Long-Term Dynamics of Different Surface Water Body Types and Their Possible Driving Factors in China

Abstract

Various surface water bodies, such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs, provide water and essential services to human society. However, the long-term spatiotemporal dynamics of different types of surface water bodies and their possible driving factors over large areas remain very limited. Here, we used unprecedented surface water data layers derived from all available Landsat images and further developed two databases on China’s lakes and reservoirs larger than 1 km2 to document and understand the characteristics of changes in different water body types during 2000 to 2019 in China. Our results show that China is dominated by permanent water bodies. The areas of permanent and seasonal water bodies in China increased by 16,631.02 km2 (16.72%) and 16,994.95 km2 (25.14%), respectively, between 2000 and 2019, with permanent and seasonal water bodies exhibiting divergent spatial variations. Lakes and artificial reservoirs larger than 1 km2, which collectively represent a significant proportion of the permanent water bodies in China, displayed net increases of 6884.52 km2 (10.71%) and 4075.13 km2 (36.10%), respectively, from 2000 to 2019; these increases accounted for 41.40% and 24.50%, respectively, of the total permanent water body increment. The expanding lakes were mainly distributed on the Tibetan Plateau, whereas the rapidly growing reservoirs were mainly located on the Northeast Plain and Eastern Plain. Statistical analyses indicated that artificial reservoirs were an important factor controlling both permanent and seasonal water body changes in most of provinces. Climate factors, such as precipitation and temperature, were the main influencing factors affecting the changes in different water bodies in the sparsely populated Tibetan Plateau.

Analysis of the Spatial and Temporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Landscape Ecological Risk in the Four Lakes Basin on the Jianghan Plain, China

“…This result was consistent with the findings from watersheds in China and foreign countries with different ecological conditions, such as the Bosten Lake Basin [53], Bailong River Basin [54], Red River Basin [55], and typical cross-border Koshi River Basin [42]. As a result of human reclamation of lakes and climate change, the trend in shrinking water bodies has increased [56] and the number of patches has decreased. Additionally, the water bodies themselves have a high degree of landscape vulnerability [41], leading to an increase in the degree of landscape disturbance and vulnerability.…”

Beyond the ice: decoding Lake Mertzbakher’s response to global climate shifts

“…However, 2021 deviated from this pattern, exhibiting a significantly smaller area with the peak in June, likely due to extreme weather conditions. In 2021, many regions, including China with its highest recorded average surface temperature since 1901 (0.97 °C above normal), and Kyrgyzstan, experienced unusual climatic conditions, adversely affecting crop production and potentially contributing to the observed decrease in glacier lake area and reduced outburst intensity (Apaer, 2014;Yu et al, 2021).…”

Monitoring Surface Water Area Changes in the Aral Sea Basin Using the Google Earth Engine Cloud Platform

“…Surface water is a critical component of the hydrological and biogeochemical cycles [1], providing a wide range of ecosystem and social functions, including climate regulation, ecosystem balance, biodiversity protection, freshwater supply, flow regulation, irrigation, and power generation [2,3]. The Aral Sea Basin (ASB) is a vulnerable ecological zone in arid Central Asia.…”