Socio-economic Impacts on Flooding: A 4000-Year History of the Yellow River, China

Abstract

We analyze 4000-year flood history of the lower Yellow River and the history of agricultural development in the middle river by investigating historical writings and quantitative time series data of environmental changes in the river basin. Flood dynamics are characterized by positive feedback loops, critical thresholds of natural processes, and abrupt transitions caused by socio-economic factors. Technological and organizational innovations were dominant driving forces of the flood history. The popularization of iron plows and embankment of the lower river in the 4th century BC initiated a positive feedback loop on levee breaches. The strength of the feedback loop was enhanced by farming of coarse-sediment producing areas, steep hillslope cultivation, and a new river management paradigm, and finally pushed the flood frequency to its climax in the seventeenth century. The co-evolution of river dynamics and Chinese society is remarkable, especially farming and soil erosion in the middle river, and central authority and river management in the lower river.

A River Basin over the Course of Time: Multi-Temporal Analyses of Land Surface Dynamics in the Yellow River Basin (China) Based on Medium Resolution Remote Sensing Data

“…Going further north, the area becomes more arid, with only 150 mm of rainfall annually. The lower and middle parts of the basin experience humid and sub-humid conditions with annual rainfall sums reaching up to 750 mm and temperatures ranging from 12-14 • C. A large part of the annual precipitation falls during the summer months (July and August), frequently in the form of heavy and intense summer storms [33]. These events are mainly responsible for the high soil erosion rates and the large quantities of sediment reaching the Yellow River and its tributaries [34].…”

Social–ecological challenges in the Yellow River basin (China): a review

“…6b. Either induced by heavy rainfall events in summer or by ice jams in early spring, the contemporary flood events are rather localized and occur on small spatial scales (Jiang et al 2008;Chen et al 2012). Flood prevention is closely related to sedimentation control.…”

“…So far, internationally published research conducted in the Yellow River basin focused mainly on single scientific disciplines, such as hydrology (Zhao et al 2012;Gupta et al 2012;Chen et al 2012), biodiversity (Huang et al 2007;Qi and Fang 2007;), geomorphology (Ma et al 2012;Liu et al 2013b;Kuenzer et al 2014), and climate change and variability Hu et al 2012). To our knowledge, a comprehensive overview describing the physio-geographical and socioeconomic characteristics and current pressing social-ecological challenges in the Yellow River basin is lacking and does not exist in the international published scientific literature.…”

Nature–Culture Relations: Early Globalization, Climate Changes, and System Crisis

“…During the Bronze Age crisis, the change in climate led to excessive flooding. From the 16th century BC till 771 BC, several floods struck the Asian mainland that led to migration [156]. Historically, cultural adaptation is observed as a response to challenging social and environmental conditions.…”