Divergent Hydrological Responses to Forest Expansion in Dry and Wet Basins of China: Implications for Future Afforestation Planning

Abstract

China has played a leading role in global greening efforts over the past few decades (Li et al., 2018;Zhu et al., 2016). Recently, the country sets a goal of achieving peak carbon and carbon neutrality by 2030 and 2060, respectively. This requires a systematic and nature-based strategy to offset anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. Enhancing China's carbon sink by planting forests in new areas is an appealing option. Afforestation is generally an effective way to sequester CO 2 and to improve environmental conditions through better water conservation, water quality, sand fixation, and other ecosystem services (

Attribution of runoff and hydrological drought changes in an ecologically vulnerable basin in semi‐arid regions of China

“…This indirectly confirms that compared to meteorological factors, changes in vegetation due to afforestation are the main factor affecting runoff in the Hunhe basin. Previous research has shown that water‐limited ecologically vulnerable basins are more sensitive to vegetation cover changes than other watersheds (Xue et al, 2022). In addition, vegetation can exhibit a sensitive response to climate change, including changes in precipitation, temperature, radiation, and other factors, showing significant spatial heterogeneity (Yang et al, 2022).…”

“…The Hunhe basin is a typical semiarid region in the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River, located in an ecologically vulnerable area with farming, forestry and animal husbandry intersecting (Bai et al, 2018; Feng, Liu, et al, 2022; Feng, Zeng, et al, 2022). The arid environmental conditions and limited resource supply greatly restrict the productivity and service functions of the ecosystem in the region, and the ecohydrological processes are sensitive to changes in the environment (Xue et al, 2022). The region experienced climate change and significant increases in vegetation greenness due to large‐scale afforestation programs (Yao et al, 2023).…”

“…Climate change and human activities have altered the process of the land hydrological cycle (Feng, Liu, et al, 2022; Feng, Zeng, et al, 2022), affecting the structure and function of the hydrological and water resources system (Karandish et al, 2021) and posing significant challenges to the development and utilization of water resources (Feng, Liu, et al, 2022; Feng, Zeng, et al, 2022). In recent decades, global warming has accelerated the water cycle and changed the spatiotemporal patterns between precipitation and the water cycle, thus affecting runoff (Milly et al, 2002; Xue et al, 2022). Human activities have further induced changes in runoff (Duveiller et al, 2018; Zhang et al, 2021), disrupting the balance between water supply and demand (Yao et al, 2023), and exacerbating drought (Omer et al, 2021; Yang et al, 2020).…”

Spatiotemporal Variation of Evapotranspiration on Different Land Use/Cover in the Inner Mongolia Reach of the Yellow River Basin

“…Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important part of the water cycle, linking energy, water, and circulation [1,2]. ET consumes more than 80% of the precipitation in arid and semi-arid regions and therefore plays a crucial role in the overall hydrological cycle [3][4][5][6][7]. It has been shown that ET is influenced by net radiation [8], wind speed [9], soil moisture stress [10], etc.…”

Dinâmica da vulnerabilidade ambiental da bacia hidrográfica do Rio Doce como subsídio ao planejamento e gestão de recursos ambientais e hídricos

“…Diversos estudos têm descrito que o reflorestamento pode contribuir com a redução das vazões mínimas, tendo em vista o incremento considerável da evapotranspiração, especialmente nos meses mais secos, em função do aumento da captação das águas subterrâneas pelas raízes profundas das florestas (RIBOLZI et al, 2018;AIRES et al, 2020;CECÍLIO et al, 2021). No entanto, trata-se de uma questão controversa, pois há grupos de estudiosos que defendem que as florestas possibilitam maior armazenamento de água no solo, dado ao sistema radicular profundo (XUE et al, 2022). Além disso, a distribuição espacial com que ocorre o reflorestamento também pode influenciar no comportamento das vazões.…”