Assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper Yellow River Basin, China
Study region: The upper Yellow River Basin (UYRB), China Study focus: The influences of vegetation changes on terrestrial water and energy fluxes have attracted global attention, yet the effect on water availability remains uncertain. In this work, we combined long-term satellite data and ecohydrolo...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825002289 |
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| author | Yan Wang Guoqing Wang Xiyuan Deng Yuli Ruan Cuishan Liu |
| author_facet | Yan Wang Guoqing Wang Xiyuan Deng Yuli Ruan Cuishan Liu |
| author_sort | Yan Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Study region: The upper Yellow River Basin (UYRB), China Study focus: The influences of vegetation changes on terrestrial water and energy fluxes have attracted global attention, yet the effect on water availability remains uncertain. In this work, we combined long-term satellite data and ecohydrological modeling to explore how vegetation changes affect hydrological processes and water availability across different climatic conditions and vegetation types in the UYRB, the most important water conservation area within the YRB. The Community Land Model version 4.5 (CLM4.5), coupled with the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) parameterizations, was utilized for ecohydrological applications. New hydrological insights for the region: From 1982 to 2018, vegetation in the UYRB exhibited a predominantly greening trend, with 57.9 % of the area showing significant greening, resulting in increased evapotranspiration (ET), diminished runoff, drier soil conditions, and decline in water yield and terrestrial water storage change (TWSC). According to the simulation using the satellite-derived dynamic leaf area index (LAI), we further estimated that a unit change in LAI resulted in changes in water yield and TWSC of −124.15 ± 71.38 mm yr−1 and −102.21 ± 74.98 mm yr−1, respectively. However, the simulation with model-predicted LAI underestimated this control, likely due to the poor representation of LAI dynamics. The LAI effects were significantly modulated by climatic conditions and vegetation types, with the greening of vegetation exacerbating water scarcity in arid regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1997043f9c304820a1ea4aaa0f0ac0dd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2214-5818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-1997043f9c304820a1ea4aaa0f0ac0dd2025-08-20T01:55:37ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-06-015910240310.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102403Assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper Yellow River Basin, ChinaYan Wang0Guoqing Wang1Xiyuan Deng2Yuli Ruan3Cuishan Liu4The National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China; Research Center for Climate Change, Ministry of Water Resources, Nanjing 210029, ChinaThe National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China; Research Center for Climate Change, Ministry of Water Resources, Nanjing 210029, China; Yangtze Institute for Conservation and Development, Nanjing 210098, China; Corresponding author at: The National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China.The National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China; Research Center for Climate Change, Ministry of Water Resources, Nanjing 210029, ChinaThe National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China; Research Center for Climate Change, Ministry of Water Resources, Nanjing 210029, ChinaThe National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China; Research Center for Climate Change, Ministry of Water Resources, Nanjing 210029, ChinaStudy region: The upper Yellow River Basin (UYRB), China Study focus: The influences of vegetation changes on terrestrial water and energy fluxes have attracted global attention, yet the effect on water availability remains uncertain. In this work, we combined long-term satellite data and ecohydrological modeling to explore how vegetation changes affect hydrological processes and water availability across different climatic conditions and vegetation types in the UYRB, the most important water conservation area within the YRB. The Community Land Model version 4.5 (CLM4.5), coupled with the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) parameterizations, was utilized for ecohydrological applications. New hydrological insights for the region: From 1982 to 2018, vegetation in the UYRB exhibited a predominantly greening trend, with 57.9 % of the area showing significant greening, resulting in increased evapotranspiration (ET), diminished runoff, drier soil conditions, and decline in water yield and terrestrial water storage change (TWSC). According to the simulation using the satellite-derived dynamic leaf area index (LAI), we further estimated that a unit change in LAI resulted in changes in water yield and TWSC of −124.15 ± 71.38 mm yr−1 and −102.21 ± 74.98 mm yr−1, respectively. However, the simulation with model-predicted LAI underestimated this control, likely due to the poor representation of LAI dynamics. The LAI effects were significantly modulated by climatic conditions and vegetation types, with the greening of vegetation exacerbating water scarcity in arid regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825002289Vegetation changesWater availabilityEcohydrological modelingUpper Yellow River Basin |
| spellingShingle | Yan Wang Guoqing Wang Xiyuan Deng Yuli Ruan Cuishan Liu Assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper Yellow River Basin, China Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Vegetation changes Water availability Ecohydrological modeling Upper Yellow River Basin |
| title | Assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper Yellow River Basin, China |
| title_full | Assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper Yellow River Basin, China |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper Yellow River Basin, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper Yellow River Basin, China |
| title_short | Assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper Yellow River Basin, China |
| title_sort | assessing the impact of vegetation changes on water availability in the upper yellow river basin china |
| topic | Vegetation changes Water availability Ecohydrological modeling Upper Yellow River Basin |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825002289 |
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