Environmental flow requirements largely reshape global surface water scarcity assessment

Liu, Xingcai1,2; Liu, Wenfeng3; Liu, Liu3; Tang, Qiuhong2,4; Liu, Junguo5; Yang, Hong1,6

2021-10-01

10.1088/1748-9326/ac27cb

Environmental Research Letters   影响因子和分区

1748-9326

The inclusion of environmental flow requirements (EFRs) in global water scarcity assessments is essential to obtain a reasonable representation of the water scarcity status. However, at a global scale, the quantification of EFRs is subject to large uncertainties resulting from various methods. So far, it is unclear to what extent the uncertainties in EFRs affect global water scarcity assessments. In this study, we examined the differences between EFR estimation methods and quantified their effects on spatially explicit water scarcity assessments, based on reconstructed global water withdrawal data and naturalized streamflow simulations. The global mean EFRs estimated by different methods ranged from 129 m(3) s(-1) to 572 m(3) s(-1). Consequently, with the fulfillment of the EFRs, the area under water scarcity ranged between 8% and 52% of the total global land area, and the affected population ranged between 28% and 60% of the total population. In India and Northern China, 44%-66% and 22%-58% of the country's land area, respectively, is affected by water scarcity; this percentage is higher than that found in other countries. The effects of different EFRs on water scarcity assessment are large in many regions, but relatively small in regions that experience intensive water use due to anthropological activities (such as Northern China and India). Through this study, we have put forth the need for the reconciliation of the estimates of EFRs to produce more reasonable and consistent water scarcity assessments.

water scarcity environmental flow hydrological modeling large-scale river ecosystem

SCI ; EI

英语

其他

National Natural Science Foundation of China[41625001,41877164] ; Swiss National Science Foundation[200021_188686] ; National Key R&D Program of China[2019YFA0606903] ; Chinese Universities Scientific Fund[2021RC016]

Environmental Sciences & Ecology ; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences

Environmental Sciences ; Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences

WOS:000704146700001

IOP Publishing Ltd

20214311074495

Ecosystems ; Water supply

Surface Water:444.1 ; Water Supply Systems:446.1 ; Ecology and Ecosystems:454.3

Web of Science

1.Swiss Fed Inst Aquat Sci & Technol, Eawag, Ueberlandstr 133, CH-8600 Dubendorf, Switzerland
2.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geog Sci & Nat Resources Res, Key Lab Water Cycle & Related Land Surface Proc, 11A Datun Rd, Beijing, Peoples R China
3.China Agr Univ, Coll Water Resources & Civil Engn, Ctr Agr Water Res China, Beijing 100083, Peoples R China
4.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Coll Resources & Environm, Beijing, Peoples R China
5.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Environm Sci & Engn, Shenzhen 518055, Peoples R China
6.Univ Basel, Dept Environm Sci, MGU, Peterspl 1, CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Liu, Xingcai,Liu, Wenfeng,Liu, Liu,et al. Environmental flow requirements largely reshape global surface water scarcity assessment[J]. Environmental Research Letters,2021,16(10).

Liu, Xingcai,Liu, Wenfeng,Liu, Liu,Tang, Qiuhong,Liu, Junguo,&Yang, Hong.(2021).Environmental flow requirements largely reshape global surface water scarcity assessment.Environmental Research Letters,16(10).

Liu, Xingcai,et al."Environmental flow requirements largely reshape global surface water scarcity assessment".Environmental Research Letters 16.10(2021).