Analysis of Alterations of the Hydrological Situation and Causes of River Runoff in the Min River, China

Abstract

Construction of water conservancy projects has changed the hydrological situation of rivers and has an essential impact on river ecosystems. The influence modes of different factors on runoff alterations are discussed to improve the development and utilization of water resources and promote ecological benefits. The ecological hydrological indicator change range method (IHA–RVA) and the hydrological alteration degree method were integrated to evaluate the hydrological situation of the Min River in China. Based on six Budyko hypothesis formulas, the rates of contribution of climate change and human activities to runoff change are quantitatively analyzed. The results show that (1) the runoff of the Min River basin showed a significant decreasing trend from 1960 to 2019 and a sudden alteration around 1993; (2) the overall alteration in runoff conditions was 45% moderate and the overall alteration in precipitation was 37% moderate; (3) precipitation and potential evapotranspiration also showed a decreasing trend within the same period but the overall trend was not significant; (4) the contribution of climate variability to runoff alterations is 30.2% and the contribution of human activities to runoff alterations is 69.8%; human activities are the dominant factor affecting the alteration of the runoff situation in the Min River basin.

Characterization of the evolution of runoff‐sediment relationship in Min River based on coupling coordination theory

“…The Gaochang hydrological station is a control station for the lower reaches of the MR, controlling a catchment area of 135,400 km 2 . The geographical location of the basin is 99°42′~104°40′ E and 28°20′~33°38′ N. It has a well‐developed water system, abundant water, and abundant hydraulic resources (W. Guo, Zhou, et al, 2022). The MRB has a variety of landforms, with the terrain decreasing from northwest to southeast, with the main stream flowing through plateaus, mountains, plains, and hills in that order (Ding et al, 2017).…”

“…The runoff in the MRB primarily originates from the main streams above the Wutongqiao hydrological station, while the runoff from the various tributaries is relatively small. To combat soil erosion in the MRB, the Chinese government has implemented the Natural Forest Protection Project and the Return of Cultivated Land to Forests and other ecological environmental protection projects in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River (W. Guo, Zhou, et al, 2022; Zhou et al, 2011), which have reduced the runoff and sediment load of the MR and improved the vegetation conditions and water use in the basin.…”

Attribution Analysis of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Vegetation Changes in the Min River Basin

“…Previous studies on the Min River Basin (MRB) focused on the interrelationships between runoff and vegetation, as well as the analysis of the causes of change [28,29]. Guo et al [30] evaluated the changes in runoff conditions of the MRB under changing environments using various hydrological indicators. They found that climate and anthropogenic factors contributed 30.20% and 69.80%, respectively, to the changes in runoff from the MRB.…”

Response of Vegetation Coverage to Climate Drivers in the Min-Jiang River Basin along the Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plat-Eau, 2000–2022

“…In recent years, there have been fast advancements in remote sensing technology, and the Google Earth Engine platform (GEE) has given researchers a strong tool for quickly accessing, processing, and analyzing data on vegetation coverage worldwide. As a result, a significant area of current vegetation coverage research is the analysis of extensive, long-term vegetation databases based on the GEE platform [28,29]. Vegetation indices are used in this study method to examine the growth and coverage of vegetation [30].…”