwide attention. Compared with the status quo of microplastics pollution in marine environment and other major rivers and lakes, the relevant data of the Yellow River basin is relatively inadequate. The abundance, types, and spatial distribution characteristics of microplastic pollution in the sediments and surface water of the Yellow River basin were reviewed. Meanwhile, the status of microplastic pollution in the national central city and Yellow River Delta wetland was discussed, and the corresponding prevention and control measures were put forward. The results showed that the spatial distribution of microplastics pollution in sediments and surface water of the Yellow River basin increased from upstream to downstream, especially in the Yellow River Delta wetland. There are obvious differences between the types of microplastics in sediment and surface water in the Yellow River basin, which is mainly related to the materials of microplastics. Compared with similar regions in China, the microplastics pollution levels in national key cities and national wetland parks in the Yellow River basin are in the medium to high degree, which should be taken seriously. Plastics exposure through various ways will cause serious impact on aquaculture and human health in the Yellow River beach area. To control microplastic pollution in the Yellow River basin, it is necessary to improve the relevant production standards, laws and regulations, and improve the capacity of biodegradable microplastics and the degradation capacity of plastic wastes.

Modeling the effect of artificial flow and sediment flux on the environment and plankton of an estuary

Estuarine environments are influenced by both river flows and oceanic tidal movement of water, sediment, and nutrients, often forming ecosystems that are rich in resources and biodiversity. The Yellow River once carried the world's largest sediment load, but artificial structures have transformed its hydrodynamic processes. An annual Water–Sediment Regulation Scheme (WSRS) was introduced to flush accumulated sediment from the Xiaolangdi Reservoir, which provides flood control and water storage. However, the effect of the WSRS process on the runoff and sediment conditions, nutrients, and ecological environment of the Yellow River Estuary and adjacent ocean are not well understood. In the current study, a coupled hydrodynamic–nutrient–plankton ecosystem dynamics model (FVCOM–FABM–NPZD) was constructed to simulate changes in the ecological parameters and in the vertical response in the Yellow River Estuary before, during, and after the WSRS, This model also was used to quantify the effects of changes in the incoming material flux on the hydrodynamic and ecological environment of the estuary, using the Yellow River Xiaolangdi Reservoir water transfer and sand transfer as an example. The study found that the WSRS changed the spatial and temporal distribution of temperature, salinity, sediment, inorganic nitrogen, and phytoplankton in the Yellow River Estuary and adjacent waters. It also had a significant effect on the temperature, salinity, and ecology of the adjacent near-shore marine environment. The spatial and temporal responses of zooplankton and phytoplankton to the WSRS differed. Zooplankton showed a lag in response to the WSRS and were mainly influenced by temperature and phytoplankton. The phytoplankton concentration was positively influenced by inorganic nitrogen and negatively influenced by salinity and sediment. In the current study, the effects of changes in the flow and sediment flux from the WSRS on environmental factors and zooplankton in the Yellow River Estuary were simulated, providing a theoretical basis for scheduling the release of water and sediment in the Yellow River basin and providing a reference for water and sediment regulation in other reservoirs upstream of the estuary.

Disrupted water governance in the shadows: Revealing the role of hidden actors in the Upper Cauca River Basin in Colombia

Colombia's policy in the Upper Cauca River Basin is diminished by a lack of legitimacy in local areas respecting the control of territory and water. Such illegitimate interference provides a hiding place and fertile ground for the illegal activities of “hidden” actors. This paper aims to scrutinize the potential power of such hidden actors to influence water governance. We engage with critical discussions of water governance to reveal the role of these actors in controlling territory and water in the Upper Cauca River Basin. Extensive fieldwork was carried out, including workshops, interviews, and informal talks. Despite the Colombian government not recognizing hidden actors and their part in influencing water-related policies, the information gathered revealed their active agency in the basin. The paper shows how these actors play a determining role in territorial development and water resource management, disrupting the functioning of the State's water governance. Hidden actors, to promote their own, mostly illegal and illegitimate businesses, seize upon the current lack of clarity in the national normative standards, the deficiencies created by an inconsiderate implementation of national water policy, and the State's lack of legitimacy at the local level. This paper concludes that the awareness of hidden actors and their invisible power over water governance provide a better sense of the reality on the ground for policymakers in Colombia.

The future of water in a desert river basin facing climate change and competing demands: A holistic approach to water sustainability in arid and semi-arid regions

Study regionThe Middle Rio Grande (MRG), defined by the portion of the basin from Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico to the confluence with the Rio Conchos in Far West Texas, U.S.A. and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico. Study focusThe future of water for the MRG and many other arid and semi-arid regions of the world is challenged by a changing climate, agricultural intensification, growing urban populations, and a segmented governance system in a transboundary setting. The core question for such settings is: how can water be managed so that competing agricultural, urban, and environmental sectors can realize a sustainable future? We synthesize results from interdisciplinary research aimed at “water futures”, considering possible, probable, and preferable outcomes from the known drivers of change in the MRG in a stakeholder participatory mode. We accomplished this by developing and evaluating scenarios using a suite of scientifically rigorous computer models, melded with the input from diverse stakeholders. New hydrological insights for the regionUnder likely scenarios without significant interventions, relatively cheap and easy to access water will be depleted in about 40 years. Interventions to mitigate this outcome will be very costly. A new approach is called for based on “adaptive cooperation” among sectors and across jurisdictions along four important themes: information sharing, water conservation, greater development and use of alternative water sources, and new limits to water allocation/withdrawals coupled with more flexibility in uses.

Effects of Agricultural Large‐And Medium‐Sized Reservoirs on Hydrologic Processes in the Arid Shiyang River Basin, Northwest China

AbstractAgricultural large and medium‐sized reservoirs in arid regions increase the water stresses within local hydrologic systems, adding to pressures on aquatic ecosystems and also threatening the sustainability of water resources. Yet, there is limited research concerning how agricultural reservoirs affect the hydrology of inland river basins, which has hampered a comprehensive assessment of sustainable water use in these systems. We explore the use of stable isotopes of water to evaluate the effects of agricultural reservoirs on hydrology and the sustainable use of water in the arid Shiyang River basin. Results show that agricultural large‐ and medium‐sized reservoirs in this arid region alter local isotopic hydrologic patterns increasing water‐body evaporation and enriching the isotopic composition of water near the reservoir. As a result, evaporation losses of reservoir water can be as high as 30.7% in downstream desert reservoirs. Reservoir water also exchanges with surrounding groundwater and contributes 22% to local precipitation due to reservoir evaporation. Detailed studies of individual reservoirs show that the isotopic composition is most enriched at the surface of the reservoir and then gradually depletes toward the bottom. The cumulative effect of multiple large and medium sized reservoirs profoundly alters hydrologic processes in inland river basins, leading to an evaporation‐led water loss in these systems.

Assessment of the impact of the formation of water resources and the quality of surface waters of the Lena River basin

Ongoing active development of natural resources, changing climatic conditions (including permafrost melting) In Eastern Siberia, it is necessary to control changes in the ecological state of the environment, one of which is surface water. The Roshydromet system has established and successfully operates a network of regime observations of the state and pollution of surface waters of the Russian Federation, ensuring the unity of measurement of the content of major pollutants in water according to uniform methods certified in accordance with the requirements of regulatory documents of the Russian Federation and international standards. In this paper, the formation of the quality of the surface waters of the Lena River basin under conditions of non–stationary climatic processes on the one hand and the anthropogenic component on the other is considered. Based on the analysis of statistically processed long–term data (2011-2021) obtained by the state monitoring network of Roshydromet, an assessment of the water quality of the Lena River and its major tributaries - the Vitim, Olekma, Aldan, Vilyu rivers is given. The spatio-temporal distribution of characteristic pollutants in the water of the rivers of the basin has been studied: organic substances (according to BPK5 and COD), phenols, petroleum products, iron, copper and zinc compounds. It was found that in the conditions of the Arctic climate, the seasonal distribution of organic substances in surface waters was insignificant. The presence of heavy metal compounds in the water of the Lena River basin water bodies is mainly due to anthropogenic sources of pollution. In the long-term plan, the water of the rivers of the Lena River basin was assessed as the 3rd satisfactory quality class.

Kalai-smorodinsky bargaining solution for the logone river basin water allocation

Kalai-smorodinsky bargaining solution for the logone river basin water allocation

Spatiotemporal Oasis Land Use/Cover Changes and Impacts on Groundwater Resources in the Central Plain of the Shiyang River Basin

The impacts of land use/cover changes (LUCCs) on groundwater resources are a global issue. The Shiyang River Basin of China is a typical, ecologically fragile area. Focusing on the Wuwei sub-basin of the central plain, this study analyzed typical remote sensing image data for 17 specific dates since 1970. Before the Comprehensive Treatment Program in 2007, the area of natural oases decreased at a rate of 16.25 km2/year, while the area of farmland expanded at a rate of 13.85 km2/year. The farmland expansion preferentially occurred in low-vegetation-coverage oases, where the groundwater depth increased from 4 to 20 m. The consumption of groundwater increased from 7319.5 × 104 m3/year to 12,943.2 × 104 m3/year. During the period 2008–2018, the areas of both the natural oases and farmland decreased at rates of 2.57 km2/year and 8.99 km2/year, respectively. The groundwater level rose significantly in the south and west, as well as near the main river channel. Groundwater consumption has been restored to 7270.4 × 104 m3/year. Only 0.12 km2 of every 1.17 km2 of the original natural oases were restored through the natural farmland–natural oases conversion process. Groundwater depth increased significantly with the continuous expansion of farmland. Since the farmland area was effectively controlled, the trend of groundwater-level decline was significantly improved. These findings provide scientific support for the ecological restoration and reconstruction of oases, as well as an efficient and balanced development of river basin water resources.

Environmental Vulnerability of the Buriticupu River Water Basin, Maranhão - Brazil: The Relief as a Key Element

Studying a watershed in the Amazon region requires understanding that this region has national and global relevance. The fact that the study area is located in the so-called arc of deforestation raises the need to understand its context, its vulnerabilities, and its physical, environmental, and anthropic components. This research assesses the environmental vulnerability of the Buriticupu River Watershed in Maranhão State, Brazil. The aim is to foster improvements that may contribute to environmental planning and, specifically, to water resource management. For this purpose, the authors used the Geographic Information System environment to work with Map Algebra, interrelating primary and secondary data on geology, relief, pedology, and land use and land cover to generate synthesis cartography. The results pointed to areas with predominantly medium vulnerability. However, the analyses highlight alluvial plains, which became the most fragile areas from an environmental point of view. This is mainly because these areas comprise water-saturated soils (gleysols), unconsolidated deposits of sand and silt (alluvial deposits), and extensive humid vegetation, characteristics of igapó and floodplain forests. This research generated a document that applies is applicable to the study area. It also provided, in a systemic and integrated way, a product that will help in planning, which is very important for the creation of a watershed committee, something necessary and still embryonic in Maranhão State, Brazil.

Integrating intuitionistic preferences into the graph model for conflict resolution with applications to an ecological compensation conflict in Taihu Lake basin

Ecological compensation is an important means to solve the problem of river basin water pollution, which has been widely used at home and abroad. However, the study of ecological compensation problems from the perspective of the management by using the graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR) is still a challenge. Thus, the aim of this article is to construct the graph model with intuitionistic preferences to model and analyze real life ecological compensation conflicts. Specifically, due to the lack of information and the inherent fuzziness of human cognition in ecological compensation conflicts, the intuitionistic preference structure is incorporated into the framework of the GMCR to represent the decision makers’ (DMs’) uncertain preference. Based on this, two sets of intuitionistic stability definitions are defined to analyze and solve the possible resolution for conflict problems with two DMs and multiple DMs, respectively. Note that a state is called intuitionistic stability for DM in a graph model based on the given intuitionistic stability definitions if and only if there is no reward for a given state to leave the initial state, that is to say, the evaluated value of the focus DM is less than an intuitionistic satisficing threshold of the same DM. Furthermore, the intuitionistic equilibrium is considered as the possible solution to the conflict problems and is intuitionistic stable for all DMs in the graph model. Finally, the ecological compensation conflicts of the Taihu Lake basin are used to demonstrate the usefulness and correctness of the graph model with intuitionistic preferences.

The normative construction of the River Chief system model of river basin water environment management under legal perspective

The normative construction of the River Chief system model of river basin water environment management under legal perspective

ЗМІНА ВОДНОГО БАЛАНСУ БАСЕЙНУ РІЧКИ ГОРИНЬ В УМОВАХ ПОТЕПЛІННЯ КЛІМАТУ

Warmer climate caused a large complex of effects that appeared in every link of the global hydrological cycle. In most cases, these changes have a non-linear nature and occur with different intensity in hydrological and meteorological systems. Therefore, it is important to study such processes together, which will allow simultaneous detection of their mutual effects. The water balance method, when all components are calculated in the same dimensions (mm), and then compared with each other, is best suited for solving such a problem. The increase in air temperature by 1,2°C caused significant changes in the overall structure of the Horyn River basin water balance: an increase in the expenditure parts uncertainty for the water balance components for the modern period 1991-2020. The closure error increase occurs mainly due to the cost part and its main component of total evaporation. According to Mali Vykorovychi hydrological gauge notes a decrease in the annual precipitation by 18 mm, river runoff by 21 mm, and an increase in total evaporation by 35 mm in absolute values. In the 1961-1990 according to the calculation of climatic water balance, the moisture accumulation prevailed over its utilization almost in 5 times but now, due to the increase in air temperature, their ratio has almost leveled off. Today river water regime almost moved from the excessively moistened to sufficiently moistened, and there are trends indicating the moisture consumption processes dominance in the basin over its accumulation.

Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Eichmann Lake Wetland in Aksu River Basin and Its Response to Ecological Water Supply.

Timely understanding and quantitative analysis of the changing trend in natural ecosystems in arid and semi-arid areas and their response to the ecological water supply process are of great significance for maintaining the health of oasis ecosystems. Taking the Eichmann Lake wetland of the Aksu River Basin in Xinjiang as the research area, the temporal-spatial distribution characteristics of the lake and the response of ecological water in recent years were studied based on remote sensing images and monitoring data. The results show that: (1) The water surface area of Eichmann Lake is shrinking, from 61.57 km2 in 1996 to 27.76 km2 in 2020. The changes in water surface area have experienced three stages: rapid decline, slow decline, and slow recovery. After the ecological water supply, the water surface area has obvious seasonal changes with hysteresis; (2) In areas with a low average water level, the ecological water supply has a significant impact on the groundwater level. The higher the water supply is, the higher the groundwater level will be. There is a significant lag effect between the change in the groundwater level and the response of the ecological water supply, which is 1-2 months; (3) The response characteristics of different natural vegetation to the ecological water supply were different in interannual, seasonal, and spatial contexts. The response of Populus euphratica to the ecological water supply is obvious, and its growth is the best within the range of 100-500 m from the water supply outlet. This research can provide the basis for the rational allocation of the Aksu River Basin's water resources, and also act as a valuable reference for the restoration and reconstruction of surrounding vegetation in the Aksu River irrigation area.

Optimizing hydropower generation and sediment transport in Yellow River basin via cooperative game theory

The complicated relationship between water and sediment in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) makes it imperative for reservoir stakeholders to game with each other to balance the short-term and long-term benefits. This paper proposes an integrated model to analyze the cooperation opportunities for major reservoir stakeholders engaged with the Longyangxia, Liujiaxia, Wanjiazhai, Sanmenxia, and Xiaolangdi reservoirs on the YRB mainstream. Multiple benefits are considered, including flood control, water supply, hydropower generation, and sediment trapping. Non-cooperation and cooperation scenarios are compared in this study. The effect of flow and sediment conditions on the incremental benefit of cooperation is examined, which shows that the systematic incremental benefit is larger when the YRB is dryer and sediment concentration is higher. Basin-wide cooperation is especially beneficial when the inflow peak comes earlier and the streamflow process is more fluctuating. Cooperation of reservoir stakeholders in a normal year (2019) can bring more incremental benefit (i.e., $22.57 million) in contrast to the non-cooperation scenario. Longyangxia, Liujiaxia, and Wanjiazhai reservoirs contribute most to the grand cooperation by implementing optimal operation for downstream stakeholders. Three cooperative game theory methods (Shapley value, Gately point, and Nash–Harsanyi solution) are employed to find possible benefit-sharing solutions. Based on cooperative game theory, the results demonstrate the core of basin-wide cooperation in the Yellow River is negligible due to the negative externality effect, implying more measures are needed by the government or non-profit organization to maintain the stability of grand coalition, i.e., water resources utilization control and external compensation. The results also show that Shapley value could be used to reallocate the incremental benefits in the grand cooperation.

Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on the Water, Food, and Energy Sectors in Sittaung River Basin, Myanmar

The Sittaung river basin (SRB) remains one of the least studied basins of Myanmar in terms of the assessment of the impact of climate change. As several reservoirs already exist in the basin, much research is needed to understand how projected climate change impacts rainfall, temperature, flows, domestic and agricultural demands, and hydropower generation. Given the limitation in observed data on the ground, a combination of satellite-derived meteorological data and digital elevation data is used to generate inputs to a Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model. Five CMIP5 GCMs are used in the WEAP to assess the impact of climate change on the water, food, and energy production of the SRB for the baseline (BL: 1985–2014), near future (NF: 2021–2050), and far future (FF: 2051–2080) periods. The results indicate that the average temperature and rainfall are likely to increase in the future for the SRB. December and January are expected to be drier and warmer, whereas rainy months are expected to be wetter and warmer in the future. The BL flows (1091 m3/s) are expected to increase by 7–10% during NF and by 16–19% during FF at the basin outlet. Meanwhile, the unmet domestic demand during BL (1.3 MCM) is expected to decrease further by approximately 50% in the future. However, the unmet agricultural demand (667 MCM) for food production is estimated to increase from the BL by 11–15% during NF and by 14–19% during FF. Similarly, the total energy generation of nine hydropower projects (4.12 million MWh) is expected to increase by 9–11% during NF and by 16–17% during FF. Thus, the riverine flows are expected to increase in the future, thus positively impacting the domestic and hydropower sectors, whereas the unmet demands in the agricultural sector likely remain unsatisfied. These results will help the water, agriculture, and energy sectors to develop strategies to maximize benefits and cope with the impacts of climate change in the near and long-term future.

Social and environmental indicators of the Jaboatão river water basin associated with diseases related to inadequate environmental sanitation (DRIES)

Located in the Southern Mata region of the state of Pernambuco, the Jaboatão River Hydrographic Basin (JRB) has an area of 442 km². Part of the group of small coastal rivers (GL2), the JRB drains the municipalities of Recife, Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Moreno, São Lourenço da Mata, Cabo de Santo Agostinho, and Vitória de Santo Antão. In addition to contributing to the public supply of the Metropolitan Region of Recife, the JRB receives domestic, industrial and agro-industrial effluents along its route. The JRB runs through densely occupied municipalities with irregular land use and deficiencies in infrastructure, reflecting social, economic and environmental problems. The objective of this study is to make a diagnosis of the socio-environmental indicators in the JRB and correlate them with the main waterborne diseases related to the lack of basic sanitation. The study involved a literature review and a survey of secondary data. Regarding the water quality of the JRB, it was found to vary between Polluted and Very Polluted during the monitored period. With regard to environmental impacts, deforestation, waste dumping and irregular occupation of riverbanks were observed, causing problems for the fauna, flora and the population. In relation to the basic sanitation indicator in the municipality of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, among the obstacles raised was the fact that the municipality does not have a Municipal Policy on Basic Sanitation and the Jaboatão dos Guararapes Municipal Administration does not have a Municipal Basic Sanitation Plan; There is a scarcity of systematized information that supports the process of measuring environmental health; between urban and rural areas there are disparities in access to sanitation services, requiring the adoption of public policies to expand sanitation services in order to assist these populations and thus promote the universalization of sanitation access. The deficiency in basic sanitation in the municipality of Jaboatão dos Guararapes hinders local sustainable development, causing social, economic and environmental impacts. Regarding the number of hospital admissions caused by diseases related to inadequate environmental sanitation (DRIES) in the municipalities that are part of the JRB, Recife stood out with 13,191 hospitalizations in the study period, and in 2010 had the highest number of hospitalizations (2,204). With regard to the number of deaths caused by DRIES, Recife also stood out with 4,208 deaths during the study period.

Impact of historical and future land use land cover on spatial-temporal variation of discharge and sediment load of Upper Tapi Basin, India

Abstract Trend detection of discharge and sediment load is vital to adopt suitable conservation measures as per the changes occurring. In the present study, trends of daily streamflow and sediment load for Upper Tapi Basin are analyzed using Mann-Kendall, modified Mann-Kendall, and innovative trend analysis and change points are found using Pettitt tests from 1985 to 2020 to determine time series' trend with the statistical significance. Land use land cover (LULC) for Upper Tapi Basin is prepared for three decades (1989–2020). Innovative trend analysis has shown non-monotonicity in the time series with a decreasing trend. The streamflow is found to be significantly decreasing in the basin. A decline in sediment load is observed in Burhanpur and Gopalkheda while there is an increasing trend in Yerli G.S. The rise in anthropogenic activities is the main reason behind the reduction in suspended sediment load (SSL) over the basin. The decadal analysis of LULC showed an increase in built-up area (18.3%), barren land (5–8%), waterbodies (1.2–1.9%) agricultural land (50–60.79%) and a decrease in vegetation (from 43 to 21%). The LULC for 2030 is predicted with Land Change Modeler (LCM) in IDRISI Terrset. The estimated LULC shows that the built-up area will expand as agricultural land decreases. The overall study indicates that anthropogenic activities will increase in the future. The findings of this study will aid in decision making for river basin water resource management, as well as understanding the influence of human-caused activities on flow and sediment load variance.

Experiential Learning for Training Future Science Policy and Diplomacy Experts

Experiential Learning is a useful tool to prepare negotiators and politicians in the art of diplomacy and can have a unique value in Science Policy and Diplomacy training. This workshop review summarizes two EL activities undertaken in a University of Arizona SPD course. The first was a semester-long project in conjunction with graduate and undergraduate students from a UA climate change adaptation course and the United States Department of State’s Diplomacy Lab. For this project, students researched issues and potential policies to address climate change effects on water, energy, and food resources in the Lower Mekong river basin. The second activity was the Mercury Game, a negotiation simulation that challenged students to represent interests of various countries to tackle an international environmental issue. Student survey results and other feedback demonstrate that EL is a valuable tool for SPD education and preparation for practice. Insights into how faculty, staff and students can facilitate EL in coursework are also discussed. This paper is authored by the student participants and documents their outcomes and perceptions after completing these activities.

How does irrigation alter the water, carbon, and nitrogen budgets in a large endorheic river basin?

• Irrigation substantially alters the water, carbon, and nitrogen budgets in the cropland area. • Evapotranspiration as well as surface runoff and baseflow is sharply increased after irrigation. • Water use efficiency of each crop species is significantly enhanced because of irrigation. • The cropland area of the Heihe River Basin switches from being a carbon source to a carbon sink as a result of irrigation. Irrigation can substantially alter the hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles in river basins. However, little attention has been given to the quantitative evaluation of the effects of irrigation on both of these cycles. In this study, we utilized the latest version of the Community Land Model (CLM5) to assess the effects of irrigation on the water, carbon, and nitrogen budgets in a cropland area of a large endorheic river basin (Heihe River Basin, HRB) in northwestern China and further identified the contributions of each type of crop to the abovementioned budgets. The model has been validated against local flux towers, remote sensing products, and reanalysis datasets, demonstrating the capability of CLM5 in capturing the temporal and spatial characteristics of water, carbon, and nitrogen at the basin scale. Two numerical experiments, one with irrigation and one without it, were conducted to explore the relationships between water and carbon/nitrogen budgets for the period from 2000 to 2018. The simulation results showed that the greatest amount of irrigation was applied in the summer (>50 mm month −1 ) and then declined to a low level during the other seasons. Evapotranspiration (ET) in the cropland area sharply increased from 106 mm year −1 to 508 mm year −1 , with an increase in surface runoff and baseflow after irrigation. Both irrigated gross primary production (GPP), net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and water use efficiency (WUE) peaked in the summer, which corresponded to the crop growing season. A shift in NEE from 6 gC m −2 year −1 to –229 gC m −2 year −1 indicated that the cropland area in the HRB switched from being a carbon source to a carbon sink because of irrigation. The corn area presented the largest increase/decrease in GPP/NEE after irrigation, whereas the lowest increase/decrease in GPP/NEE was observed in the cotton area. Total ecosystem carbon (TEC) and total ecosystem nitrogen (TEN) markedly increased as a result of irrigation, with increases of 3.29 × 10 13 gC and 2.96 × 10 12 gN, respectively, throughout the year in the cropland area. Overall, our study demonstrates that irrigation has substantial impacts on water, carbon, and nitrogen budgets in the cropland area of the HRB and provides important insights into the application of CLM5 in an arid basin with multiple crop types.