scholarly journals Are China’s Water Resources for Agriculture Sustainable? Evidence from Hubei Province

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3510
Author(s):  
Hao Jin ◽  
Shuai Huang
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Hubei Province ◽  
Central China ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Development Capacity ◽  
Evaluation Point ◽  
Agricultural Water Resources ◽  
The Impact

We assessed the sustainability of agricultural water resources in Hubei Province, a typical agricultural province in central China, for a decade (2008–2018). Since traditional evaluation models often consider only the distance between the evaluation point and the positive or negative ideal solution, we introduce gray correlation analysis and construct a new sustainability evaluation model. Our research results show that only one city had excellent sustainable development capacity of agricultural water resources, and the evaluation value of eight cities fluctuated by around 0.5 (the median of the evaluation result), while the sustainable development capacity of agricultural water resources in other cities was relatively poor. Our findings not only reflect the differences in the natural conditions of water resources among various cities in Hubei, but also the impact of the cities’ policies to ensure efficient agricultural water use for sustainable development. The indicators and methods in this research are not difficult to obtain in most countries and regions of the world. Therefore, the indicator system we have established by this research could be used to study the sustainability of agricultural water resources in other countries, regions, or cities.

Identification of resilience characteristics of a regional agricultural water resources system based on index optimization and improved support vector machine

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1899-1910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Liu ◽  
Lei Xu ◽  
Qiang Fu ◽  
Mo Li ◽  
Muhammad Abrar Faiz
Keyword(s):  
Support Vector Machine ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Indicator System ◽  
Evaluation Index System ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Water Resources System ◽  
Agricultural Water Resources ◽  
Improved Support Vector Machine

Abstract In order to solve the gap and accuracy in the analytical methods of the resilience of a regional agricultural water resources system, a suitable evaluation index system based on the optimal index model was introduced and applied to the 15 farms in the Jiansanjiang Administration of Heilongjiang Province of China. An improved support vector machine (SVM) was used to analyze the resilience level of each farm for the selected time period. The test results showed that the indicator optimization model had the advantage of eliminating redundant indicators and ensuring the maximum content of screening indicators. The indicator system reflected all original information by 34% of initial indicators. The results showed that the particle swarm optimization-support vector machine (PSO-SVM) model had higher accuracy for the evaluation of agricultural water resource resilience through the analysis of stability and reliability of each model. The spatial pattern of resilience over selected farms was generally characterized by ‘low in the southwest and high in the northeast’. The research achievements may provide technical and theoretical support for solving problems of index optimization and analysis methods of system resilience, and have an important theoretical and practical significance for promoting the sustainable development of regional agricultural water resources systems.

scholarly journals Changing mechanisms of agricultural water use in the urbanization and industrialization of China

Water Policy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 908-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiwei Shao ◽  
Zuhao Zhou ◽  
Jiahong Liu ◽  
Guiyu Yang ◽  
Jianhua Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Agricultural Modernization ◽  
Agricultural Water Use ◽  
Agricultural Water Resources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The rapid urbanization and industrialization of China in recent years has presented serious challenges for the country in guaranteeing the preservation of agricultural water resources. This study selected four areas in China, each with different water resource and social development conditions. The relationship between the processes of urbanization and industrialization and recent agricultural water use was analyzed using rates of urbanization and the proportion of the added values from secondary and tertiary industries to China's gross domestic product. The analysis showed that overall agricultural water use in China decreases as the processes of urbanization and industrialization proceed. Agricultural water use has decreased in the Huang-Huai-Hai and northwest regions because both have experienced water resource shortages. The impact of industrialization and urbanization is minor in the northeast and southern regions as these areas have abundant water resources; however, the proportion of agricultural water use to total water use has decreased. These results reflect the impact that urbanization and industrialization have on agricultural water use, particularly in terms of how these processes change population structure, industry structure, and comparative benefit. This study advocates for a synergistic development of industrialization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization, and the guarantee of grain safety in China.

scholarly journals Equitable Allocation of Blue and Green Water Footprints Based on Land-Use Types: A Case Study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Liu ◽  
Lu Shi ◽  
Kevin Li
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Optimal Allocation ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Agricultural Water ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Lexicographic Optimization ◽  
The Impact

This paper develops a lexicographic optimization model to allocate agricultural and non-agricultural water footprints by using the land area as the influencing factor. An index known as the water-footprint-land density (WFLD) index is then put forward to assess the impact and equity of the resulting allocation scheme. Subsequently, the proposed model is applied to a case study allocating water resources for the 11 provinces and municipalities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). The objective is to achieve equitable spatial allocation of water resources from a water footprint perspective. Based on the statistical data in 2013, this approach starts with a proper accounting for water footprints in the 11 YREB provinces. We then determined an optimal allocation of water footprints by using the proposed lexicographic optimization approach from a land area angle. Lastly, we analyzed how different types of land uses contribute to allocation equity and we discuss policy changes to implement the optimal allocation schemes in the YREB. Analytical results show that: (1) the optimized agricultural and non-agricultural water footprints decrease from the current levels for each province across the YREB, but this decrease shows a heterogeneous pattern; (2) the WFLD of 11 YREB provinces all decline after optimization with the largest decline in Shanghai and the smallest decline in Sichuan; and (3) the impact of agricultural land on the allocation of agricultural water footprints is mainly reflected in the land use structure of three land types including arable land, forest land, and grassland. The different land use structures in the upstream, midstream, and downstream regions lead to the spatial heterogeneity of the optimized agricultural water footprints in the three YREB segments; (4) In addition to the non-agricultural land area, different regional industrial structures are the main reason for the spatial heterogeneity of the optimized non-agricultural water footprints. Our water-footprint-based optimal water resources allocation scheme helps alleviate the water resources shortage pressure and achieve coordinated and balanced development in the YREB.

scholarly journals Simulating impact of over-grazing on grassland degradation using GIS: a case study in the Heihe River Basin, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Bingyu Wang ◽  
Takashi Oguchi ◽  
Lin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Arid Regions ◽  
River Basins ◽  
Heihe River ◽  
Grassland Degradation ◽  
Inland River ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Heihe River Basin

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Inland river basins in arid to semi-arid regions are widely distributed in Northwest China, Central Asia, Central Australia, and North Africa, and are often subject to significant human activities. The most distinctive natural feature of such basins is the shortage of water resources, and the pivotal reasons involve less precipitation and heavy evapotranspiration (ET). In recent years, intensive human activities also damage the natural environment of the basins. They result in many problems especially the deterioration of ecological environment which will lead to severe consequences such as desertification, sandstorm, the disappearance of wetlands, reduction of forest and grassland degradation. They prevent us from achieving the goal of sustainable development. How to balance economic development and ecosystem conservation and to realize the sense of sustainability in inland river basins will be vitally important.</p><p>The Heihe River is the second largest inland river in the Northwest of China with a long history development by human (Figure 1). Water resources from the river are crucial not only for the ecosystem but also for local human societies. The Heihe River Basin (HRB) is divided into three zones with different landscapes and natural environments. The upstream of HRB is the headstream which generates water resources mainly from glaciers and snow in Qilian Mountain. A large population of nomadic national minorities inhabits here and keeps animal husbandry as the primary production activity. In the early times, the Chinese government encouraged production activities to stimulate economic growth, and significant over-grazing and resultant severe grassland degradation occurred. Grassland is crucial for maintaining water resources especially in arid regions, without grasses most water will quickly evaporate into the air. Therefore, land resource management about grassland and the impact of human activities on the natural environment are of high research value in the HRB.</p><p>This research aims to investigate the impact of over-grazing on grassland degradation in the inland ecosystem of the HRB. The changes of grassland distribution were simulated under different over-grazing scenarios to provide a reference for resource management and the related decision-making process and to contribute to the sustainable development of the region.</p>

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