Assessment of the Spatiotemporal Impact of Water Conservation on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Abstract

The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is a proven essential water conservation region in Asia. However, various factors, such as anthropogenic activities, climate, and vegetation significantly affect its water conservation. Along these lines, a deep understanding of the spatiotemporal patterns of water conservation for this plateau and relevant influencing elements is considered of great importance. This paper calculates the water conservation on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau based on the InVEST model, and given that the evapotranspiration data are an important parameter of the InVEST model, this study selects the mainstream evapotranspiration data to compare the accuracy of the simulated water yield, and also selects the most accurate remote sensing evapotranspiration data examined in the study to carry out the study of water conservation on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. Due to the large area of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and the various types of climate and ecological zones, this paper analyzes the spatial and temporal variations of water conservation on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in each ecological zone and climate zone division and detects the factors affecting water conservation on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau by using the geo-detector method. From our analysis, the following outcomes are proven: on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, (1) the overall water conservation decreased from southeast to northwest; (2) the water conservation of the studied plateau in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 was 656.56, 590.85, 597.4, and 651.85 mm, respectively; (3) precipitation, evapotranspiration, and NDVI exhibited a positive relationship with water conservation; (4) the precipitation factor had the biggest impact on the spatial distinctions of the water resource governance; (5) the above factors are combined with the slope factor and the interaction of each factor to improve water conservation. Our work provides valuable insights for the further implementation of ecological projects with a view to enhancing water resource management methods.

Spatial and Temporal Evolution Characteristics of Water Conservation in the Three-Rivers Headwater Region and the Driving Factors over the Past 30 Years

“…The relationship between interannual variations in WC and climatic factors was examined in the TRHR. The results indicated a significant positive correlation between precipitation and WC over the past 30 years, in line with previous research [3,13,16]. Precipitation emerged as the primary factor influencing the spatial variation in WC in the TRHR, followed by vegetation (measured by NDVI or LAI) consistent with previous studies in the region [14,16].…”

“…Potential evapotranspiration data were derived from the 1 km monthly potential evapotranspiration dataset in China provided by the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center [27]. Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of this dataset in simulating the WC in the Tibetan Plateau [16].…”

“…Assessing the changes in WC services and understanding the driving factors behind temporal and spatial variations are crucial. Moreover, further exploration is necessary for quantitatively examining of the interplay among distinct influencing factors [16].…”

Spatiotemporal Evolution Characteristics and Driving Factors of Water Conservation Service in Jiangxi Province from 2001 to 2020

“…Studies on the factors that influence water conservation services have shown that these are complex and diverse, but can be broadly divided into natural environmental factors and human activity factors. Precipitation and evapotranspiration are two important climatic factors that directly affect regional water conservation [36,53,54], while temperature indirectly affects the water conservation process by influencing water evaporation [11]. Forestlands and grasslands also influence water conservation because of the water interception, storage, and evapotranspiration effects of vegetation [17,53].…”

“…Precipitation and evapotranspiration are two important climatic factors that directly affect regional water conservation [36,53,54], while temperature indirectly affects the water conservation process by influencing water evaporation [11]. Forestlands and grasslands also influence water conservation because of the water interception, storage, and evapotranspiration effects of vegetation [17,53]. With population increases and rapid industry and agriculture development, human activities have gradually become an important driving force affecting the global hydrological cycle and evolution of water resources.…”