Initiatives on exploring the mechanism of eco‐hydrological response to land surface change and adaptive regulation in the Yellow River Basin

Abstract

The Yellow River Basin faces water scarcity and ecological fragility. Changes on the land surface, characterized by large‐scale soil and water conservation measures, have a significant impact on river runoff and ecological environment. However, there are still great uncertainties in the scientific understanding of the mechanisms by which multiple driver impact eco‐hydrological processes due to the diversity of land surfaces and the complexity of the coupling processes. As an international scientific frontier on interdisciplinary studies in climatology, hydrology, ecology, and other related fields, it is significant to study the mechanisms and assess the impacts of land surface change on eco‐hydrological risk to support ecological restoration plan and sustainable water resources utilization in the Yellow River Basin. Taking the Yellow River Basin as the study area, this study proposes several important research initiatives, focusing on addressing the ecological and water resources problems in the Loess Plateau. These initiatives include (1) to quantify the individual effect of land surface elements (e.g., vegetation, terraces, and check dam) and reveal the nonlinear driving mechanisms of multiple drivers on eco‐hydrological processes; (2) to construct a distributed eco‐hydrological model that couples dynamic land surface features, and simulate eco‐hydrological processes in a changing environment; (3) to improve the ecological risk assessment indicator system and methods for assessing the impacts of land surface changes on eco‐hydrological synergistic functions and ecological risk; (4) to establish an ecological regulation model based on multiobjective game theory and adopt an adaptive regulation mode for ecological risk management. The research could enrich the scientific understanding and theory of eco‐hydrology, and prompt disciplinary studies of ecology, hydrology, climatology, and other fields. The expected academic achievements will innovate eco‐hydrological simulation and assessment techniques in a changing environment, and strongly support the implementation of the national strategy for ecological protection and high‐quality development in the Yellow River Basin.