Quantifying the Hydrological Response to Water Conservation Measures and Climatic Variability in the Yihe River Basin,China

Abstract

In this study, variations in the hydrological responses of the Yihe agricultural watershed in the Yihe River Basin in China were analysed based on decadal period data from 1961 to 2011. Precipitation and streamflow data showed a positive trend and evapotranspiration a negative trend. Human activities dominated in the basin for the study period, but the results show inconsistencies between 1989 and 2011. The contribution of human activities and climate variability were quantified through simple linear regression and a physically based modelling approach (hydrological sensitivity). The results suggest that the streamflow of the Dongwan Basin has decreased compared to the baseline period (1961–1968). The contributions of human activities and climate variability were 17% and 83% for 1970–2011 using a simple linear regression approach. The hydrological sensitivity method quantified 119% and −19% of human activities and climate variability respectively for the same period.

Keywords

agricultural watershed anthropogenic impact climate variability streamflow Yellow River

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