Collaborative management of water-agriculture-energy-ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development: A case study in inland river Northwest China

The coordinated management of the water-agriculture-energy-ecology (WAEE) nexus can significantly contribute to sustainable development. However, the inherent interactions among water storage for cascade reservoir hydropower generation, water consumption for agricultural irrigation, and water demand...

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Main Authors: Xiaoyu Tang, Yue Huang, Xiaohui Pan, Yunan Ling, Chanjuan Zan, Jiabin Peng, Xi Chen, Tie Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Agricultural Water Management
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425004275
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author Xiaoyu Tang
Yue Huang
Xiaohui Pan
Yunan Ling
Chanjuan Zan
Jiabin Peng
Xi Chen
Tie Liu
author_facet Xiaoyu Tang
Yue Huang
Xiaohui Pan
Yunan Ling
Chanjuan Zan
Jiabin Peng
Xi Chen
Tie Liu
author_sort Xiaoyu Tang
collection DOAJ
description The coordinated management of the water-agriculture-energy-ecology (WAEE) nexus can significantly contribute to sustainable development. However, the inherent interactions among water storage for cascade reservoir hydropower generation, water consumption for agricultural irrigation, and water demand for ecological restoration have not been systematically quantified. This study proposes a WAEE nexus co-optimization model based on mixed-coding multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (EMCMO). The model incorporates multiple objectives and constraints into its framework, encompassing agricultural economic efficiency optimization, cascade reservoir hydropower production, carbon sequestration through agricultural practices, and ecological security as a key constraint. The model aims to elucidate the trade-offs and coordinating roles among hydropower generation, irrigated agriculture, and ecological restoration within the water usage system, as well as the efficiency of water usage, agricultural economics, hydropower generation conversion, ecological restoration, and carbon sequestration capacity of agricultural activities. We applied the model to the Yanqi Basin (YB) in the arid regions of northwestern Xinjiang, China, where water usage conflicts are particularly pronounced, and the ecology is vulnerable. The results indicate that (1) the magnitude of natural runoff is a major cause of local water usage conflicts, (2) agricultural economic benefits are negatively correlated with carbon sequestration in agricultural cultivation, (3) water allocation schemes with strong constraints on ecological water demand are conducive to local ecological self-restoration, and (4) optimization results promote agricultural economic benefits, carbon sequestration, and restoration of ecosystems. In wet years, hydropower generation increased by 17.11 %, agricultural economic benefits increased by 8.09 %, and carbon sequestration increased by 4.38 %. In normal years, hydropower generation decreased by 4.68 %, agricultural economic benefits increased by 5.64 %, and carbon sequestration increased by 1.03 %. In dry years, hydropower generation decreased by 30.02 %, agricultural economic benefits increased by 4.36 %, and carbon sequestration increased by 3.99 %. These findings help decision-makers gain insight into the interrelationships between water utilization, agricultural irrigation, hydropower generation, and ecological restoration and make decisions for collaborative management of the WAEE nexus, contributing to achieving carbon neutrality and ecosystem sustainability in arid areas.
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spelling doaj-art-07a9e62cfaf549a986c6a6748f2e24432025-08-20T03:22:48ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-09-0131810971310.1016/j.agwat.2025.109713Collaborative management of water-agriculture-energy-ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development: A case study in inland river Northwest ChinaXiaoyu Tang0Yue Huang1Xiaohui Pan2Yunan Ling3Chanjuan Zan4Jiabin Peng5Xi Chen6Tie Liu7State Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; Corresponding authors.State Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaSchool of Earth Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, ChinaSchool of Geographic Information, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, ChinaSchool of Geographic Information, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China; Corresponding authors.The coordinated management of the water-agriculture-energy-ecology (WAEE) nexus can significantly contribute to sustainable development. However, the inherent interactions among water storage for cascade reservoir hydropower generation, water consumption for agricultural irrigation, and water demand for ecological restoration have not been systematically quantified. This study proposes a WAEE nexus co-optimization model based on mixed-coding multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (EMCMO). The model incorporates multiple objectives and constraints into its framework, encompassing agricultural economic efficiency optimization, cascade reservoir hydropower production, carbon sequestration through agricultural practices, and ecological security as a key constraint. The model aims to elucidate the trade-offs and coordinating roles among hydropower generation, irrigated agriculture, and ecological restoration within the water usage system, as well as the efficiency of water usage, agricultural economics, hydropower generation conversion, ecological restoration, and carbon sequestration capacity of agricultural activities. We applied the model to the Yanqi Basin (YB) in the arid regions of northwestern Xinjiang, China, where water usage conflicts are particularly pronounced, and the ecology is vulnerable. The results indicate that (1) the magnitude of natural runoff is a major cause of local water usage conflicts, (2) agricultural economic benefits are negatively correlated with carbon sequestration in agricultural cultivation, (3) water allocation schemes with strong constraints on ecological water demand are conducive to local ecological self-restoration, and (4) optimization results promote agricultural economic benefits, carbon sequestration, and restoration of ecosystems. In wet years, hydropower generation increased by 17.11 %, agricultural economic benefits increased by 8.09 %, and carbon sequestration increased by 4.38 %. In normal years, hydropower generation decreased by 4.68 %, agricultural economic benefits increased by 5.64 %, and carbon sequestration increased by 1.03 %. In dry years, hydropower generation decreased by 30.02 %, agricultural economic benefits increased by 4.36 %, and carbon sequestration increased by 3.99 %. These findings help decision-makers gain insight into the interrelationships between water utilization, agricultural irrigation, hydropower generation, and ecological restoration and make decisions for collaborative management of the WAEE nexus, contributing to achieving carbon neutrality and ecosystem sustainability in arid areas.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425004275WAEE nexusEMCMOOptimization modelBosten lakeInland river
spellingShingle Xiaoyu Tang
Yue Huang
Xiaohui Pan
Yunan Ling
Chanjuan Zan
Jiabin Peng
Xi Chen
Tie Liu
Collaborative management of water-agriculture-energy-ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development: A case study in inland river Northwest China
Agricultural Water Management
WAEE nexus
EMCMO
Optimization model
Bosten lake
Inland river
title Collaborative management of water-agriculture-energy-ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development: A case study in inland river Northwest China
title_full Collaborative management of water-agriculture-energy-ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development: A case study in inland river Northwest China
title_fullStr Collaborative management of water-agriculture-energy-ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development: A case study in inland river Northwest China
title_full_unstemmed Collaborative management of water-agriculture-energy-ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development: A case study in inland river Northwest China
title_short Collaborative management of water-agriculture-energy-ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development: A case study in inland river Northwest China
title_sort collaborative management of water agriculture energy ecology nexus for increasing carbon sequestration to sustainable development a case study in inland river northwest china
topic WAEE nexus
EMCMO
Optimization model
Bosten lake
Inland river
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425004275
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