Spatiotemporal variation in groundwater level within the Manas River Basin, Northwest China: Relative impacts of natural and human factors

Abstract The Manas River Basin (MRB), Northwest China, is an arid basin dependent on irrigation for agriculture, and human activities are believed to be the primary factor affecting the groundwater level fluctuations in this basin. Such fluctuations can have a significant adverse impact on the social economy, agricultural development, and natural environment of that region. This raises concerns regarding the sustainability of groundwater use. In this study, we used ArcGIS spatial interpolation and contrast coefficient variance analysis to analyse groundwater level, land-use change, and water resource consumption patterns from 2012 to 2019 in the plains of the MRB. The aim was to determine the main factors influencing the groundwater level and to provide a scientific basis for the rational development, utilisation, and management of water resources in this area. During the study period, the groundwater level decreased, increased, and then fluctuated with a gradually slowing downward trend; the decline ranged from −17.82 to −11.67 m during 2012–2019. Within a given year, groundwater levels declined from March/April to August/September, then rose from August/September to March/April, within a range of 0.29–19.05 m. Primary factors influencing the groundwater level included human activities (e.g., changes in land use, river regulation, irrigation, and groundwater exploitation) and natural causes (e.g., climate and weather anomalies). Human activities were the primary factors affecting groundwater level, especially land-use change and water resource consumption. These results provide a theoretical basis for the rational exploitation of groundwater and the optimisation of water resource management in this region.

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Response of land use change to human activities in the Yellow River Basin based on water resources division

自然资源学报 ◽

10.31497/zrzyxb.20190205 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 274

Author(s):

Ran ZHANG ◽

Yi-min WANG ◽

Jian-xia CHANG ◽

Yun-yun LI

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Water Resources ◽

Land Use Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Human Activities ◽

Yellow River ◽

Yellow River Basin ◽

The Yellow River ◽

The Yellow River Basin

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Impacts of Climate and Land-Use Change on Blue and Green Water: A Case Study of the Upper Ganjiang River Basin, China

Water ◽

10.3390/w12102661 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 2661

Author(s):

Yongfen Zhang ◽

Chongjun Tang ◽

Aizhong Ye ◽

Taihui Zheng ◽

Xiaofei Nie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Resource Management ◽

Water Resources ◽

Land Use Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Water Resource ◽

Water Resource Management ◽

Green Water ◽

Precipitation Changes ◽

Ganjiang River Basin

Quantitatively figuring out the effects of climate and land-use change on water resources and their components is essential for water resource management. This study investigates the effects of climate and land-use change on blue and green water and their components in the upper Ganjiang River basin from the 1980s to the 2010s by comparing the simulated changes in blue and green water resources by using a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model forced by five climate and land-use scenarios. The results suggest that the blue water flow (BWF) decreased by 86.03 mm year−1, while green water flow (GWF) and green water storage (GWS) increased by 8.61 mm year−1 and 12.51 mm year−1, respectively. The spatial distribution of blue and green water was impacted by climate, wind direction, topography, and elevation. Climate change was the main factor affecting blue and green water resources in the basin; land-use change had strong effects only locally. Precipitation changes significantly amplified the BWF changes. The proportion of surface runoff in BWF was positively correlated with precipitation changes; lateral flow showed the opposite tendency. Higher temperatures resulted in increased GWF and decreased BWF, both of which were most sensitive to temperature increases up to 1 °C. All agricultural land and forestland conversion scenarios resulted in decreased BWF and increased GWF in the watershed. GWS was less affected by climate and land-use change than GWF and BWF, and the trends in GWS were not significant. The study provides a reference for blue and green water resource management in humid areas.

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Impact of land use change on water resource allocation in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin in northwestern China

Journal of Arid Land ◽

10.1007/s40333-013-0209-4 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 273-286 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

YanYun Nian ◽

Xin Li ◽

Jian Zhou ◽

XiaoLi Hu

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Resource Allocation ◽

Land Use Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Water Resource ◽

Heihe River Basin ◽

Northwestern China ◽

Heihe River ◽

Water Resource Allocation ◽

The Heihe River Basin

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Attribution of Runoff Reduction in the Juma River Basin to Climate Variation, Direct Human Intervention, and Land Use Change

Water ◽

10.3390/w10121775 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1775 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Jingyi Bu ◽

Chunxia Lu ◽

Jun Niu ◽

Yanchun Gao

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Human Activities ◽

Climate Variation ◽

Stochastic Methods ◽

Human Intervention ◽

Runoff Reduction ◽

The Impact

Juma River, located in the Midwest of the Haihe River basin, is an important source of water supply to Beijing and Hebei. Over the past decades, the region has been seriously threatened by water shortages owing to complex climate conditions and intensive human activities. This study investigated the runoff characteristics of the Juma River by employing the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and stochastic methods for the period of 1961–2013. Accordingly, the runoff changes attributed to the climate variation and different types of anthropogenic activities (land use change and direct human intervention) were estimated, respectively, in conjunction with the improved quantitative response analysis. The results indicated that the annual runoff of both Zijingguan station and Zhangfang station has decreased significantly at the 0.001 significance level, and reduction rates were −0.054 billion m3 and −0.10 billion m3, respectively. Moreover, the persistency of this trend has been shown for decades (Hurst coefficient > 0.50). The SWAT model was calibrated and validated during the baseline period of 1961–1978. Significant rising temperatures and declining precipitation were the main reasons for runoff reduction, especially during the two periods of 1998–2002 and 2003–2008. Additionally, water withdrawal of Wuyi canal aggravated the runoff reduction and water scarcity conditions in the region. After 2009, the effects of direct human intervention exceeded those of climate change. However, the impact of land use change can be seen as negligible during the study period. Climate change had a greater effect on runoff reduction in winter, while the impact of human activities was more dramatic in summer.

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Effects of climate change and human activities on runoff in the Nenjiang River Basin, Northeast China

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-9-11521-2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 11521-11549 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

L. Q. Dong ◽

G. X. Zhang ◽

Y. J. Xu

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Human Activities ◽

Northeast China ◽

Dominant Factor ◽

Runoff Reduction ◽

Nenjiang River Basin ◽

The Impact

Abstract. The Nenjiang River Basin (NRB) is an important grain-production region with abundant wetlands in Northeast China. Climate change and anthropogenic activities have dramatically altered the spatial and temporal distribution of regional stream discharge and water resources, which poses a serious threat to wetland ecosystems and sustainable agriculture. In this study, we analyzed 55-yr (1956–2010) rainfall and runoff patterns in the river basin to quantitatively evaluate the impact of human activities on regional hydrology. The long-term hydrologic series were divided into two periods: period I (1956–1974), during which minimum land use change occurred, and period II (1975–2010), during which land use change intensified. Kendall's rank correlation test, non-parametric Pettitt test and precipitation-runoff double cumulative curve (DCC) methods were utilized to identify the trends and thresholds of the annual runoff in the upstream, midstream, and downstream basin areas. Our results showed that the runoff in the NRB has continuously declined in the past 55 yr, and that the effects of climate change and human activities on the runoff reduction varied in the upstream, midstream and downstream area over different time scales. For the entire study period, climate change has been the dominant factor, accounting for 69.6–80.3% of the reduction in the total basin runoff. However, the impact of human activities has been increasing from 19.7% during the 1950s–1970s to 30.4% in the present time. Spatially, the runoff reduction became higher from the upstream to the downstream areas, revealing an increasing threat of water availability to the large wetland ecosystem in the lower river basin. Furthermore, the sustainable development of irrigated agriculture in the NRB will be a threat to the survival of the wetlands.

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