Quantifying the impacts of climate change and land use/cover change on runoff in the lower Connecticut River Basin

Climate change and land use and cover change (LUCC) have had great impacts on watershed hydrological processes. Although previous studies have focused on quantitative assessment of the impacts of climate change and human activities on decreasing run‐off change, few studies have examined regions that have significant increasing run‐off due to both climate variability and land cover change. We show that annual run‐off had a significant increasing trend from 1956 to 2014 in the U.S. lower Connecticut River Basin. Abrupt change point years of annual run‐off for four subbasins are detected by nonparametric Mann–Kendall–Sneyers test and reconfirmed by the double mass curve. We then divide the study period into 2 subperiods at the abrupt change point year in the early 1970s for each subbasin. The Choudhury–Yang equation based on Budyko hypothesis was used to calculate precipitation and potential evapotranspiration, and landscape elasticities of run‐off. The results show that the difference in mean annual run‐off between 2 subperiods for each subbasin ranged from 102 to 165.6 mm. Climate variations were the primary drivers of increasing run‐off in this region. Quantitative contributions of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration in all subbasins are 106.5% and ?3.6% on average, respectively. However, LUCC contributed both positively and negatively to run‐off: ?18.6%, ?13.3%, and 10.1% and 9.9% for 4 subbasins. This may be attributed to historical LUCC occurring after the abrupt change point in each subbasin. Our results provide critical insight on the hydrological dynamics of north‐east tidal river systems to communities and policymakers engaged in water resources management in this region.     

River discharge,land use change,and surface water quality in the Xiangjiang River,China

To compare the impacts of river discharge on the surface water quality of the Xiangjiang River in China, 12 surface water quality parameters recorded at 31 sampling sites from January 1998 to December 2008 along the river and its main tributaries were analyzed. Significantly higher concentrations of total nitrogen, ammoniacal nitrogen, and total phosphorus, and biochemical oxygen demand were observed during low‐flow periods than during high‐flow periods, implying a higher risk to local residents drinking untreated water during low‐flow periods. Pollution indexes, including the inorganic pollution index and integrated pollution index (IPI), were negatively related to impervious surface area (ISA) and cropland area (CLA) when ISA (CLA) was less than 160 (3000) km². However, the relationship was positive when ISA (CLA) was larger than 160 (3000) km², which provided a reasonable explanation for the observed spatial patterns of water quality. Distinct increasing temporal trends for two kinds of pollution indexes were also found. The annual ISA was significantly related to the rapid degradation of water quality from 1998 to 2008, with correlation coefficient (r) values of 0.816 (p = 0.002) and 0.711 (p = 0.014) for the organic pollution index (OPI) and IPI, respectively. However, annual rainfall was negatively correlated with the two indexes with r values of 0.785 (p = 0.002) and 0.448 (p = 0.093) for OPI and IPI, respectively. Our study highlights that decision makers should be more aware of recent increases in the pollution of the Xiangjiang River, especially at downriver sites and during low‐flow periods. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal trend in surface water resources in Tianjin in the Haihe River Basin,China

Considering the highly stochastic nature of the hydrological process, wavelet transform was used to analyse the characteristics, trends and causes of variations in annual run‐off (1917–2006) into Tianjin in the Haihe River Basin. Run‐off was steadily declining due to climate change and human activity and a significant decrease in run‐off along the time series was discovered around the 1960s; however, the change in precipitation was insignificant. The time series of run‐off was heavily influenced by a nonlinear feature and mainly influenced by the natural climate before the 1960s, but after the 1970s the change remained steady, with an annual run‐off that fluctuated between 0·2 and 48·4 mm and was maintained at a low level (9·3 mm). The main cause of the run‐off decline in the 1960s was that more than 1900 reservoirs with a total holding capacity of up to 83 mm were constructed in the upper and middle reaches, which controlled 85% of the total run‐off. These projects have played an active role in the reservoir action and water conservation since they were implemented. At the beginning of the 1980s, the demand for water resources increased with the rapid growth of the population and the large‐scale development of industry and agriculture in the Haihe River Basin, which caused a reduction in run‐off into Tianjin. Overall, the hydrological effects of water storage projects regulating river run‐off were beneficial to flood control, but might cause a serious reduction in river run‐off into Tianjin and the lower reaches of the basin. In addition, a decrease in annual precipitation and changes in temperature in Northern China have also had an adverse effect on natural run‐off, which caused a greater decline in water resources, but this did not have a powerful influence on the overall decline in the run‐off. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

土地利用结构与景观格局对鄱阳湖流域赣江水质的影响

于2015年1月和7月采集赣江干流及支流34个采样点水样,测定电导率、水化学离子、无机氮等水质指标.利用赣江流域2014年30 m分辨率的土地利用数据,以流域景观类型占比表征土地利用结构,景观指数表征景观格局;采用Pearson相关分析、Bioenv分析、Mantle检验与方差分解等方法分析流域土地利用结构与景观格局对赣江水质的影响.结果表明:上游Cl^-、Na⁺浓度最高,中游电导率、Cl^-、Na⁺、K⁺、Ca²⁺等水质指标最低,下游电导率、HCO₃^-、SO₄^2-、Mg²⁺、Ca²⁺、NO₃^--N等水质指标最高.居民建设用地是对水质影响最显著的单一土地利用类型.林地、水田与居民建设用地是对水质影响最显著的土地利用类型组合.平均最近邻体指数是对水质影响最显著的单一景观指数,斑块个数、斑块...     

Plausible impact of global climate change on water resources in the Tarim River Basin

Combining the temperature and precipitation data from 77 climatological stations and the climatic and hydrological change data from three headstreams of the Tarim River: Hotan, Yarkant, and Aksu in the study area, the plausible association between climate change and the variability of water resources in the Tarim River Basin in recent years was investigated, the long-term trend of the hydrological time series including temperature, precipitation, and stream-flow was detected, and the possible association between the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and these three kinds of time series was tested. The results obtained in this study show that during the past years, the temperature experienced a significant monotonic increase at the speed of 5%, nearly 1℃rise; the precipitation showed a significant decrease in the 1970s, and a significant increase in the 1980s and 1990s, the average annual precipitation was increased with the magnitude of 6.8 mm per decade. A step change occurred in both temperature and     

Permafrost‐thaw‐induced land‐cover change in the Canadian subarctic: implications for water resources

Climate warming and human disturbance in north‐western Canada have been accompanied by degradation of permafrost, which introduces considerable uncertainty to the future availability of northern freshwater resources. This study demonstrates the rate and spatial pattern of permafrost loss in a region that typifies the southern boundary of permafrost. Remote‐sensing analysis of a 1·0 km² area indicates that permafrost occupied 0·70 km² in 1947 and decreased with time to 0·43 km² by 2008. Ground‐based measurements demonstrate the importance of horizontal heat flows in thawing discontinuous permafrost, and show that such thaw produces dramatic land‐cover changes that can alter basin runoff production in this region. A major challenge to northern water resources management in the twenty‐first century therefore lies in predicting stream flows dynamically in the context of widely occurring permafrost thaw. The need for appropriate water resource planning, mitigation, and adaptation strategies is explained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the relationship between historical land‐use change and water availability: the case of the lower Tarim River region in northwestern China

Natural ecosystems in the region of the lower Tarim River in northwestern China strongly deteriorated since the 1950s due to an expanding desertification. As a result, the downstream Tarim River reaches became permanently dry land. This historical evolution in land‐use change is typically the result of the anthropogenic impact on natural ecosystems. On the basis of a spatially distributed hydrological catchment model bidirectionally linked with a fully hydrodynamic MIKE11 river model, land‐use changes characterized by historical changes in leaf area index (LAI) of vegetation, as well as the evolution of irrigated surface areas, can be causally related to changes in water resources (groundwater storage and surface water resources). An increased surface area of irrigated (agricultural) land, together with a majority of inefficient irrigation methods, did lead to a strong increase of water resources consumption of the farmlands located in the upper Tarim River area. Evidently, this evolution influenced available water resources downstream in the Tarim basin. As a result, farmland has been gradually relocated to the upstream regions. This has led to reduced flows from the upper Tarim stream, which subsequently accelerated the dropping of the groundwater level downstream in the basin. This study moreover demonstrates that land surface biomass changes (cumulative LAI) along the lower Tarim River are strongly related to the changes in groundwater storage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The impact of land use change and check‐dams on catchment sediment yield

Extensive land use changes have occurred in many areas of SE Spain as a result of reforestation and the abandonment of agricultural activities. Parallel to this the Spanish Administration spends large funds on hydrological control works to reduce erosion and sediment transport. However, it remains untested how these large land use changes affect the erosion processes at the catchment scale and if the hydrological control works efficiently reduce sediment export. A combination of field work, mapping and modelling was used to test the influence of land use scenarios with and without sediment control structures (check‐dams) on sediment yield at the catchment scale. The study catchment is located in SE Spain and suffered important land use changes, increasing the forest cover 3‐fold and decreasing the agricultural land 2·5‐fold from 1956 to 1997. In addition 58 check‐dams were constructed in the catchment in the 1970s accompanying reforestation works. The erosion model WATEM‐SEDEM was applied using six land use scenarios: land use in 1956, 1981 and 1997, each with and without check‐dams. Calibration of the model provided a model efficiency of 0·84 for absolute sediment yield. Model application showed that in a scenario without check dams, the land use changes between 1956 and 1997 caused a progressive decrease in sediment yield of 54%. In a scenario without land use changes but with check‐dams, about 77% of the sediment yield was retained behind the dams. Check‐dams can be efficient sediment control measures, but with a short‐lived effect. They have important side‐effects, such as inducing channel erosion downstream. While also having side‐effects, land use changes can have important long‐term effects on sediment yield. The application of either land use changes (i.e. reforestation) or check‐dams to control sediment yield depends on the objective of the management and the specific environmental conditions of each area. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reviews on land use change induced effects on regional hydrological ecosystem services for integrated water resources management

This paper proposed to provide valuable information for integrated water resources management through evaluating the research on the interaction mechanism among land use changes, regional hydrological ecosystem services and human well-being. Firstly, the driving mechanism of land use and land cover changes was introduced in this paper. Secondly, the overview of the interaction mechanism among land use and land cover changes, regional hydrological ecosystem services and human well-being was given. Based on the meta-analysis, land use changes have a profound influence on regional hydrological ecosystem services, and the variation of hydrological ecosystem could benefit or impair human well-being. Finally, two suggestions were emphasized for managers or policy makers for the future integrated water resources management: (1) Proper land use makes for the water resource management; (2) Blindly pursuing the provisioning services weakens other services of hydrological ecosystem.     

SWAT‐simulated hydrological impact of land‐use change in the Zanjanrood basin,Northwest Iran

Understanding the impacts of land‐use changes on hydrology at the watershed scale can facilitate development of sustainable water resource strategies. This paper investigates the hydrological effects of land‐use change in Zanjanrood basin, Iran. The water balance was simulated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (AVSWAT2000). Model calibration and uncertainty analysis were performed with sequential uncertainty fitting (SUFI‐2). Simulation results from January 1998 to December 2002 were used for parameter calibration, and then the model was validated for the period of January 2003 to December 2004. The predicted monthly streamflow matched the observed values: during calibration the correlation coefficient was 0·86 and the Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient 0·79, compared with 0·80 and 0·79, respectively, during validation. The model was used to simulate the main components of the hydrological cycle, in order to study the effects of land‐use changes in 1967, 1994 and 2007. The study reveals that during 1967 a 34·5% decrease of grassland with concurrent increases of shrubland (13·9%), rain‐fed agriculture (12·1%), bare ground (5·5%) irrigated agriculture (2·2%), and urban area (0·7%) led to a 33% increase in the amount of surface runoff and a 22% decrease in the groundwater recharge. Furthermore, the area of sub‐basins that was influenced by high runoff (14–28 mm) increased. The results indicate that the hydrological response to overgrazing and the replacing of rangelands (grassland and shrubland) with rain‐fed agriculture and bare ground (badlands) is nonlinear and exhibits a threshold effect. The runoff rises dramatically when more than 60% of the rangeland is removed. For groundwater this threshold lies at an 80% decrease in rangeland. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Balancing trade‐off issues in land use change and the impact on streamflow and salinity management

The south‐west region of the Goulburn–Broken catchment in the south‐eastern Murray–Darling Basin in Australia faces a range of natural resource challenges. A balanced strategy is required to achieve the contrasting objectives of remediation of land salinization and reducing salt export, while maintaining water supply security to satisfy human consumption and support ecosystems. This study linked the Catchment Analysis Tool (CAT), comprising a suite of farming system models, to the catchment‐scale CATNode hydrological model to investigate the effects of land use change and climate variation on catchment streamflow and salt export. The modelling explored and contrasted the impacts of a series of different revegetation and climate scenarios. The results indicated that targeted revegetation to only satisfy biodiversity outcomes within a catchment is unlikely to have much greater impact on streamflow and salt load in comparison with simple random plantings. Additionally, the results also indicated that revegetation to achieve salt export reduction can effectively reduce salt export while having a disproportionately smaller affect on streamflows. Furthermore, streamflow declines can be minimized by targeting revegetation activities without significantly altering salt export. The study also found that climate change scenarios will have an equal if not more significant impact on these issues over the next 70 years. Uncertainty in CATNode streamflow predictions was investigated because of the effect of parameter uncertainty. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

北方半干旱区土地利用/覆被变化对湖泊水质的影响:以岱海流域为例(2000-2018年)

土地利用/覆被变化对明晰气候变化和人类活动对湖泊水环境的影响有重要作用.以北方典型农牧交错的岱海流域为研究对象,基于遥感解译技术、马尔可夫转移矩阵、综合污染指数法等方法,对2000-2018年岱海流域土地利用/覆被和湖泊水质的变化进行分析,并结合冗余分析法和计量分析模型探究长时间序列尺度下土地利用/覆被变化对湖泊水质的...     

Groundwater–surface water interactions in a large semi‐arid floodplain: implications for salinity management

Flow regulation and water diversion for irrigation have considerably impacted the exchange of surface water between the Murray River and its floodplains. However, the way in which river regulation has impacted groundwater–surface water interactions is not completely understood, especially in regards to the salinization and accompanying vegetation dieback currently occurring in many of the floodplains. Groundwater–surface water interactions were studied over a 2 year period in the riparian area of a large floodplain (Hattah–Kulkyne, Victoria) using a combination of piezometric surface monitoring and environmental tracers (Cl⁻, δ²H, and δ¹⁸O). Despite being located in a local and regional groundwater discharge zone, the Murray River is a losing stream under low flow conditions at Hattah–Kulkyne. The discharge zone for local groundwater, regional groundwater and bank recharge is in the floodplain within ∼1 km of the river and is probably driven by high rates of transpiration by the riparian Eucalyptus camaldulensis woodland. Environmental tracers data suggest that the origin of groundwater is principally bank recharge in the riparian zone and a combination of diffuse rainfall recharge and localized floodwater recharge elsewhere in the floodplain. Although the Murray River was losing under low flows, bank discharge occurred during some flood recession periods. The way in which the water table responded to changes in river level was a function of the type of stream bank present, with point bars providing a better connection to the alluvial aquifer than the more common clay‐lined banks. Understanding the spatial variability in the hydraulic connection with the river channel and in vertical recharge following inundations will be critical to design effective salinity remediation strategies for large semi‐arid floodplains. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

南四湖流域1980-2015年土地利用变化及其对流域生境质量的影响

生境质量在一定程度上决定了区域生物多样性维持能力的高低,评估区域生境质量对土地利用/覆被变化的响应,可以间接衡量区域生物多样性维持功能的时空变化,为生物多样性保护提供定量参考.本文以南四湖流域为例,运用InVEST-Habitat Quality模型模拟评价1980-2015年流域生境质量的时空变化,定量评估湖区退耕还湿还林和丘陵地区退耕还林2种政策情景对区域生境质量改善的效果.结果表明：35 a间流域耕地、林地和草地大量转化为建设用地,城市建设用地增长40.23%,湖泊面积减少35.56%,主要转化为渔业坑塘;南四湖流域整体生境质量处于较低水平,近35 a来快速发展的工农业生产和不断扩张的城市用地使得流域生境质量呈现降低趋势,当前平均生境质量为历年最低（0.20）.环境保护力度和人类活动剧烈程度的差异导致生境质量在空间上呈现出西部平原区（0.19） < 东部丘陵山区（0.44） < 南四湖湖区（0.81）的分布特征.近35 a来生境稀有度（即生境保存完整性指数）较高的区域主要是湖区主体和流域东部丘陵山区,但部分边缘湖区生境稀有度指数却极低,受人类活动干扰剧烈,主要原因在于沿湖渔业养殖和农业活动.定量评估湖区退耕还林还湿和流域丘陵旱地退耕还林2种政策情景对生境质量的改善效果,结果表明湖区退耕还湿还林能使湖区生境质量上升9.21%,而丘陵旱地退耕还林可使流域平均生境质量提高16.75%.     

The impact of land use change on soil water holding capacity and river flow modelling in the Nakambe River, Burkina-Faso

The annual hydrological regime of the Nakambe River shows substantial changes during the period 1955–1998 with a shift occurring around 1970. From 1970 to the mid-1990s, despite a reduction in rainfall and an increase in the number of dams in the basin, average runoff and maximum daily discharges increased. This paper reviews the hydrological behaviour of the Nakambe River from 1955 to 1998 and examines the potential role of land use change on soil water holding capacity (WHC) in producing the counter-intuitive change in runoff observed after 1970. We compare the results of two monthly hydrological models using different rainfall, potential evapotranspiration and WHC data sets. Model simulations with soil WHC values modified over time based upon historical maps of land use, are compared against simulations with a constant value for WHC. The extent of natural vegetation declined from 43 to 13% of the total basin area between 1965 and 1995, whilst the cultivated areas increased from 53 to 76% and the area of bare soil nearly tripled from 4 to 11%. The total reduction in WHC is estimated to range from 33 to 62% depending on the method used, either considering that the WHC values given by the FAO stand for the environmental situation in 1965 or before. There is a marked improvement in river flow simulation using the time-varying values of soil WHC. The paper ends with a discussion of the role of other factors such as surface runoff processes and groundwater trends in explaining the hydrological behaviour of the Nakambe River.     

Projection of surface water resources in the context of climate change in typical regions of China

Climate change and its impact on hydrological processes are overarching issues that have brought challenges for sustainable water resources management. In this study, surface water resources in typical regions of China are projected in the context of climate change. A water balance model based on the Fu rational function equation is established to quantify future natural runoff. The model is calibrated using data from 13 hydrological stations in 10 first-class water resources zones of China. The future precipitation and temperature series come from the ISI-MIP (Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project) climate dataset. Taking natural runoff for 1961–1990 as a baseline, the impacts of climate change on natural runoff are studied under three emissions scenarios: RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. Simulated results indicate that the arid and semi-arid region in the northern part of China is more sensitive to climate change compared to the humid and semi-humid region in the south. In the near future (2011–2050), surface water resources will decrease in most parts of China (except for the Liaozhong and Daojieba catchments), especially in the Haihe River Basin and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River Basin. The decrement of surface water resources in the northern part of China is more than that in the southern part. For the periods 2011–2030 and 2031–2050, surface water resources are expected to decrease by 12–13% in the northern part of China, while those in the southern part will decrease by 7–10%.

EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis

ASSOCIATE EDITOR R. Hirsch     

The responses of hydrological processes and sediment yield to land‐use and climate change in the Be River Catchment,Vietnam

In this study, we investigated the responses of hydrology and sediment yield with impacts of land‐use and climate change scenarios in the Be River Catchment, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model. The calibration and validation results indicated that the SWAT model is a powerful tool for simulating the impact of environmental change on hydrology and sediment yield in this catchment. The hydrologic and sediment yield responses to land‐use and climate changes were simulated based on the calibrated model. The results indicated that a 16.3% decrease in forest land is likely to increase streamflow (0.2 to 0.4%), sediment load (1.8 to 3.0%), and surface runoff (SURQ) (4.8 to 10.7%) and to decrease groundwater discharge (GW_Q) (3.5 to 7.9%). Climate change in the catchment leads to decreases in streamflow (0.7 to 6.9%) and GW_Q (3.0 to 8.4%), increase in evapotranspiration (0.5 to 2.9%), and changes in SURQ (?5.3 to 2.3%) and sediment load (?5.3 to 4.4%). The combined impacts of land‐use and climate changes decrease streamflow (2.0 to 3.9%) and GW_Q (12.3 to 14.0%), increase evapotranspiration (0.7 to 2.8%), SURQ (8.2 to 12.4%), and sediment load (2.0 to 7.9%). In general, the separate impacts of climate and land‐use changes on streamflow, sediment load, and water balance components are offset each other. However, SURQ and some component of subsurface flow are more sensitive to land‐use change than to climate change. Furthermore, the results emphasized water scarcity during the dry season and increased soil erosion during the wet season. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface water input from snowmelt and rain throughfall in western juniper: potential impacts of climate change and shifts in semi‐arid vegetation

In the western USA, shifts from snow to rain precipitation regimes and increases in western juniper cover in shrub‐dominated landscapes can alter surface water input via changes in snowmelt and throughfall. To better understand how shifts in both precipitation and semi‐arid vegetation cover alter above‐ground hydrological processes, we assessed how rain interception differs between snow and rain surface water input; how western juniper alters snowpack dynamics; and how these above‐ground processes differ across western juniper, mountain big sagebrush and low sagebrush plant communities. We collected continuous surface water input with four large lysimeters, interspace and below‐canopy snow depth data and conducted periodic snow surveys for two consecutive water years (2013 and 2014). The ratio of interspace to below‐canopy surface water input was greater for snow relative to rain events, averaging 79.4% and 54.8%, respectively. The greater surface water input ratio for snow is in part due to increased deposition of redistributed snow under the canopy. We simulated above‐ground energy and water fluxes in western juniper, low sagebrush and mountain big sagebrush for two 8‐year periods under current and projected mid‐21st century warmer temperatures with the Simultaneous Heat and Water (SHAW) model. Juniper compared with low and mountain sagebrush reduced surface water input by an average of 138 mm or 24% of the total site water budget. Conversely, warming temperatures reduced surface water input by only an average of 14 mm across the three vegetation types. The future (warmer) simulations resulted in earlier snow disappearance and surface water input by 51 and 45 days, respectively, across juniper, low sagebrush and mountain sagebrush. Information from this study can help land managers in the sagebrush steppe understand how both shifts in climate and semi‐arid vegetation will alter fundamental hydrological processes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coupled surface water–groundwater model and its application in the arid Shiyang River basin,China

The planning and management of water resources in the Shiyang River basin, China require a tool for assessing the impact of groundwater and stream use on water supply reliabilities and improving many environment‐related problems such as soil desertification induced by recent water‐related human activities. A coupled model, integrating rule‐based lumped surface water model and distributed three‐dimensional groundwater flow model, has been established to investigate surface water and groundwater management scenarios that may be designed to restore the deteriorated ecological environment of the downstream portion of the Shiyang River basin. More than 66% of the water level among 24 observation wells have simulation error less than 1·0 m. The overall trend of the temporal changes of simulated and observed surface runoff at the Caiqi gauging station remains almost the same. The calibration was considered satisfactory. Initial frameworks for water allocation, including agricultural water‐saving projects, water diversion within the basin and inter‐basin water transfer, reducing agricultural irrigation area and surface water use instead of groundwater exploitation at the downstream were figured out that would provide a rational use of water resources throughout the whole basin. Sixteen scenarios were modelled to find out the most appropriate management strategies. The results showed that in the two selected management options, the groundwater budget at the Minqin basin was about 1·4 × 10⁸ m³/a and the ecological environment would be improved significantly, but the deficit existed at the Wuwei basin and the number was about 0·8 × 10⁸ m³/a. Water demand for domestic, industry and urban green area would be met in the next 30 years, but the water shortage for meeting the demand of agricultural water use in the Shiyang River basin was about 2·2 × 10⁸ m³/a. It is suggested that more inter‐basin water transfer should be required to obtain sustainable water resource use in the Shiyang River basin. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.