Disaster risks and countermeasures for unbalanced hydrology-sediment-vegetation relationship in the middle reaches of the Yellow River
XU Ximeng
TANG Qiuhong
ZHENG Fenli
XIE Qiuyu
Abstract：The middle reaches of the Yellow River are key regions for soil erosion and primary sources of sediment,facing challenges such as water scarcity and uncoordinated water-sediment dynamics.Under global climate change,the hydrology-sediment-vegetation relationship in the middle reaches of the Yellow River is at risk of imbalance:while vegetation coverage has increased,water and sediment fluxes have significantly decreased;vegetation restoration is approaching the water resource carrying capacity limit;and gravitational erosion intensifies under extreme rainstorm conditions,potentially triggering a series of extreme soil and water loss disaster risks.This study delineates the potential catastrophic risks arising from the imbalance in hydrology,sediment,and vegetation relationships in the middle reaches of the Yellow River,including:alterations in erosion environments and sediment sources increasing flood control pressures;frequent extreme events leading to severe disaster losses;excessive vegetation restoration exacerbating soil desiccation and drought risks;and elevated failure risks of aging terraces and compromised check dams.To address these challenges,the following countermeasures are proposed:strengthening erosion prevention and water-sediment regulation in key sediment source areas;developing predictive models for extreme water and sediment events influenced by ecological construction to enhance disaster monitoring and early warning capabilities;coordinating the synergistic effects of vegetation restoration and engineering measures to establish an integrated system for ecological restoration,flood control,and drought mitigation;accelerating the enhancement of storage and drainage functions of terraces and check dams,and optimizing their operation and maintenance;and improving infrastructure resilience,raising awareness of disaster prevention and mitigation,and enhancing capacities to cope with major disaster risks.
Keywords：middle reaches of the Yellow Rivervegetation restorationsoil and water conservationflood and drought riskshydrology-sediment-vegetation relationship
Publication Date：2025-05-12
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：7( 21-27 )