Zhu et al. (2025) Coupling Mechanism and Management of Groundwater Dynamics and Land Use in Arid Inland Basins (Wuwei, China)

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Identification

• Journal: Water
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-10-28
• Authors: Pucheng Zhu, Lifang Wang, Min Liu, Xiaosi Su, Zhenlong Nie
• DOI: 10.3390/w17213080

Research Groups

Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Short Summary

This study analyzed multi-source data from China's Wuwei Basin (2000-2020) to understand the coevolution of groundwater and land use, revealing a post-2010 shift towards ecological land use, spatially variable groundwater declines due to anthropogenic pressures, and a significant attenuation of natural groundwater recharge.

Objective

• To elucidate the synergistic dynamics and coevolution between groundwater systems and land use patterns in the Wuwei Basin, China, from 2000 to 2020.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Wuwei Basin, located within the Shiyang River watershed in China (regional basin scale).
• Temporal Scale: 2000 to 2020 (21 years).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.
• Data sources: Multi-source data (e.g., land use, hydrological data).

Main Results

• Around 2010, the Wuwei Basin experienced a significant land use shift from production-oriented expansion to ecologically driven priorities, characterized by reduced cultivated land, increased artificial surfaces, and accelerated ecological restoration, influenced by water governance and spatial planning.
• Groundwater levels exhibit marked spatial variability, with stability in piedmont and discharge zones but pronounced declines in transitional and distal recharge areas due to hydrogeological factors and anthropogenic pressures (e.g., cultivated land extent, groundwater extraction intensity).
• A "gain-loss regime shift" (simultaneous increases in groundwater extraction and water-level recovery) was identified in the discharge zone; however, human activities have severely disrupted the natural coupling between precipitation and groundwater recharge, leading to an attenuation of recharge rates exceeding 80%.

Contributions

• Provides a robust scientific basis for implementing spatially differentiated water resource management strategies and optimizing land use in arid basin environments.
• Identifies the coevolutionary dynamics between groundwater and land use, including a significant post-2010 land use structural shift and spatially heterogeneous groundwater responses.
• Highlights the severe attenuation of natural groundwater recharge due to human activities, despite localized "gain-loss regime shift" observations.
• Contributes to broader efforts in harmonizing human–environment interactions in arid regions globally.

Funding

Not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Zhu2025Coupling,
  author = {Zhu, Pucheng and Wang, Lifang and Liu, Min and Su, Xiaosi and Nie, Zhenlong},
  title = {Coupling Mechanism and Management of Groundwater Dynamics and Land Use in Arid Inland Basins (Wuwei, China)},
  journal = {Water},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.3390/w17213080},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/w17213080}
}