Assessing the Sustainability Impacts of the Xiaolangdi Dam: Land Use and Socioeconomic Change in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yellow River Basin

Wei Wang (), Jiarui Xi, Liu Sun, Bo Liu, Yawei Hu, Zhen Han () and David Benson
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Wei Wang: Xiaolangdi Multipurpose Dam Project Management Center, Ministry of Water Resources, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Jiarui Xi: Environment and Sustainability Institute, Penryn Campus, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK
Liu Sun: Xiaolangdi Multipurpose Dam Project Management Center, Ministry of Water Resources, Zhengzhou 450003, China
Bo Liu: International Economic and Technical Cooperation and Exchange Center, Ministry of Water Resources of China, Beijing 100038, China
Yawei Hu: State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Zhen Han: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basins, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
David Benson: Environment and Sustainability Institute, Penryn Campus, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-12

Abstract: This paper assesses the sustainability impacts in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China after the Xiaolangdi Dam was constructed. Based on land use data interpreted from Landsat remote sensing images, covering the time period from 2000 to 2020 at 5-year intervals, this research uses a land dynamic attitude index and comprehensive index of land use degree to reveal the degree of land use type change in the study area and analyze the relationship between land use and social economy. The results show that urban and rural construction land is the land use type with the largest annual change rate, and the increase is most obvious from 2005 to 2010, growing by nearly 900 km 2 . The six types of land use in the research area changed sharply from 2000 to 2010, with grassland and unused land showing the most significant change. On the whole, the dynamic attitude of comprehensive land use tends to be stable. The comprehensive index analysis of land use degree indicates that the study area has developed in the direction of urban settlement. Population and GDP are the main driving factors affecting the constant change in land use types in this region, in which population growth and rapid economic development are the main factors leading to the decline of grassland area, and are also the main driving factors for the expansion of construction land. The research results provide a scientific basis for sustainable land use and development in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin.

Keywords: sustainability; Xiaolangdi Dam; Yellow River Basin; land dynamic attitude index (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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