scholarly journals Response of streamflow to climate changes in the Yellow River Basin, China

2011 ◽  
pp. 110325110404063
Author(s):  
Zhifeng Yang ◽  
Qiang Liu
2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1113-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifeng Yang ◽  
Qiang Liu

Abstract Climate changes impact hydrological processes and control streamflow at the basin scale. The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of climate change on streamflow in the Yellow River basin (YRB), China. The temporal trends of streamflow were explored by the Mann–Kendall method and a linear fit model, and the relationships between streamflow, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration (ETp) were investigated. Furthermore, the contribution of climate changes to streamflow was revealed by Budyko’s method and a simple water balance model. The following results were obtained: (i) decreasing abruptness in streamflow occurred in 1990, and this date was used to divide the streamflow into two periods (baseline period and period of change); (ii) 67 of 80 stations showed decreasing trends with an average reduction of 10.37% of annual precipitation changes, while most of the stations displayed increasing trends with a 3.71% increase in annual ETp; (iii) the precipitation and ETp elasticity of streamflow, as expected, revealed that streamflow increases with increasing precipitation, whereas it decreases with increasing ETp; and (iv) the changes of precipitation and ETp reflected complementary effects on the reduction of streamflow from the baseline period to the period of change, the decreasing trend in precipitation being the main cause for the reduction of streamflow, but the declining rates of ETp causing a slight increase in streamflow.


Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 271
Author(s):  
Jing Chen ◽  
Liantao Liu ◽  
Zhanbiao Wang ◽  
Hongchun Sun ◽  
Yongjiang Zhang ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of nitrogen on the physiological characteristics of the source–sink system of upper fruiting branches under various amounts of nitrogen fertilization. A two-year field experiment was conducted with a Bt cotton cultivar in the Yellow River Basin of China. The growth and yield of cotton of the upper fruiting branches were compared under four nitrogen levels: Control (N0, 0 kg ha−1), low nitrogen (N1, 120 kg ha−1), moderate nitrogen (N2, 240 kg ha−1), and high nitrogen (N3, 480 kg ha−1). The results indicated that in the subtending leaves in upper fruiting branches, chlorophyll content, protein content, and peroxidase (POD) activity dramatically increased with nitrogen application, reaching the highest under the moderate nitrogen treatment. The physiological characters in the seeds had the same trends as in the subtending leaves. Furthermore, the moderate nitrogen rate (240 kg ha−1) had a favorable yield and quality. Our results supported that a moderate nitrogen rate (240 kg ha−1) could coordinate the source–sink growth of cotton in the late stage, enhance the yield and fiber quality, and decrease the cost of fertilizer in the Yellow River Basin of China and other similar ecological areas.


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