Detecting the quantitative hydrological response to changes in climate and human activities

Wu, Jingwen; Miao, Chiyuan; Zhang, Xiaoming; Yang, Tiantian; Duan, Qingyun

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.010

Cited by 177 publications

(92 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In our study, based on the Budyko method, the contribution of climate change to reduced run‐off was 29% in P2 and 18% in P3 when compared with P1; for most catchments, the value varied from 5–76% in P2 and 3–31% in P3, which is consistent with the results in previous studies, where reduced precipitation contributed to run‐off reduction by 6–87% in the different catchments of the Yellow River basin for different periods (Gao et al, ; He et al, ; Liang et al, ; Zhao et al, ). Wu, Miao, Zhang, Yang, and Duan () also found that the Budyko‐based method produced similar estimates with other elasticity‐based methods and hydrological modelling based on a review of 10 commonly used quantitative methods. Interactions between climate change and human activity are complex; hence, it is difficult to ensure the independence of these two variables, which leads to uncertainty in the attribution of human activities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

Yang

Sun

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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A rapid reduction in run-off has been observed in the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin in recent decades. Understanding the contributions of climate change and human activities, such as vegetation restoration and water consumption, to surface water resource reduction has become urgent and very important for future regional planning. Here, we use attribution approaches to explore the effects of climate change and human activities on run-off over the past six decades. The results showed that the observed annual run-off at Tongguan station, which is located within the mainstream of the Yellow River, exhibited a significant decreasing trend of −0.69 mm year −1 (p < .01) and varied from −0.28 to −1.46 mm year −1 (p < .01) in the eight selected tributaries from 1960 to 2015. Two relatively abrupt changes in the double mass curves occurred around 1979 and 1999; compared with Period 1 (P1; 1960-1979), the average catchment run-off decreased 32% during Period 2 (P2 ; 1980-1999) and up to 49% during Period 3 (P3;. We calculated that approximately 29% of the reduction in the run-off during P2 and 18% during P3 were attributed to climate change. Increased surface water consumption resulted in effective run-off reduction, with relative contributions of approximately 27% and 28% during P2 and P3, respectively. With the implementation of the "Grain-for-Green" project, the vegetation coverage rapidly increased from 36% in P1 to 52% in P3 and reduced run-off by 35% during P3. These findings explain the run-off reduction and benefit water resource management in the middle reaches of the Yellow River basin.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

Yang

Sun

et al. 2020

Hydrological Processes

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“…Because of water scarcity, rapid population growth and economic development, and the overexploitation of water resources, many arid and semiarid regions are suffering from problems of water system/ecological security. Quantification of the water budget in these regions is important, as the scarcity of water and climatic variability lead to conflicts related to water use (Deus et al, ; Qiu et al, ; J. W. Wu et al, ). However, water budget in arid and semiarid regions is poorly understood due to the complexity of these regions, such as the ground water‐surface water interactions, partition of soil evaporation and plant transpiration, and plant water use pattern under different moisture conditions(Duque et al, ; Qiu et al, ; H. W. Wu et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurements and Modeling of the Water Budget in Semiarid High‐Altitude Qinghai Lake Basin, Northeast Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Liu

et al. 2018

JGR Atmospheres

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Water budget plays an important role in ecological functions and biogeochemical cycles on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). However, the key factors that govern the water budget across spatiotemporal scales in natural conditions are poorly understood, especially in the alpine region. To advance our understanding of how and why the water budget varies at the ecosystem and catchment scales, this study measured and modeled the main water budget components in the Qinghai Lake Basin (QLB) and further investigated the key factors for evapotranspiration and streamflow. The results showed that most monthly precipitation from June to September was greater than the corresponding evapotranspiration from the high-altitude Kobresia meadow (KMd.) and Potentilla fruticosa shrub (PFSh.) ecosystem, and vice versa for the low-altitude Achnatherum splendens steppe (ASSt.) ecosystem. The mean annual proportions of evapotranspiration of precipitation for the KMd., PFSh., and ASSt. ecosystems were 0.83, 1.06, and 1.02, respectively, from 2014 to 2015. The study highlights that the high-altitude KMd. ecosystem is the main contributing area for runoff generation in the QLB. From ASSt. to PFSh. and then to the KMd. ecosystem, the key factors for evapotranspiration switched from water conditions to temperature conditions with the increase in elevation. The future scenario of climate warming and precipitation increase may cause a rise in evapotranspiration and streamflow in the QLB. Moreover, the increasing precipitation may be consumed mainly by evapotranspiration in the high altitude with low slope and by transfer into streamflow in the area with high slope.

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“…Streamflow alterations have been intensified by climate change and human activities in many basins worldwide (Beek, Voss, & Floerke, ; Liu & Cui, ; Moors et al, ; Mostert, ; Wu et al, ; Wu, Miao, Zhang, Yang, & Duan, ; Xu, Chen, Chen, Zhao, & Ding, ; Yuan et al, ). Climate factors (precipitation, temperature, and potential evaporation) have direct influence on streamflow, whereas human activity (agriculture, reservoir construction, urbanization, etc.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on the dominant causes of streamflow alteration and effects of the current water diversion in the Tarim River Basin, China

Yang

Xue

Wei

et al. 2018

Hydrological Processes

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Understanding the dominant causes of streamflow alteration and effects of the current water diversion scheme is beneficial for sustainable management of water resources in an arid area. This study presents a quantitative attribution of the runoff changes between headstreams and mainstream from 1960 to 2015 using the Choudhury-Yang equation and evaluates the effects of 18 times of ecological water conveyance in the lower reaches of the Tarim River Basin (TRB). Our results suggest that climate change was the primary determinant of increase of the streamflow in the headstreams from 2000 to 2015. While in the mainstream, human activities played a dominant role in deduction in the streamflow with the contribution of 54.8-355.6%. Eighteen episodes of ecological water conveyance have a positive effect on rising groundwater level and are highly related to seed falling time of Shrub and Perennial herbaceous and Annual herbaceous except for Arbor. It indicates thatrestoring the long-term drying of the lower reaches through continuous water conveyance is feasible, although the existing programme has not restored the entire riparian system. Our study suggests that it is necessary to adopt an integrated approach for water resources allocation rather than relying on a single tributary contribution in the TRB.

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Detecting the quantitative hydrological response to changes in climate and human activities

Cited by 177 publications

References 38 publications

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

Run‐off affected by climate and anthropogenic changes in a large semi‐arid river basin

Measurements and Modeling of the Water Budget in Semiarid High‐Altitude Qinghai Lake Basin, Northeast Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau

Study on the dominant causes of streamflow alteration and effects of the current water diversion in the Tarim River Basin, China

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