Yellow River Basin Research Articles

Spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of urban resilience in the Yellow River Basin, China

The Yellow River Basin of China is a key region that contains myriad interactions between human activities and natural environment. Industrialization and urbanization promote social-economic development, but they also have generated a series of environmental and ecological issues in this basin. Previous researches have evaluated urban resilience at the national, regional, urban agglomeration, city, and prefecture levels, but not at the watershed level. To address this research gap and elevate the Yellow River Basin’s urban resilience level, we constructed an urban resilience evaluation index system from five dimensions: industrial resilience, social resilience, environmental resilience, technological resilience, and organizational resilience. The entropy weight method was used to comprehensively evaluate urban resilience in the Yellow River Basin. The exploratory spatial data analysis method was employed to study the spatiotemporal differences in urban resilience in the Yellow River Basin in 2010, 2015, and 2020. Furthermore, the grey correlation analysis method was utilized to explore the influencing factors of these differences. The results of this study are as follows: (1) the overall level of urban resilience in the Yellow River Basin was relatively low but showed an increasing trend during 2010–2015, and significant spatial distribution differences were observed, with a higher resilience level in the eastern region and a low-medium resilience level in the western region; (2) the differences in urban resilience were noticeable, with industrial resilience and social resilience being relatively highly developed, whereas organizational resilience and environmental resilience were relatively weak; and (3) the correlation ranking of resilience influencing factors was as follows: science and technology level>administrative power>openness>market forces. This research can provide a basis for improving the resilience level of cities in the Yellow River Basin and contribute to the high-quality development of the region.

Unveiling key drivers of economy-water system and transforming water use pattern into sustainable development: Inner-Shaan-Ning region in the Yellow River Basin

The economy-water system involves complex interactions between water resources and economic activities; fully understanding these complexities and balancing economic development with water resources consumption remains a significant challenge. This study develops a factorial multi-region input-output CNN-LSTM (FMCL) model through integrating deep learning (convolutional neural network and long short-term memory, CNN-LSTM) and multivariate statistical analysis (factorial design, FD) into a multi-region input-output (MRIO) framework. The FMCL model not only unveils the socioeconomic drivers underlying water consumption patterns, but also quantitatively assess complicated interactions within the economy-water system under multiple scenarios. The FMCL model is then applied to a typical water-scarce region in the Yellow River Basin (three provinces of Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and Ningxia, abbreviated as Inner-Shaan-Ning region). The main findings are: (i) direct water consumption intensity, industrial structure (agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and accommodation & catering), and per capita household consumption constitute the key socioeconomic drivers of water consumption; (ii) among different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, and Ningxia would achieve relatively high levels of economy-water sustainability under SSP2, which represents a pathway of moderate socioeconomic development trends; (iii) the interaction between accommodation & catering and per capita household consumption would be significant; compared to the baseline SSP2, interactive policies that focus on key factors would achieve higher economy-water sustainability; (iv) from 2026 to 2050, the optimal interactive policy in Inner-Shaan-Ning region could reduce annual water consumption per unit of GDP by 1.22%, 3.82% and 3.34%, respectively. These findings cannot only reveal the key drivers and their multi-dimensional interactions within the economy-water system, but also facilitate the transformation of water use pattern into sustainable development.

Quantifying the effects of direct human activities and climate change on the spatial propagation of hydrological drought in the Yellow River Basin, China

The spatio-temporal evolution and propagation of flood and drought events are important in predicting their occurrences. This study attempted to investigate into the spatial propagation characteristics of hydrological droughts and their dynamics by identifying the spatial propagation probability (PP) and propagation time (PT) of different drought levels in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), China, based on copula functions and conditional probability. Then, the effects of direct human activities and climate change on the hydrological drought propagation were quantified by comparing the propagation characteristics of hydrological drought under observed and natural runoff. Results indicated that: (1) overall, the propagation of hydrological drought in the YRB showed a generally decreasing trend in PP and an increasing trend in PT with the increase of distance, presenting a gradually attenuating propagation along the river channel, the spatial propagation process of hydrological drought is similar to the domino effect; (2) when extreme hydrological drought occurred in the area represented by the Tangnaihai station located in the upstream basin, the probability of downstream areas experiencing moderate to severe hydrological drought showed an approximately decreasing trend along the river channel, with the PP of the observed sequence being slightly less than the natural sequence and the fluctuation of the hydrological drought propagation being more apparent; (3) taking 1986 as the dividing year, the average relative contribution rates of direct human activities to the changes in drought PT in spring, summer, autumn, and winter were 39.7%, 62.9%, 55.3%, and −67.2%, respectively, indicating a significant regulatory effect of reservoirs on hydrological drought propagation. In general, this study provided new insights into the spatial propagation mechanism of hydrological drought and offered a promising pathway for drought early warning and mitigation.

Research on the Synergistic Evolution of Comprehensive Transportation Network System in the Yellow River Basin Aimed at High-Quality Development

The high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin is still facing the issue of imbalance and inadequacy, and it urgently requires the backing and assistance of a well-coordinated and efficient comprehensive transportation network system. Based on this purpose, this study uses a composite system synergy degree model incorporating “mode dimension + regional dimension” to analyze the evolution of this network. The results indicate the following: (1) Railway and air transportation surpass highway transportation in growth and synergy, though overall system synergy is still low. (2) Downstream areas are gradually taking the lead, and the orderliness of each subsystem is gradually becoming consistent. The complexity and variability of the composite system’s synergy are high, with an overall low level of synergy. Overall, despite improvements in service capacity and quality, better integration of different transport modes and enhanced cross-regional cooperation are needed. This study reveals and analyzes in depth the complexity of the comprehensive transportation network system in the Yellow River Basin and its spatiotemporal characteristics of synergistic evolution. We propose suggestions for high-quality development at national, regional, and industry levels, fostering the continuous improvement of the system structure, which aids in overcoming the tangible obstacles faced by the high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.

Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin

By introducing virtual water (VW) flow correlation coefficients and risk indicators, this study examines the VW transmission relationship between urban agglomerations and cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and its impact on regional water resources pressure. The results show that: except for the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration (SPUA) and Central Plains Urban Agglomeration (CPUA), the other urban agglomerations primarily act as VW exporting regions, while virtual water-importing cities are concentrated in the eastern regions. Notably, the Ningxia Urban Agglomeration (NUA) demonstrates significantly higher values in VW impact and sensitivity coefficients than the remaining six urban agglomerations. First-tier cities generally display lower virtual water impact and sensitivity coefficients, whereas emerging cities exhibit the opposite trend. Additionally, we observe uneven risk variations between VW importing and exporting regions. Taking NUA as an example, the risk increase resulting from VW exports significantly exceeds the risk reduction associated with VW imports in the corresponding regions. It's important to highlight that first-tier cities consistently decrease water resource risk through VW imports in both study years. However, among second and third-tier cities, only 38.9% experience reduced water resource risk through VW imports. Therefore, we recommend a focused examination of VW imports and exports in western region urban agglomerations, cities, and second and third-tier cities within the watershed. Leveraging virtual water's asymmetric and high-value transfer can alleviate water resource pressure and scarcity risks in high-pressure regions by shifting them to lower-pressure regions, thus mitigating water resource stress across regions.

WITHDRAWN: The impact of renewable energy development on regional carbon emission reduction: Based on the spatio-temporal analysis of 30 provinces in China

The development of renewable energy has become an important means for the world to cope with climate change, ensure energy security and protect the ecological environment. Using the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2013 to 2021, this paper used the mediating effect model and the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to explore the mechanism and spatial effects of renewable energy development on carbon emission reduction. The results show that: (1) The results of mechanism analysis show that renewable energy development reduces carbon intensity by improving energy structure, promoting industrial structure optimization and industrial structure upgrading. (2) Renewable energy development can not only reduce the local carbon intensity, but also have a positive spillover effect on the carbon intensity of neighboring regions. (3) Further analysis shows that renewable energy development has a dynamic effect on carbon emissions. The heterogeneity analysis shows that compared with the Yellow River basin, renewable energy development significantly influences carbon emission reduction in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region. Energy-rich areas fall into the "resource curse", which makes renewable energy development’s carbon emission reduction effect not significant. This paper has certain reference significance for promoting reasonable decomposition between regions and formulating renewable energy development policies.

A dataset of spatial distribution of tourism resources in the Yellow River Basin in 2022

A dataset of spatial distribution of tourism resources in the Yellow River Basin in 2022

A dataset of annual surface water distribution in the Yellow River Basin (1986–2023)

A dataset of annual surface water distribution in the Yellow River Basin (1986–2023)

A new monitoring index for ecological vulnerability and its application in the Yellow River Basin, China from 2000 to 2022

A new monitoring index for ecological vulnerability and its application in the Yellow River Basin, China from 2000 to 2022

A dataset of soil wind erosion in the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2018

A dataset of soil wind erosion in the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2018

Spatio-temporal evolution analysis of landscape pattern and habitat quality in the Qinghai Province section of the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2022 based on InVEST model

Spatio-temporal evolution analysis of landscape pattern and habitat quality in the Qinghai Province section of the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2022 based on InVEST model

Climate-driven changes in drought metrics across the Yellow River Basin based on Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6

Climate-driven changes in drought metrics across the Yellow River Basin based on Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6

Water budgets in an arid and alpine permafrost basin: Observations from the High Mountain Asia

Ground freeze‒thaw processes have significant impacts on infiltration, runoff and evapotranspiration. However, there are still critical knowledge gaps in understanding of hydrological processes in permafrost regions, especially of the interactions among permafrost, ecology, and hydrology. In this study, an alpine permafrost basin on the northeastern Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau was selected to conduct hydrological and meteorological observations. We analyzed the annual variations in runoff, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and changes in water storage, as well as the mechanisms for runoff generation in the basin from May 2014 to December 2015. The annual flow curve in the basin exhibited peaks both in spring and autumn floods. The high ratio of evapotranspiration to annual precipitation (>1.0) in the investigated wetland is mainly due to the considerably underestimated ‘observed’ precipitation caused by the wind-induced instrumental error and the neglect of snow sublimation. The stream flow from early May to late October probably came from the lateral discharge of subsurface flow in alpine wetlands. This study can provide data support and validation for hydrological model simulation and prediction, as well as water resource assessment, in the upper Yellow River Basin, especially for the headwater area. The results also provide case support for permafrost hydrology modeling in ungauged or poorly gauged watersheds in the High Mountain Asia.

Attribution analysis of runoff and sediment changes in the Yellow River Basin based on the Budyko framework

ABSTRACT Under the influence of climate and human factors, runoff and sediment in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) have undergone a significant decline in the past decades. Based on the meteorological and hydrological records of six hydrological stations in the mainstream from 1967 to 2015, the impacts of climate change and human activities on the changes of runoff and sediment in different river reaches of the YRB were quantitatively evaluated by applying the Budyko framework. The results indicated that (1) the precipitation and potential evaporation suggested a non-significant decreasing trend in the whole basin (P > 0.05); (2) the contributions of climate change and human activities to the reduction of runoff in the basins of the six hydrological stations ranged from 7.6 to 19.7% and from 80.3 to 92.4%, respectively, with the largest contribution of human activities in the middle reaches; (3) the contributions of climate change and human activities to the reduction of sediment in the catchments ranged from −0.3 to 9.4% and from 90.6 to 100.3%, respectively, and the most artificial efforts have been made to reduce sediment in the middle reaches on account of mainly sediment source.

Characteristics of reactive nitrogen emissions from solid waste and its environmental impact in the Yellow River Basin, China

ABSTRACT One of the topics of concern on a global scale is the source, fate, and environmental effects of solid waste nitrogen (N). Quantitative calculation and evaluation of solid waste N (SWN) generation and its reactive N (Nr) emission characteristics, as well as their environmental effects in the basin ecosystem, are essential for the sustainable management of SWN and the improvement of the ecological environment. The accounting framework for the production of SWN and associated Nr emission was established using the Yellow River Basin of Henan section as an example. The findings revealed that SWN, with an annual average of 265.3 Gg N yr−1, grew by 17.2% over the previous ten years. The largest contributors were domestic waste N (82.5%) and livestock and poultry waste N (12.9%), with the remaining sources making up roughly 4.5%. The majority of the sources of Nr emissions were NH3 (63.2%), NOx (18.9%), and Nr lost to groundwater (12.3%), whereas N2O contributed just 5.7%. To mitigate Nr emissions from solid waste in the basin, enhancing solid waste classification, recycling, and composting treatment while reducing dumping and landfilling is vital. The study offers a scientific basis for the management and prevention of SWN in the basin.

Investigating the Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Land Cover and Ecosystem Service Value in the Kuye River Basin

Land cover change influences the provision of regional ecosystem services, posing a threat to regional ecological security and sustainable development. The Kuye River Basin, a vital tributary of the Yellow River Basin, has experienced significant land cover changes due to intense human activity. Building on analysing the spatiotemporal evolution of land use cover and ecosystem service values from 1990 to 2022, this study predicted the land cover structure and ecosystem service value with two future scenarios, the NDC and the EPC, to provide insights into guiding sustainable policy interventions. We found the predominant land cover types were greensward and forest land, accounting for 67.22% of the total area. Forest land, greensward, and farmland have increased, while desert, water area, and other land types have decreased from 1990 to 2022. Forest land, greensward, farmland, and water areas are the main contributors to ecosystem service value in the Kuye River Basin. However, water area services have significantly decreased from 1990 to 2022. Under the NDC scenario, land development primarily relies on greensward and farmland, reducing forest and water areas and weakening the ecosystem’s regulatory and supporting functions. In contrast, the EPC scenario enhances ecosystem services by protecting critical ecological regions. Ecological protection measures significantly increase the ecosystem service values of the Kuye River Basin, and well-planned land use can effectively balance economic development with ecological preservation. This study provides scientific evidence to inform policies integrating ecological protection and economic growth, contributing to the sustainable development of the Kuye River Basin.

Both meteorological droughts and human activities modulated groundwater variations in the northern Yellow River Basin

ABSTRACT Groundwater level declines are largely associated with natural processes and human activities. In particular, the drivers of groundwater change can be more complex during meteorological drought owing to human activities. However, disentangling their specific contribution remains poorly understood. By focusing on semiarid ecosystems in the northern Yellow River Basin – the Ordos – here we elucidate the impact of human activities on the propagation of meteorological droughts to groundwater systems. To comprehensively analyze groundwater variations, we employ the K-means, categorizing them into four distinct patterns. Based on the Pearson correlation coefficient analysis between standardized precipitation index (SPI) and groundwater depth (GWD), we found that the majority of lag time for GWD response to SPI is less than 3 months, and the drivers influencing GWD are classified into three categories: SPI, human activities related to SPI, and human activities unrelated to SPI. Our results reveal that both meteorological droughts and human activities jointly influence GWD across the entire region. Notably, human activities unrelated to SPI have the greatest impact in the irrigation district of Ordos, followed by the western part of Ordos and the Mu Us sandy land in central Ordos. Our findings can guide us to formulate effective drought management policies and practices in semiarid regions.

Exploring Spatial Non-Stationarity and Scale Effects of Natural and Anthropogenic Factors on Net Primary Productivity of Vegetation in the Yellow River Basin

Investigating the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) and its influencing factors are crucial for green and low-carbon development and facilitate human well-being in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Although the research on NPP has advanced rapidly, in view of the regional particularity of the YRB, the persistence of its NPP change trend needs to be further discussed and more comprehensive impact factors need to be included in the analysis. Meanwhile, the spatial non-stationarity and scale effects of the impact on NPP when multiple factors are involved remain uncertain. Here, we selected a total of twelve natural and anthropogenic factors and used multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) to disentangle the spatial non-stationary relationship between vegetation NPP and related factors and identify the impact scale difference in the YRB. Additionally, we analyze the spatiotemporal variation trend and persistence of NPP during 2000–2020. The results revealed the following: (1) The annual NPP showed a fluctuating increasing trend, and the vegetation NPP in most regions will exhibit a future trend of increasing to decreasing. (2) The effects of different factors show significant spatial non-stationarity. Among them, the intensity of the impact of most natural factors shows a clear strip-shaped distribution in the east-west direction. It is closely related to the spatial distribution characteristics of natural factors in the YRB. In contrast, the regularity of anthropogenic influences is less obvious. (3) The impact scales of different factors on vegetation NPP were significantly different, and this scale changed with time. The factors with small impact scales could better explain the change in vegetation NPP. Interestingly, the impact size and scale of relative humidity on NPP in the YRB are both larger. This may be due to the arid and semi-arid characteristics of the YRB. Our findings could provide policy makers with specific and quantitative insights for protecting the ecological environment in the YRB.

Fine-Resolution Wetland Mapping in the Yellow River Basin Using Sentinel-1/2 Data via Zoning-Based Random Forest with Remote Sensing Feature Preferences

Accurate wetland classification in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) is crucial for China’s ecological security, sustainable development, and wetland resource management. This calls for more sustained research on regional variations and studies on remote sensing features, especially with temporal considerations. To address this and the optimization of feature extraction as well as ranking, Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 images were used. Additionally, to achieve more precise wetland classification, the YRB was subdivided into four regions for random forest classification. The results show that different remote sensing indices effectively distinguish various wetland types and that key percentiles play a significant role in distinguishing wetland types. The 10 m refined wetland classification map for 2020, with an overall accuracy of 85%, demonstrates that this framework can meet the needs of conventional large-scale wetland analysis and management. The total area of wetlands in the YRB in 2020 was 33,554.67 km2, mainly distributed in the upper reaches of the YRB (71%), with seasonal marshes being predominant. The total water area reached 8538.64 km2, primarily distributed in the upper reaches of the YRB (57.40%). This high-resolution wetland map offers crucial insights and tools for monitoring, protecting wetland resources, and shaping policies, advancing regional sustainable development goals.

Ecosystem health assessment of the largest lake wetland in the Yellow River basin using an improved vigor-organization-resilience-services model

Wuliangsu Lake is the largest lake wetland in the Yellow River basin, it is the Northern Sand Belt of China, which is essential to maintaining ecological security in northern China and the areas downstream. With the increasing environmental problems, the basin has become a sensitive and complex geographical unit, and a better understanding of the level of ecosystem health in the basin is helpful for policymakers in developing measures for ecological restoration and eco-space management. In this study, we proposed an improved VORS model containing ecosystem vigor, organization, resilience and services to assess the ecosystem health in the Wuliangsu Lake Basin in 2000, 2011, and 2022. To improve spatial precision, the study area was partitioned into grids measuring 2 km × 2 km each. The results indicated that: (1) the ecosystem health showed a slight increase trend, which indicated by the increase level grids reached 94 % in 2000–2022 change. (2) The reduction in vegetation cover decreased the ecosystem vigor, which was indicated by the weak level increased from 22 % in 2000 to 73 % in 2022. Ecosystem structure becomes more complex enhanced the ecosystem organization, the value increased from 0.3 to 0.6 in 2000 to 0.6–0.8 in 2022. Ecosystem resilience slightly declined in 2011 and 2022, ecosystem services were relatively stable but were dominated by weak levels. (3) The majority land use type in the study area is farmland, and the ecosystem vigor decreases as the area of grassland decreases to farmland in these 22 years. The ecosystem’s structure was enhanced and the land use structure was progressively brought into balance. Changes in all four parameters of ecosystem health assessment are related to land use, and changes in ecosystem health are likewise related to land use changes. The improved VORS model constructed for the Wuliangsu Lake Basin objectively reflect the basin’s state of ecosystem health, and provide a reference for ecological restoration and basin regional planning.