An integrated analysis of agricultural water-use efficiency: A case study in the Heihe River Basin in Northwest China

The water-use efficiency has direct impacts on the water consumption of agriculture production and is vital to water conservation at both local and regional extent. The agricultural water-use efficiency is a critical indicator that reflects the effective water allocation and water productivity improvement among different agricultural sectors. Taking the Heihe River Basin as the case study area, this study explores the changing trajectories of agricultural water use based on the input–output data of 2003–2012, and estimates the water-use efficiency with Data Envelopment Analysis, Malmquist Total Productivity Index and the decomposition of total factor productivity. Further, the influence of driving factors on the water-use efficiency is analyzed with the Tobit model. The research results indicate that the average agricultural water-use efficiency in different counties is all lower than 1 during 2003–2012, indicating that there is still improvement space in the agricultural water-use efficiency. In addition, there is obvious heterogeneity in the agricultural water-use efficiency among different counties, especially prior to 2009. The research results from the Tobit model indicate that agricultural investment and production, economic growth, industrial restructuring and agricultural plants structural adjustment have significant influence on the agricultural water-use efficiency. The research results can provide significant references for agricultural water-use management in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin and other similar regions in Northwest China.     

Long time-series spatiotemporal variations of NPP and water use efficiency in the lower Heihe River Basin with serious water scarcity

It is of great significance to analyze the long time-series spatiotemporal dynamics of water use efficiency (WUE) to formulating appropriate management measures in response to the growing water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions. This study analyzed the long time-series variations of WUE in the Lower Heihe River Basin, a typical arid and semi-arid region in China. The net primary productivity (NPP) was first estimated with the C-fix model, then WUE during 2001–2010 was calculated with the NPP and evapotranspiration (ET) data, and the accumulative WUE was further calculated. The results showed that the annual NPP and WUE in the study area ranged from zero to 448.70 gC/(m² a) and from zero to 2.20 gC kg⁻¹ H₂O, respectively, both of which showed an overall increasing trend during 2001–2010. Besides, the spatial pattern of WUE kept overall unchanged during 2001–2010, but with remarkable change in some part of the study area. In addition, the accumulative WUE of the whole study area showed a first sharply decreasing and then gradually increasing trend, but there was still some scope to improve the WUE, and it is necessary to carry out some more specific policies to further improve the water allocation and WUE within the Lower Heihe River Basin. Although with some uncertainties, these results still can provide valuable reference information for improving the water resource management and ecological conservation to guarantee provision of essential ecosystem services in arid and semi-arid regions.     

Water use strategies of the desert riparian forest plant community in the lower reaches of Heihe River Basin,China

The object of this paper is the different plant communities in the Ejina desert riparian forest.Groundwater depth,soil moisture,plant water potential,relative leaf moisture content and water use efficiency was monitored,and the response of soil moisture and plant ecology to the groundwater depth and the water use efficiency of the different plant communities was analyzed.The results showed that:(1)Along with the groundwater depth increasing,predawn and midday water potential of the plants,with the exception of Reaumuria soongorica,did not decrease significantly,indicating that when the groundwater depth is less than3 m,the plant communities in the range of 4 km from the river way did not suffer or slightly suffer from water stress;(2)The distribution of higher soil moisture content within 0–3 m soil layer is suitable with the plants’root system,as indicated in the communities of coexisting overripe Populus euphratica or Taramrix chinensis,both of which can release excessive water into soil for shallow rooted shrubs or herbaceous plants when there is water shortage;(3)R.soongorica can absorb deep soil moisture through deep roots for their own survival;(4)The community consisting of Sophora alopecuroides,Karelinia caspica,T.chinensis,and overripe P.euphratica has the best species combination for restoring the damaged eco-environment in the lower reaches of Heihe River;(5)The order of plants’relative leaf water contents is K.caspicaS.alopecuroidesyoung P.euphraticaoverripe P.euphraticamature P.euphratica=T.chinensis coexisting with other speciessingle R.soongoricasingle T.chinensis and the order of WUE is single T.chinensissingle R.soongoricaT.chinensis living in symbiosis with other speciesS.alopecuroides=young P.euphraticamature P.euphraticaoverripe P.euphraticaK.caspica.Therefore,with ample soil moisture,the plant community helps rapid growth of T.chinensis,young P.euphratica and R.soongorica plants of less moisture content.Despite this they do not have much water storage capability,but have strong drought resistance,and higher moisture contents of S.alopecuroides and K.caspica,thus leaving them with poor drought resistance.Overall,the desert riparian forest plant community in the lower reaches of Heihe River helps the species of higher WUE live on it.     

Water ecological function zoning in Heihe River Basin,Northwest China

Rapid urbanization coupled with increase in population growth rate in recent years has accelerated economic pressure on the ecological environment leading to a gradual deterioration of global and regional environment. This has particularly resulted into water contamination and shortage of water resources thus posing a great threat to human survival. How to guaranteeing sustainable use of basin water resources has attracted more and more attentions. The Heihe River Basin is the secondary longest river inland China and the significantly water source of Hexi Corridor, the problem of water pollution, ecological environment deterioration and the shortage of water has seriously threatened the ecological system of the Heihe River Basin. In this study, through depicting the characteristics of natural environment, human activities, water ecosystem services and other factors in Heihe River Basin we delineated the water ecological function in Heihe River using the principal components analysis and the K-means clustering method. In the study, Heihe River Basin is divided into 3 primary level areas and 8 secondary level sub-areas. Water ecological characteristics analysis showed that the spatial distribution of the water ecological function of Heihe River Basin was not uniform, which are mainly showed in three aspects, function of windproof and sand fixation, function of soil erosion prevention and function of water sources conservation. The results of this study can provide effective and scientific theoretical references for the integrated water sources management and the ecological function optimization of the Heihe River Basin.     

Streamflow variation due to glacier melting and climate change in upstream Heihe River Basin,Northwest China

Streamflow simulation is often challenging in mountainous watersheds because of incomplete hydrological models, irregular topography, immeasurable snowpack or glacier, and low data resolution. In this study, a semi-distributed conceptual hydrological model (SWAT-Soil Water Assessment Tool) coupled with a glacier melting algorithm was applied to investigate the sensitivity of streamflow to climatic and glacial changes in the upstream Heihe River Basin. The glacier mass balance was calculated at daily time-step using a distributed temperature-index melting and accumulation algorithm embedded in the SWAT model. Specifically, the model was calibrated and validated using daily streamflow data measured at Yingluoxia Hydrological Station and decadal ice volume changes derived from survey maps and remote sensing images between 1960 and 2010. This study highlights the effects of glacier melting on streamflow and their future changes in the mountainous watersheds. We simulate the contribution of glacier melting to streamflow change under different scenarios of climate changes in terms of temperature and precipitation dynamics. The rising temperature positively contributed to streamflow due to the increase of snowmelt and glacier melting. The rising precipitation directly contributes to streamflow and it contributed more to streamflow than the rising temperature. The results show that glacial meltwater has contributed about 3.25 billion m³ to streamflow during 1960–2010. However, the depth of runoff within the watershed increased by about 2.3 mm due to the release of water from glacial storage to supply the intensified evapotranspiration and infiltration. The simulation results indicate that the glacier made about 8.9% contribution to streamflow in 2010. The research approach used in this study is feasible to estimate the glacial contribution to streamflow in other similar mountainous watersheds elsewhere.     

Modelling the impact of agroforestry on hydrology of Mara River Basin in East Africa

Land‐use change is one of the main drivers of watershed hydrology change. The effect of forestry related land‐use changes (e.g. afforestation, deforestation, agroforestry) on water fluxes depends on climate, watershed characteristics and spatial scale. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was calibrated, validated and used to simulate the impact of agroforestry on the water balance in the Mara River Basin (MRB) in East Africa. Model performance was assessed by Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and Kling–Gupta Efficiency (KGE). The NSE (and KGE) values for calibration and validation were: 0.77 (0.88) and 0.74 (0.85) for the Nyangores sub‐watershed, and 0.78 (0.89) and 0.79 (0.63) for the entire MRB. It was found that agroforestry in the watershed would generally reduce surface runoff, mainly because of enhanced infiltration. However, it would also increase evapotranspiration and consequently reduce baseflow and overall water yield, which was attributed to increased water use by trees. Spatial scale was found to have a significant effect on water balance; the impact of agroforestry was higher at the smaller headwater catchment (Nyangores) than for the larger watershed (entire MRB). However, the rate of change in water yield with an increase in area under agroforestry was different for the two and could be attributed to the spatial variability of climate within the MRB. Our results suggest that direct extrapolation of the findings from a small sub‐catchment to a larger watershed may not always be accurate. These findings could guide watershed managers on the level of trade‐offs that might occur between reduced water yields and other benefits (e.g. soil erosion control, improved soil productivity) offered by agroforestry. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Variation and attribution of water use efficiency in sunflower and maize fields in an irrigated semi-arid area

Water use efficiency (WUE) links carbon and water exchanges between farmlands and the atmosphere. Understanding the variation and attribution of WUE is essential to reveal the physiological and ecological adaptation mechanisms of crops to the changing environment, and to better allocate, regulate and conserve water resources. However, few studies on the variation and attribution of WUE have been conducted in irrigated arid or semi-arid farmlands. Therefore, in this study, water and carbon fluxes were measured using eddy covariance systems in two farmlands (one sunflower field and one maize field) in a semi-arid irrigation district in China. It was found that the average WUE of sunflower during its full growth period was 1.72 g C kg⁻¹ H₂O, much lower than that of maize (4.07 g C kg⁻¹ H₂O). At each growth stage, the WUE of both crops were negatively correlated with vapour pressure deficit (VPD), net radiation (R_n) and soil water content (SWC). The negative correlations could be attributed to the arid meteorological condition and the relatively abundant soil moisture due to irrigation and shallow groundwater levels. VPD was the main factor affecting WUE, followed by R_n and SWC. It was also found that the response of WUE to crop leaf area index (LAI) and to canopy conductance (g_c) depended on the VPD ranges: when VPD increased, the response of WUE to LAI and to g_c decreased. Our findings could improve the understanding of the coupling effect of water and carbon fluxes over farmland ecosystems in arid and semi-arid irrigation areas and help improve agricultural production and save water resources in such areas.     

Ecosystem water use efficiency in an irrigated cropland in the North China Plain

The eddy covariance technique and the cuvette method were used to investigate water use efficiency in an irrigated winter wheat (Triticum asetivum L.)/summer maize (Zea mays L.) rotation system in the North China Plain. The results show that ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE_e) changed diurnally and seasonally. Daily maximal WUE_e appeared in the morning. WUE_e generally peaked in late April in wheat field and in late July/early August in maize field. From 2003 to 2006, seasonal mean WUE_e was 6.7–7.4 mg CO₂ g⁻¹ H₂O for wheat and 8.4–12.1 mg CO₂ g⁻¹ H₂O for maize. WUE_e was much lower than canopy water use efficiency (WUE_c) under small leaf area index (LAI) but very close to WUE_c under large LAI. With the increase in LAI, WUE_e enlarged rapidly under low LAI but slowly when LAI was higher than one. WUE_e was greater on the cloudy days than on the sunny days. Under the same solar radiation, WUE_e was higher in the morning than in the afternoon. The ratio of internal to ambient CO₂ partial pressure (C_i/C_a) decreased significantly with the increase in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) when PAR was lower than the critical values (around 500 and 1000 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ for wheat and maize, respectively). Beyond critical PAR, C_i/C_a was approximately constant at 0.69 for wheat and 0.42 for maize. Therefore, when LAI and solar radiation was large enough, WUE_e has negative correlation with vapor pressure deficit in both of irrigated wheat and maize fields.     

Evaluation of ecosystem services: A case study in the middle reach of the Heihe River Basin,Northwest China

Ecosystem services evaluation aims at understanding the status of ecosystem services on different spatial and temporal scale. In this paper, we selected the middle reach of the Heihe River Basin (HRB), which is the second largest inland river basin in China, as one of the typical area to estimate the ecosystem services values (ESVs) corresponding to the land use changes. Based on the land use data and ecosystem service value coefficients, the total ecosystem services values (TESVs) of the middle reach of the HBR are quantitatively calculated, which were 9.244 × 108, 9.099 × 108, 9.131 × 108 and 9.146 × 108 USD in 1988, 2000, 2005 and 2008 respectively. During 1988–2008, the decrease of grassland, forest land, water area and unused land contributed 148.94%, 57.85%, 87.87% and 16.42% respectively to the net loss of TESVs, while the dramatic increase of cultivated land improved the TESVs with contribution of −211.08% to the net loss of TESVs. Expansion of cultivated land, which especially caused the loss of grassland and forest land, directly exerted negative impacts on the provision of ecosystem services in the study area. The findings of this research indicated that land use change was an important form of human activities, which had a strong impact on ecosystem services.     

Recursive cross-entropy downscaling model for spatially explicit future land uses: A case study of the Heihe River Basin

Downscaling methods assist decision makers in coping with the uncertainty regarding sustainable local area developments. In particular, they allow investigating local heterogeneities regarding water, food, energy, and environment consistently with global, national, and sub-national drivers and trends. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework that integrates a partial equilibrium Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM) with a dynamic cross-entropy downscaling model to derive spatially explicit projections of land uses at 1-km spatial resolution from 2010 to 2050 relying on aggregate land demand projections. The fusion of the two models is applied in a case study in Heihe River Basin to analyze the extent of potential cropland, grassland, and unused land transformations, which may exacerbate already extensive water consumption caused by rapid expansion of irrigated agriculture in the case study region. The outcomes are illustrated for two Shared Socioeconomic Pathway scenarios. The kappa coefficients show that the downscaling results are in agreement with the land use and land cover map of the Heihe River Basin, which indicates that the proposed approach produces realistic local land use projections. The downscaling results show that under both SSP scenarios the cropland area is expected to increase from 2010 to 2050, while the grassland area is projected to increase sharply from 2010 to 2030 and then gradually come to a standstill after 2030. The results can be used as an input for planning sustainable land and water management in the study area, and the conceptual framework provides a general approach to creating high-resolution land-use datasets.     

Simulation of maize (Zea mays L.) water use with the HYDRUS-1D model in the semi-arid Hailiutu River catchment,Northwest China

Groundwater provides an important source of water for maize cultivation where the water table is shallow in the semi-arid Hailiutu River catchment of the Maowusu Desert on the Erdos Plateau in Northwest China. A HYDRUS-1D model of the unsaturated flow beneath a maize (Zea mays L.) field was calibrated and validated with measured soil water contents at various depths during the maize growing period from 30 April to 1 October 2011, and from 23 May to 27 September 2012, respectively. The model computed the actual maize evapotranspiration (ET_a) as 580 mm during the whole growing period from 30 April to 1 October 2011. The groundwater contribution to ET_a was calculated to be 220 mm, accounting for 38% of maize water use during the growing season in 2011. When the groundwater level drops below a depth of 157 cm, maize can no longer use groundwater for transpiration. The irrigation water requirement increases with the increase of groundwater table depth. These results are very important for managing crop irrigation in the area.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis

ASSOCIATE EDITOR L. Ruiz     

Evaluation of irrigation water use efficiency using remote sensing in the middle reach of the Heihe river,in the semi‐arid Northwestern China

Irrigation of agricultural oases is the main water consumer in semi‐arid and arid regions of Northwestern China. The accurate estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) on the oases is extremely important for evaluating water use efficiency so as to reasonably allocate water resources, particularly in semi‐arid and arid areas. In this study, we integrated the soil moisture information into surface energy balance system (SEBS) for improving irrigated crop water consumption estimation. The new approach fed with the moderate resolution imaging spectro‐radiometer images mapped spatiotemporal ET on the oasis in the middle reach of the Heihe river. The daily ET outputs of the new approach were compared with those of the original SEBS using the eddy correlation observations, and the results demonstrate that the modified SEBS remedied the shortcoming of general overestimating ET without regard to soil water stress. Meanwhile, the crop planting structure and leaf area index spatiotemporal distribution in the studied region were derived from the high‐resolution Chinese satellite HJ‐1/CCD images for helping analyse the pattern of the monthly ET (ET_monthly). The results show that the spatiotemporal variation of ET_monthly is closely related to artificial irrigation and crop growth. Further evaluation of current irrigation water use efficiency was conducted on both irrigation district scale and the whole middle reach of the Heihe river. The results reveal that the average fraction of consumed water on irrigation district scale is 57% in 2012. The current irrigation water system is irrational because only 52% of the total irrigated amount was used to fulfil plant ET requirement and the rest of the irrigation water recharged into groundwater in the oasis in 2012. However, in view of the whole middle reach of the Heihe river, the irrigation water use efficiency could reach to 66% in 2012. But pumping groundwater for reused irrigation wastes mostly energy instead of water. An improved irrigation water allocation system according to actual ET requirement is needed to increase irrigation efficiency per cubic meter water resource in an effort to save both water and energy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study on consumption efficiency of soil water resources in the Yellow River Basin based on regional ET structure

Based on the regional water resources character, the concept of soil water resources is first redefined, and then associated with their transfer relationship in the hydrological cycle, Evapotranspiration (ET)-based consumption structure and consumption efficiency of soil water resources are analyzed. According to ET 's function in productivity, the consumption efficiency of soil water resources is di- vided into three classes: high efficient consumption from vegetation transpiration, low efficient con- sumption from soil evaporation among plants with high vegetation coverage and inefficient consump- tion from soil evaporation among plants with low vegetation coverage and bare soil evaporation. The high efficient and low efficient consumption were further classified as productive consumption. The ineffi- cient consumption is considered non-productive consumption because it is significant in the whole hydrological cycle process. Finally, according to these categories, and employing a WEP-L dis- tributed hydrological model, this paper analyzes the consumption efficiency of soil water resources in the Yel- low River Basin. The results show that there are 2078.89×108 m3 soil water resources in the whole basin. From the viewpoint of consumption structure, the soil water resources are comprised of 381.89×108 m3 transpiration consumption from vegetation and 1697.09×108 m3 evaporation consumption from soil among plants and bare soil. From the viewpoint of consumption efficiency, soil water re- sources are composed of 920.11×108 m3 efficient consumption and 1158.86×108 m3 of inefficient con- sumption. High efficient consumption accounts for 41.5 percent of the total efficient consumption of the whole basin, low efficient for 58.5 percent. Furthermore, consumption efficiency varies by region. Compared with ET from different land use conditions, the whole basin appears to follow the trend of having the greatest proportion of consumption as inefficient consumption, followed by low efficient consumption, and then the least proportion as high efficient consumption. The amount of inefficient consumption in some regions with vegetation is less than in other regions without vegetation. The amount of inefficient consumption in grasslands is much greater than in forestlands. However, the proportion of low efficient consumption is the greatest in crop fields. The amount of high efficient con- sumption in grasslands and forelands is similar to the corresponding low efficient consumption. However, the low efficient consumption in grasslands is larger than in the forelands. Therefore, when adjusting the utilization efficiency of soil water resources, vegetation coverage and plant structure should be modulated in terms of the principle of decreasing inefficient consumption, improving low efficiency ET and increasing high efficiency ET according to area character.     

梯级筑坝对黑河水质时空分布特征的影响

为探究梯级大坝建设对河流水质变化规律的影响,将黑河上中游划分为坝上河段、坝下河段及自然河段,于2017年12月-2018年8月选取了24个主要控制断面进行水质调查,并采用多元统计的方法对比分析了不同时空尺度上的水质分布特征.结果表明:黑河上中游水质时空变化的主要影响因子为水温(WT)、pH值、溶解氧(DO)、电导率(EC)、总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)和五日生化需氧量(BOD_5).空间尺度上,WT、EC、BOD_5、高锰酸盐指数(CODMn)、TN等指标具有显著性差异,其中坝上河段受BOD_5、CODMn影响较大,自然河段WT、EC和TN为关键指标,而各个因子对坝下河段水质影响较小.时间尺度上,WT、EC、BOD_5、氨氮与季节变化存在明显相关性,是不同河段水质时间变化的控制因子,且大多数水质因子在非汛期变化最明显.降水、温度、水文条件等季节性影响因素和梯级水库联合运用模式是该区域水质时间差异的主要原因;空间差异主要受祁连、张掖地区外源性污染物排放以及筑坝环境下水动力条件改变而产生的沉积滞留效应和沿程累积效应影响.研究表明,外源性污染源依然是导致水质变差的主要因素,梯级筑坝则是导致水质变差的间接因素.因此控制该区域人类活动所造成的外源性污染源,并针对不同种类污染物的季节变化特征实施合理的水库运行方式是改善水电梯级开发河段水质状况的关键.     

Understanding the peak growing season ecosystem water-use efficiency at four boreal fens in the Athabasca oil sands region

Ecosystem water-use efficiency (WUE), a ratio between gross ecosystem production (GEP) and water loss through evapotranspiration (ET) can be helpful for the assessment of coupled peatland carbon and water cycles under anthropogenic changes in the Athabasca oil sands region (AOSR) where extensive oil sands development has been occurring since the 1960's. As such, this study assessed multiyear peak growing season variability of WUE at four fens (poor treed, poor open, treed moderate-rich, open saline) near Fort McMurray using the eddy covariance technique combined with a set of environmental variables. Freshwater fens were characterized by WUE values within the range reported from other boreal wetlands while a saline fen had significantly lower values of WUE. Negative correlation (R_s < −0.55, p < 0.05) between WUE and net radiation was observed. Moisture conditions were responsible for interannual differences in WUE, whereby increasing WUE under wetter conditions was observed. However, such a pattern was offset by decreased air temperature (T_air) resulting in moisture oversupply. This study also revealed a negative effect of wildfire on WUE due to a prominent decline in GEP and a moderate decrease in ET. WUE can be useful for monitoring the functioning of natural and constructed fens, but a better understanding of WUE variability under a wide range of climatic conditions with respect to differences in vegetation is required.     

黑河流域浮游植物群落特征与环境因子的关系

分别于2009年夏季和2010年夏、秋季对黑河流域进行了2次全面调查,共选取76个采样断面进行水样采集,鉴定出浮游植物242种,隶属于8门11纲25目45科94属.其中硅藻门为优势类群,占物种总数的38.43%,绿藻门和蓝藻门次之;黑河流域优势种为尺骨针杆藻(Synedra ulna)、无常蓝纤维藻(Dactylococcopsis irregularis)和尖针杆藻(S.acus),优势度分别为0.060、0.031和0.021,出现频度分别为43.42%、43.42%和46.05%.生物多样性指数及相关指数分析表明,黑河流域中、下游浮游植物群落结构的复杂程度和稳定性均高于上游;同时,综合生物多样性指数及相关指数以及水质理化指标表明,黑河上游水质为无污染或轻度污染,中、下游水质为轻中度污染.浮游植物丰度与环境因子的相关性分析表明,上游浮游植物丰度与水体硬度呈显著正相关;中游浮游植物丰度则与各环境因子无显著相关性;下游浮游植物丰度与水体硬度呈显著负相关,而与总氮×总磷呈显著正相关;总溶解性固体、pH值和水体硬度与全流域浮游植物丰度呈显著正相关.黑河流域浮游植物的空间分布具有与河水水文分带相对应的垂直地带性和水平地带性分异特征.     

Multilevel modeling of NPP change and impacts of water resources in the Lower Heihe River Basin

Net primary productivity (NPP) lays the foundation for provision of various ecosystem services, and understanding the impacts of potential influencing factors on NPP is of great significance to formulating appropriate management measures to guarantee the sustainable provision of essential ecosystem services. This study analyzed the impacts of potential influencing factors on NPP in the lower Heihe River Basin, a typical arid and semi-arid region in China. First, NPP was estimated with the C-FIX model, and then the multilevel model was used to analyze the impacts of potential influencing factors on NPP during 2000–2008. Finally decomposition analysis was used to further analyze the contribution of influencing factors to NPP change during 2000–2008. The average NPP increased by approximately 9.07% during 2000–2008, and results of the multilevel model indicate that both the socioeconomic variables and demographic variables are useful in explaining NPP change. In particular, coefficients of rainfall and evapotranspiration which represent the water availability reached 0.0456 and 0.2956, respectively. Results of decomposition analysis suggested that the water availability played an important role in increasing NPP, with a contribution rate of 44.17%, and it is necessary to carry out some policies that can promote the water use efficiency to increase NPP under the background of climate change and intensified human activities. There are some uncertainties in the results of this study, but these results still can provide valuable reference information for the water resource management to increase the ecosystem service supply in the lower Heihe River Basin.     

城镇化下河流水质变化及其与景观格局关系分析——以太湖流域苏州市为例

以河流近域景观格局与水环境质量间的关系为研究对象,基于2001年及2010年两期土地利用类型以及7条典型河流的溶解氧、氨氮、高锰酸盐指数、总磷、总氮5项水质指标,分析城镇化下苏州市河流水质与景观格局之间的关系及其变化规律.结果表明:(1)苏州市河流水质状况总体较差,但呈现一定的好转趋势.(2)河流水质受到城镇用地、旱地及水田的综合影响,并表现出尺度效应.其中城镇用地与旱地对河流水质恶化具有明显的作用,水田则反之.2001-2010年城镇用地及水田对水质的影响程度有所减弱,旱地则增强.(3)蔓延度指数、最大面积斑块比例对河流水质呈现负相关,斑块数量、斑块密度、香农均匀度指数、香农多样性指数则与水质呈现正相关.景观格局对于水质的影响在大范围缓冲区更为显著.研究结果可为苏州水环境管理及太湖流域城市空间开发提供一定的参考依据.     

Modelling flood-prone area and vulnerability using integration of multi-criteria analysis and HAND model in the Ogun River Basin,Nigeria

ABSTRACT

In this study, a GIS-based integration of multi-criteria analysis and the Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) terrain model was adopted to delineate potential flood hazard zones and vulnerability of the Ogun River Basin, Nigeria. Flood causative factors were used as input for multi-criteria analysis using an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and weighted overlay in ArcGIS 10.5 to generate potential flood hazard zones. The flood hazard map was overlaid with demographic population data to identify areas where vulnerable people and assets are located. The results show the varying degree of people’s susceptibility to flood hazards. Flood hazard zones were classified into Very High, High, Moderate, Low and Very Low, with area coverage of 1269.40, 14139.50, 7188.40, 17.41 and 0.85 km², respectively (occupied by 466 290, 355 542, 69 554, 231 and 54 people, respectively). This study serves as a preliminary guide for early warning and policy decision-making for flood disaster risk reduction.     

Dry spells assessment with reference to the maize crop in the Luvuvhu River catchment of South Africa

Agricultural productivity in South Africa is negatively affected by drought as a result of frequent periodic dry spells and increasing crop water demands resulting in poor crop development and low yields. Thus, we embarked on this study which aims at investigating dry spell occurrences in relation to growing season of maize in the Luvuvhu River Catchment. Daily rainfall data (1945–2014) from 12 stations which represent the catchment fairly well was utilized in this study. Three consecutive planting dates were staggered based on three consecutive onsets of the rainy season. Dry spells were categorized into three groups: short, medium and long dry spells. The data was then subjected to theoretical distribution fitting using the Anderson–Darling goodness-of-fit test; and probabilities of occurrence were computed using a probabilistic model that best fits the data. Trend analysis was performed on the frequency of dry spells per growing period using the non-parametric Spearman's rank correlation test. Out results indicated high probabilities (≥80%) of short dry spells at all the stations irrespective of the timing of planting. Further analysis revealed that a risk of yield reduction with planting following the first onset of rains was higher than that with planting following the second and third onsets. In order to minimize this risk, farmers can be advised to plant between mid-November to mid-December. Trend analysis indicated no trend for all the various dry spell lengths except for Thohoyandou with a decreasing trend and Sigonde with a weak increasing trend in long dry spells. Such findings can be used to describe drought conditions for improvement of agricultural productivity and food security, in a given area.