Evaluating mountain water scarcity on the county scale: a case study of Dongchuan District, Kunming, China

Mountain water, which contributes 50% to 90% to the lower reaches of the watershed, has a considerably low utility efficiency. The water accessibility could be a quantitative measure of water scarcity in the mountains. It can be used effectively for emergency water shortage planning and water resource management. In the present study, Dongchuan District, a typical county in the Hengduan Mountains in Yunnan province of Southwest China, was selected as the study area, and the minimal cumulative resistance(MCR) model was used to simulate the least-cost path(LCP) from 1255 point features of natural villages, as well as 12,368 dryfield centroids, to their respective surrounding river systems, which serve as a source for emergency drinking water and irrigation during droughts. The average length of the LCP for each administrative village was calculated to represent the accessibility to water sources for agricultural production and daily life in these mountain villages. The distribution of population and dryfields, as well as other geographic elements, were analyzed to classify the degree of water scarcity in these villages. The results indicate that the area facing the highest risk of water shortage for agricultural irrigation is located in northern Dongchuan, in particular along the two sides of the Xiaojiang Valley, and that the area with the highest risk of water shortage for daily life needs is located along the Xiaojiang Valley.

Study on the Effects of Natural Factors on Water Conservation Capacity of Qilian Mountain

[Objective]The study aimed at analyzing the effects of natural factors on water conservation capacity of Qilian Mountain.[Method] Based on water conservation quantity,elevation data and SPOT-VEGETATION remote sensing data of Qilian Mountain in 2003,the relationship between water conservation quantity and influencing factors like elevation,slope,aspect and vegetation index varying greatly in the studied area was analyzed quantitatively by means of statistical method,and the effects of natural factors on water conservation capacity of Qilian Mountain were discussed on the basis of water conservation capacity.[Result]In water conservation district of Qilian Mountain,water conservation amount was higher in the region with elevation of 3 600-4 200 m or slope of 15°-40°;sunny slope (with slope of 90°-180°) and the area with high vegetation coverage had the strongest water conservation capacity.[Conclusion]The research could provide scientific references for the management of water resources and vegetation protection in Qilian Mountain.

Effect of typhoon with extreme precipitation on mountain reservoir drinking water treatment: a case study in Ningbo, China

Due to frequent drinking water pollution accidents in the past decade, it is common that mountain reservoirs were used as the source of drinking water in China. However, some coastal areas frequently suffer from typhoon with extreme precipitation, which results in the water quality deterioration of the reservoirs. The influence of typhoons with extreme precipitation on Jiaokou reservoir and the emergency treatment process of Maojiaping water treatment plant in the past three typical typhoons with extreme precipitation from the year of 2012-2015 were studied. It was found that the degradation of water quality, such as the increase of turbidity and bacteria index, may not merely appear during the events, but last for several days. Changing the dosage of water purification agent, such as coagulant and disinfectant at right time and place may be an efficient emergency water treatment process. Based on the analysis of water quality variation rule during and after the events, it was also found that emergency treatment can be fully prepared before the arrival of a typhoon with extreme precipitation. And in order to better respond to the typhoon with extreme precipitation, several suggestions are also proposed in this paper as follows: establishing vegetated buffers at right place, such as macrophanerophytes,shrub or herbage, increasing investments in infrastructure management, merging or cancelling the small-scale water treatment plants, preparing adequate water purification agent before the typhoon comes, etc.

Spatial variability of glacial changes and their effects on water resources in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains during the last five decades

Changes in glaciers in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains have been analyzed previously. However, most previous studies focused on individual glaciers and/or decentralized glacial basins. Moreover, a majority of these studies were published only in Chinese, which limited their usefulness at the international level. With this in mind, the authors reviewed the previous studies to create an overview of glacial changes in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains over the last five decades and discussed the effects of glacial changes on water resources. In response to climate change, glaciers in the Tianshan Mountains are shrinking rapidly and are ca. 20% smaller on average in the past five decades. Overall, the area reduction of glacial basins in the central part of the Chinese Tianshan Mountains is larger than that in the eastern and western parts. The spatial differentiation in glacial changes are caused by both differences in regional climate and in glacial factors. The effects of glacial changes on water resources vary in different river basins due to the differences in glacier distribution, characteristics of glacial change and proportion of the glacier meltwater in river runoff.

Soil water characteristics in mountain poplar stand and its benefits to soil and water conservation in loess hilly region

The soil physical properties,its water characteristics and the benefits to soil and water conservation in mountain poplar stand were determined and studied. The results of the study show that the compaction in soil profile is relatively homogeneous.the specific gravity and volume weight of soil increase with deepening of soil horizon. The water infiltration rate of soil in the stand is 17,6 times as high as in rangeland.Owing to the intense absorption of water by root system of plants,a drying layer is formed in soil horizon from 2.3 m to 2.7m,showing that the subsoil moisture is in the state of deficit. The annual water storage capacity in 2 m of soil horizon is 360 mm 370mm,or 63% 65% of annual precipitation. Compared with farmland,mountain poplar stand reduces the surface runoff and soil loss by 70% and 99%,respectively,indicating the great benefits to soil and water conservation.

Precipitation isotopes in the Tianshan Mountains as a key to water cycle in arid central Asia

The Tianshan Mountains is a wet island in arid central Asia, and precipitation amount across the mountains is much larger than that in the surrounding low-lying areas. To investigate the regional water cycle in arid central Asia, stable isotope composition in precipitation has received increased attention during the past decades. This paper reviewed current knowledge of observed and simulated stable isotope ratios in precipitation across the Tianshan Mountains. The temperature effect of stable isotopes in precipitation has been widely accepted in arid central Asia and can be applied to paleoclimate reconstruction using ice cores. The seasonality of precipitation isotopically enriched in summer months and depleted in winter months is usually attributed to westerly-dominated moisture, but different trajectory paths to the northern and southern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains can still be modelled. The proportional contribution and its uncertainty of surface evaporation and transpiration to local precipitation can be estimated using the isotope approach, and transpiration plays a dominant role in recycled moisture for oasis sites. The impact of below-cloud evaporation on precipitation stable isotopes on the southern slope is usually larger than that on the northern slope.

Understanding the impact of mountain landscapes on water balance in the upper Heihe River watershed in northwestern China

Estimating the impact of mountain landscape on hydrology or water balance is essential for the sus- tainable development strategies of water resources. Specifically, understanding how the change of each landscape influences hydrological components will greatly improve the predictability of hydrological responses to mountain landscape changes and thus can help the government make sounder decisions. In the paper, we used the VIC （Variable Infiltration Capacity） model to conduct hydrological modeling in the upper Heihe River watershed, along with a frozen-soil module and a glacier melting module to improve the simulation. The improved model performed satisfactorily. We concluded that there are differences in the runoff generation of mountain landscape both in space and time. About 50% of the total runoff at the catchment outlet were generated in mid-mountain zone （2,900-4,000 m asl）, and water was mainly consumed in low mountain region （1,700-2,900 m asl） because of the higher requirements of trees and grasses. The runoff coefficient was 0.37 in the upper Heihe River watershed. Barren landscape produced the largest runoff yields （52.46% of the total runoff） in the upper Heihe River watershed, fol- lowed by grassland （34.15%）, shrub （9.02%）, glacier （3.57%）, and forest （0.49%）. In order to simulate the impact of landscape change on hydrological components, three landscape change scenarios were designed in the study. Scenario 1, 2 and 3 were to convert all shady slope landscapes at 2,000-3,300 m, 2,000-3,700 m, and 2,000-4,000 m asl respectively to forest lands, with forest coverage rate increased to 12.4%, 28.5% and 42.0%, respectively. The runoff at the catchment outlet correspondingly declined by 3.5%, 13.1% and 24.2% under the three scenarios. The forest landscape is very important in water conservation as it reduced the flood peak and increased the base flow. The mountains as ＂water towers＂ play important roles in water resources generation and the impact of mountain landscapes on hydrology is significant.

A Brief Analysis of the Influence of Mountain and Water Elements in Chinese Classical Gardens on the 18th Century British Natural Landscape Gardens

In the 18^(th)century,British gardens began to transform from a classical to a natural landscape style.During this period,they were influenced by the economy,local nature,as well as foreign cultures.The 18^(th)century was the golden period of cultural exchange between China and the West which gave Britain the opportunity to absorb the cultures of Chinese classical gardens.British gardeners had used various elements of Chinese classical gardens as their point of reference which promoted the development of British natural landscape gardens.

Water Holding Characteristics of Coarse Woody Debris of Abies fabri Forest on the East Slope of Tibet Sygera Mountain

Coarse woody debris( CWD) has an important role in hydrological function and water and soil conservation function of forest ecosystem especially mountain forest ecosystem. To understand water holding capacity of CWD in subalpine forest of southeast Tibet,CWD reserve of primitive A. fabri forest in Sygera Mountain was investigated by sample plot method,and water absorption and storage capacity of CWD was studied by using soaking method. The results showed that decay grade was positively related to water storage potential,that is to say,the higher the decay grade,the larger the water storage potential. Saturated water holding capacity,saturated water holding rate,effective water holding capacity and effective water holding rate of A. fabri CWD all rose with decay grade increased,and the order was Ⅴ>Ⅳ>Ⅲ>Ⅱ>Ⅰ. CWD reserve was 51.555 t/hm^2,and the maximum water storage capacity was 71.601 t/hm^2,while effective water storage capacity was 60.861 t/hm2,which was equivalent to 6.086 mm of rainfall.

WATER RESOURCE IN QILIAN MOUNTAINOUS REGION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON ECO－ENVIRONMENT OF HEXI CORRIDOR

Based on the water resources of the Shiyang, Heihe and Shule riverbasins in the Hexi Corridor and their original runoff volume, the actual annual waterresources in the oasis of every county and town of the Hexi Corridor are calculated indetail. From the point of view of ecological balance, the ecological water requirementin oasis and farmland in this region are determined. Then, to basically keep the natural ecological balance of every county and town, the proper oasis area and farmlandarea are given.

Effects of Land Management Practices on Soil Water in Southwestern Mountainous Area, China

The effects of selected land management practices （cross-sloping tillage, ridge culture, organic manure, and straw mulch） on soil water conservation in a southwestern mountainous area, China, were studied during November 2002 to November 2004. The experimental field is divided into three parts based on soil layer depths, 0-60 cm （part Ⅰ）, 0-40 cm （part Ⅱ）, and 0- 20 cm （part Ⅲ）, and they all had the same slope azimuth （SE）, slope （10°）, and slope type （linear）. The experimental plots were subjected to the following treatments： cross-sloping tillage （CST）; cross-sloping tillage with organic manure （CST/ OM）; cross-sloping tillage with straw mulch （CST/SM）; contour ridge culture （CRC）; contour ridge culture with organic manure （CRC/OM）; and contour ridge culture with straw mulch （CRC/SM）, to identify the effects of management practices on soil water. Water contents were determined for soil samples collected, using a 2.2 cm diameter manual probe. Soil water was monitored once every five days from Nov. 20, 2002 to Nov. 20, 2004. The results indicated that, in the study stages, an integration of rainfall, evaporative losses, and crop transcription controlled the basic tendencies of profile （mean） soil water, while land management practices, to a certain extent, only modified its amount, distribution, and routing. Moreover, these modifications also mainly focused on the first 20 cm depth of topsoil layer. When each management practice was compared with control treatment, season changes of profile （mean） soil water were pronounced, while interannual changes among them were not significant. More comparisons indicated that, in the study stages, contour ridge culture had better effects than cross-sloping tillage. And under the same tillage, the combination of organic manure could achieve more than straw mulch. These management practices should be recommended considering the effectiveness of soil and water management techniques in the southwestern mountainous area, China.

Study on Soil and Water Loss Characteristic of the Railway Construction in Mountain Area

The factor of human project activity is often the immediate cause resulting in soil and water loss. The Baoji-Lanzhou second railway in construction is an example. The soil and water loss law caused by earth and stone mountain railway engineering construction in the northwestern China is studied systematically and that caused possibly by the road bed project, the road moat project, the field project, the tunnel project and the service road project in construction is probed. At the same time, the type, t...

Like Mountains and Waters, His Demeanor Lasts Forever--In Memoriam of Former CSHRS President Luo Haocai

On November 3, 2011 when I attended the experience exchange meeting for human rights institutions held at Sichuan University, I had my first close contact with Teacher Luo Haocai. At the meeting, I gave a speech on the theme of the history and status quo of human rights research and teaching at Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL). At lunchtime, Teacher Luo went to the restaurant with us to eat buffet, when he specially asked me to his table and further inquired about the

Simulation of hydrological processes of mountainous watersheds in inland river basins: taking the Heihe Mainstream River as an example

The hydrological processes of mountainous watersheds in inland river basins are complicated.It is absolutely significant to quantify mountainous runoff for social,economic and ecological purposes.This paper takes the mountainous watershed of the Heihe Mainstream River as a study area to simulate the hydrological processes of mountainous watersheds in inland river basins by using the soil and water assessment tool(SWAT)model.SWAT simulation results show that both the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency and the determination coefficient values of the calibration period(January 1995 to December 2002)and validation period(January 2002 to December 2009)are higher than 0.90,and the percent bias is controlled within±5%,indicating that the simulation results are satisfactory.According to the SWAT performance,we discussed the yearly and monthly variation trends of the mountainous runoff and the runoff components.The results show that from 1996 to 2009,an indistinctive rising trend was observed for the yearly mountainous runoff,which is mainly recharged by lateral flow,and followed by shallow groundwater runoff and surface runoff.The monthly variation demonstrates that the mountainous runoff decreases slightly from May to July,contrary to other months.The mountainous runoff is mainly recharged by shallow groundwater runoff in January,February,and from October to December,by surface runoff in March and April,and by lateral flow from May to September.

Check list of water beetles recorded from Changbai Mountain area

The water beetles recorded from Changbai Mountain are listed. Amphizoa sinica Yu & Stork and Ametor scabrosus (Horn) are distributed only in Changbai Mountain area. The habitat of water beetles in each locality is described.

中国式现代化视域下习近平生态文明思想整体系统观及其方法论

党的十八大以来,在推进中国式现代化建设的伟大征程中,以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持系统观念,基于对西方现代化道路的深刻反思和对自然界作为有机系统整体的精准认识,赓续与拓新马克思主义和中华优秀传统文化关于人与自然真实图景的系统辩证思想,形成和确立了丰富完备、逻辑严密的习近平生态文明思想整体系统观。秉持山水林田湖草沙是生命共同体的系统理念,这一整体系统观锚定生态文明建设和环境治理的目标任务,坚持推进中国式现代化生态文明建设与环境治理的系统层级观,坚持共同体构架的国内外合作治理的系统联动机制,对其内核“是什么”的问题作了精要而又深邃的回答。习近平生态文明思想层层追问中国式现代化生态文明建设之道,彰显了其整体系统思维在回答生态文明建设根本性问题上的强大方法论功能;以系统工程方式“全方位全地域全过程”推进生态文明建设与环境治理的全面系统展开,立体呈现了习近平生态文明思想整体系统观鲜明的方法论特质,为中国式现代化新征程上全面推进美丽中国建设提供了科学思想方法,开拓了中国式现代化恢宏壮丽的生态篇章。

AN ANALYSIS OF WATER RESOURCE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RIVERS IN THE NORTHERN SLOPE OF THE KUNLUN MOUNTAINS

There are 43 rivers of varying sizes in the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains, all of which originate from the Kunlun Mountains. Supplied by precipitation and melting water of glacier, the total runoff amounts to 87×108m3. The analysis shows that water quantity distribution of the rivers in the area is more in the west, and less in the east. While in the west, the water quantity of the Hotan River amounts to more than half of the total, in th eeast, most rivers are seasonal rivers except the Keriya River and the Qarqan River, which have relatively large amount of waters. From the analysis of inner structures of the runoff series of the major rivers, we can see that the annual runoff series of all rivers are mainly stable independent random series. Such characteristics of the time series are determined by the supply characteristics of the rivers. Some measures of rationally using water resources are proposed finally.

Mapping Mountain Front Recharge Areas in Arid Watersheds Based on a Digital Elevation Model and Land Cover Types

A recent assessment that quantified potential impacts of solar energy development on water resources in the southwestern United States necessitated the development of a methodology to identify locations of mountain front recharge (MFR) in order to guide land development decisions. A spatially explicit, slope-based algorithm was created to delineate MFR zones in 17 arid, mountainous watersheds using elevation and land cover data. Slopes were calculated from elevation data and grouped into 100 classes using iterative self-organizing classification. Candidate MFR zones were identified based on slope classes that were consistent with MFR. Land cover types that were inconsistent with groundwater recharge were excluded from the candidate areas to determine the final MFR zones. No MFR reference maps exist for comparison with the study’s results, so the reliability of the resulting MFR zone maps was evaluated qualitatively using slope, surficial geology, soil, and land cover datasets. MFR zones ranged from 74 km2 to 1547 km2 and accounted for 40% of the total watershed area studied. Slopes and surficial geologic materials that were present in the MFR zones were consistent with conditions at the mountain front, while soils and land cover that were present would generally promote groundwater recharge. Visual inspection of the MFR zone maps also confirmed the presence of well-recognized alluvial fan features in several study watersheds. While qualitative evaluation suggested that the algorithm reliably delineated MFR zones in most watersheds overall, the algorithm was better suited for application in watersheds that had characteristic Basin and Range topography and relatively flat basin floors than areas without these characteristics. Because the algorithm performed well to reliably delineate the spatial distribution of MFR, it would allow researchers to quantify aspects of the hydrologic processes associated with MFR and help local land resource managers to consider protection of critical groundwater recharge regions in their development decisions.

Simulating the Saturation Threshold of a Water Environment's Response to Tourist Activities:A Case Study in the Liupan Mountain Eco-tourism Area

The effect of tourism on water environments has received a high degree of interest in the study of eco-tourism.Based on the analysis of the relationship between tourist activities and the water environment in the Liupan Mountain eco-tourism zone,the case study area,a Water Environment of Tourism Area Model(WETAM) is built to simulate the temporal and spatial changes in water quality and the response saturation thresholds under four sewage treatment scenarios.The results imply the following:(1) WETAM performs well in modeling a water environment to represent the dynamic process of water quality change in response to tourist activities.(2) Under four sewage treatment scenarios(fundamental,low,medium,and high),the threshold shows an obvious uptrend.(3) The response threshold of water quality with respect to the interference of tourist activities fluctuates seasonally due to changes in tourist density.(4) The thresholds differ significantly among five tourism functional areas.According to the response saturation threshold of the water environment,effective control based on the scale and intensity of tourist activities is important for a successful transformation of this tourism destination's development strategies.Therefore,the integrated management of water pollution in tourism areas plays a crucial role in sustainable tourism development.

中昆仑山北坡水汽含量的计算及其特征分析

干旱区水汽变化影响区域水资源系统的结构和演变,基于2020年1月—2022年12月中昆仑山北坡地区4个地基GPS遥感大气可降水量资料(GPS-PWV)、2个探空站观测资料和108个地面气象观测站逐时水汽压资料,利用一元线性拟合方法建立了适用于中昆仑山北坡地区的大气水汽含量(W-PWV)和地面水汽压计算模型(W-e)并对计算结果进行评估,分析了中昆仑山北坡地区东段、中段、西段W-PWV的时空分布特征及降水开始时刻与W-PWV峰值的关系。结果表明:(1)W-PWV年平均高值区位于研究区西段,中段次之,东段沙漠南缘W-PWV最低。海拔高度大于1500 m测站W-PWV随高度升高逐渐减少。夏季地面气象观测站平均W-PWV是春、秋季的2倍左右;(2)研究区W-PWV月变化具有单峰型特征,其中海拔高度1300~1500 m测站的W-PWV在7月和8月达到峰值,其余测站的W-PWV在8月达到峰值,海拔低于2000m和高于2000m测站W-PWV分别在夜间和白天维持较高值;(3)水汽含量模型计算的测站W-PWV与降水开始时刻有较好的对应关系,降水前各站W-PWV均存在不同程度跃变过程,降水过程前1~2h内W-PWV峰值达到测站W-PWV月平均值的1.5倍以上。