scholarly journals Inequality of virtual water consumption and economic benefits embodied in trade: a case study of the Yellow River Basin, China

Water Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi An ◽  
Sanmang Wu ◽  
Li Li ◽  
Shantong Li
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
The Yellow River Basin

Abstract The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is facing a serious water shortage. How to effectively alleviate the water crisis and achieve sustainable development in the YRB has become a widespread concern. By using the interregional input–output tables of China in 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017, we analysed the transfer of virtual water and value-added and the inequality embodied in trade between the YRB and other regions. Results demonstrated that: (1) for the YRB, the pressure on water resources was alleviated through the net inflow of virtual water after 2007. However, the economic situation deteriorated due to the net outflow of value-added in interregional trade after 2012. (2) There existed a serious inequality in virtual water consumption and economic benefits embodied in trade between the YRB and Beijing, Shanghai, etc., with regional inequality (RI) index exceeding 1. Meanwhile, agriculture faced the most serious inequality among all sectors in the YRB. Accordingly, the YRB should aim to optimise its industrial structure and improve water use efficiency to achieve a win-win situation for both economic development and net virtual water inflow. In addition, policymakers should take measures to flexibly adjust the trade scale between the YRB and other regions based on the RI index.

scholarly journals Comprehensive Evaluation of Land Use Benefit in the Yellow River Basin from 1995 to 2018

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 643
Author(s):  
Zehui Chen ◽  
Qianxi Zhang ◽  
Fei Li ◽  
Jinli Shi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Land Policy ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Ecological Benefits ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
The Yellow River Basin

Land resources are the basis of human survival and development. Land use benefit is the embodiment of land input-output ability. As an important economic zone and ecological barrier in China, it is important to calculate the land productivity in the Yellow River Basin. Using the center of gravity model and other methods, this study evaluated the land use benefit of the Yellow River Basin from 1995 to 2018 based on the selected indicators of geographic grid-scale and analyzed the regional disparity. The results revealed that the comprehensive benefits, economic benefits, and social benefits of land use were on the rise, but the ecological benefits changed in volatility. Land circulation had a great impact on the change of land use benefits. So reasonable land transfer policy should be particularly significant for land use in the Yellow River Basin. In addition, there were obvious spatial differences and agglomeration effects in land use benefit. The high values of benefits were concentrated in urban groups, which showed that areas with better economic and social development had better land use benefits. To narrow land use benefits’ spatial differences between regions, the less developed areas deserve more preferential policies to improve their economic and social levels. Besides, ecological benefits are generally not high. Thus, the land policy in the Yellow River Basin should take ecological priority as the basic principle while considering economic factors.

scholarly journals February orchid cover crop improves sustainability of cotton production systems in the Yellow River basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhanbiao Wang ◽  
Lichao Zhai ◽  
Shiwu Xiong ◽  
Xiaofei Li ◽  
Yingchun Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilizer ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Cotton Production ◽  
The Yellow River Basin ◽  
Winter Fallow

AbstractCotton-winter fallow is the major cropping system of cotton in the Yellow River basin of China, which not only leads to a considerable waste of land and natural resources, but also high greenhouse emissions and a loss of reactive nitrogen. Replacing winter bare fallow in cotton production with February orchid as a cover crop is a new cropping system in this area, but its sustainability is still unknown. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted with two cropping systems (cotton-winter fallow and cotton-February orchid) under four nitrogen application rates (0, 112.5, 168.75, and 225 kg N ha−1). Field observations were incorporated into a life cycle assessment to estimate the carbon footprint, nitrogen footprint, net ecosystem economic benefits, and economic benefits. The estimated carbon footprint per unit of sown area was 43.6–76.1% lower in the cotton-February orchid system than in the cotton-winter fallow system, mainly because of the increase in soil organic carbon. The cotton-February orchid system significantly increased the nitrogen footprint per unit of sown area by 6.7–11.5% under different application rates mainly because of the increase in N2O emissions. The nitrogen application rate significantly impacted the carbon and nitrogen footprints. After accounting for changes in the nitrogen and carbon footprints, the cotton-February orchid system with 168.75 kg N ha−1, which resulted in the highest net ecosystem economic benefits and economic benefits, resulted in a 25.0% reduction in nitrogen fertilizer applied and a 9.5% increase in net ecosystem economic benefits compared with the conventional cotton-winter fallow system and nitrogen fertilizer application rate (225.75 kg N ha−1). Thus, adopting an integrated strategy combining February orchid as a cover crop and a reduced nitrogen fertilizer application contributes to improvements in green and sustainable cotton production systems in the Yellow River basin and other regions with similar ecological conditions.

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