Attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental change

Water resources are pivotal for sustaining human development. Understanding the variations and driving mechanisms of blue and green water resources is essential for the effective management and planning of regional water resources. Based on land use and land cover (LULC) data from 1980, 2000, and 20...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yang Liu, Zhaoyang Zeng, Chengguang Lai, Sijing He, Jie Jiang, Zhaoli Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005047
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850141687880351744
author Yang Liu
Zhaoyang Zeng
Chengguang Lai
Sijing He
Jie Jiang
Zhaoli Wang
author_facet Yang Liu
Zhaoyang Zeng
Chengguang Lai
Sijing He
Jie Jiang
Zhaoli Wang
author_sort Yang Liu
collection DOAJ
description Water resources are pivotal for sustaining human development. Understanding the variations and driving mechanisms of blue and green water resources is essential for the effective management and planning of regional water resources. Based on land use and land cover (LULC) data from 1980, 2000, and 2015, three SWAT models were developed for the Hanjiang River Basin (HRB), and five simulation scenarios were designed to estimate the spatiotemporal evolution, driving factors, and scarcity of blue water (BW) and green water (GW). The results indicate that BW is more abundant in the northern HRB, while GW is more concentrated in the south. The green water coefficient ranges from 0.39 to 0.60. In HRB, climate change is the primary driver of variations in BW and GW, with relative contributions of 72.03–79.49% and 50.79–52.25%, respectively. Among different LULC types, forest and cropland are significant drivers of both BW and GW changes. The contribution of urban land is higher in the second period (2000–2015) than in the first period (1975–2000). BW is strongly driven by precipitation and negatively affected by potential evapotranspiration (PET), while GW is primarily influenced by PET. From 2003 to 2016, the HRB experienced moderate blue water scarcity (average of 1.16) and moderate green water scarcity (average of 0.70). The Falkenmark Index for the HRB ranges from 500 to 1700, with an average of 1126.21, indicating prevailing water stress and water scarcity. Both blue and green water scarcity are mainly affected by precipitation, PET, and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); PET exacerbates both, while precipitation and NDVI mitigate them. This study jointly assessed the attribution and scarcity of BW and GW and further analyzed the individual impacts of multiple climatic and LULC factors, offering a more nuanced perspective compared to previous studies. The findings provide a scientific basis for regional water resource management, agricultural water use optimization, and enhancement of ecosystem resilience under changing climate and land use conditions.
format Article
id doaj-art-5e897507a4ba438ba9fdcd4d7adb6419
institution OA Journals
issn 1470-160X
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Ecological Indicators
spelling doaj-art-5e897507a4ba438ba9fdcd4d7adb64192025-08-20T02:29:20ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-06-0117511357410.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113574Attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental changeYang Liu0Zhaoyang Zeng1Chengguang Lai2Sijing He3Jie Jiang4Zhaoli Wang5School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Transportation, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China; College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Transportation, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China; Pazhou Lab, Guangzhou 510335, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Transportation, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Transportation, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Transportation, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China; Pazhou Lab, Guangzhou 510335, China; Corresponding author at: School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China.Water resources are pivotal for sustaining human development. Understanding the variations and driving mechanisms of blue and green water resources is essential for the effective management and planning of regional water resources. Based on land use and land cover (LULC) data from 1980, 2000, and 2015, three SWAT models were developed for the Hanjiang River Basin (HRB), and five simulation scenarios were designed to estimate the spatiotemporal evolution, driving factors, and scarcity of blue water (BW) and green water (GW). The results indicate that BW is more abundant in the northern HRB, while GW is more concentrated in the south. The green water coefficient ranges from 0.39 to 0.60. In HRB, climate change is the primary driver of variations in BW and GW, with relative contributions of 72.03–79.49% and 50.79–52.25%, respectively. Among different LULC types, forest and cropland are significant drivers of both BW and GW changes. The contribution of urban land is higher in the second period (2000–2015) than in the first period (1975–2000). BW is strongly driven by precipitation and negatively affected by potential evapotranspiration (PET), while GW is primarily influenced by PET. From 2003 to 2016, the HRB experienced moderate blue water scarcity (average of 1.16) and moderate green water scarcity (average of 0.70). The Falkenmark Index for the HRB ranges from 500 to 1700, with an average of 1126.21, indicating prevailing water stress and water scarcity. Both blue and green water scarcity are mainly affected by precipitation, PET, and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI); PET exacerbates both, while precipitation and NDVI mitigate them. This study jointly assessed the attribution and scarcity of BW and GW and further analyzed the individual impacts of multiple climatic and LULC factors, offering a more nuanced perspective compared to previous studies. The findings provide a scientific basis for regional water resource management, agricultural water use optimization, and enhancement of ecosystem resilience under changing climate and land use conditions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005047Blue and green waterAttribution analysisWater scarcityClimate changeLand use changeHanjiang River basin
spellingShingle Yang Liu
Zhaoyang Zeng
Chengguang Lai
Sijing He
Jie Jiang
Zhaoli Wang
Attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental change
Ecological Indicators
Blue and green water
Attribution analysis
Water scarcity
Climate change
Land use change
Hanjiang River basin
title Attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental change
title_full Attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental change
title_fullStr Attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental change
title_full_unstemmed Attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental change
title_short Attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental change
title_sort attribution and scarcity analysis of blue and green water resources in a river basin under climate and environmental change
topic Blue and green water
Attribution analysis
Water scarcity
Climate change
Land use change
Hanjiang River basin
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25005047
work_keys_str_mv AT yangliu attributionandscarcityanalysisofblueandgreenwaterresourcesinariverbasinunderclimateandenvironmentalchange
AT zhaoyangzeng attributionandscarcityanalysisofblueandgreenwaterresourcesinariverbasinunderclimateandenvironmentalchange
AT chengguanglai attributionandscarcityanalysisofblueandgreenwaterresourcesinariverbasinunderclimateandenvironmentalchange
AT sijinghe attributionandscarcityanalysisofblueandgreenwaterresourcesinariverbasinunderclimateandenvironmentalchange
AT jiejiang attributionandscarcityanalysisofblueandgreenwaterresourcesinariverbasinunderclimateandenvironmentalchange
AT zhaoliwang attributionandscarcityanalysisofblueandgreenwaterresourcesinariverbasinunderclimateandenvironmentalchange