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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2025, Vol. 61 ›› Issue (3): 38-49.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.LYKX20240259

• Special subject: Infusing science into the Great Green Wall • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Impacts of Climate Change and Vegetation Restoration on Hydrology in a Typical Watershed of Haihe Basin: A Case Study of Qingshuihe Watershed in Zhangjiakou

Niuniu Cui1,Jianzhuang Pang1,Yifan Zhang1,Hang Xu1,2,3,Qin Zhang1,Zhiqiang Zhang1,2,3,*()   

  1. 1. College of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Foresty University Beijing 100083
    2. Shanxi Jixian National Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station Linfen 042299
    3. Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Deserti?cation Combating, National Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing 100083
  • Received:2024-05-08 Online:2025-03-25 Published:2025-03-27
  • Contact: Zhiqiang Zhang E-mail:zhqzhang@bjfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Objective: Quantify the impacts of climate change and large-scale vegetation restoration on watershed hydrology, with the aim of achieving optimized allocation of forest and grass that balances water resource availability and ecological benefits in the watershed. Methods: Based on the semi-distributed hydrological model ( soil and water assessment tool, SWAT ) and scenario simulation, the impacts of climate change and vegetation restoration on hydrology were quantitatively evaluated in Qingshuihe watershed, a typical watershed of vegetation restoration in Haihe basin. Result: 1) From 1969 to 2015, the average annual precipitation in Qingshuihe watershed showed an insignificant decreasing trend ( P > 0.05 ), with a decrease of 1.70 mm every 10 years. The average annual air temperature showed a significantly increasing trend (P < 0.01 ), with an increase of 0.30 ℃ every 10 years. The annual potential evapotranspiration showed an insignificant increasing trend ( P > 0.05), with an increase of 7.30 mm every 10 years. The annual runoff depth showed a significant decreasing trend ( P < 0.01 ), with a decrease of 5.80 mm every 10 years. 2) Comparing landuse between 1985 and 2015, grassland to forest and cropland to grassland are the main types of vegetation restoration. 3) The calibrated SWAT model can better simulate the hydrological changes in Qingshuihe watershed. The Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients (NSE) are 0.69 and 0.77, coefficients of determination (R2) are 0.69 and 0.77, percentage bias (PBIAS) are –0.40% and –6.00%, and ratios of the root mean square error to the standard deviation (RSR) are 0.56 and 0.48 for the calibration period and validation period, respectively. 4) Compared with the base period (1984–1993), the surface runoff and lateral flow increased by 0.31 and 0.08 mm due to climate change, and decreased by 1.43 and 0.46 mm due to vegetation restoration in the scenario period (2006–2015). Climate change and vegetation restoration respectively decreased soil water content by 42.72% and 57.28%, while increasing actual evapotranspiration by 87.47% and 12.53%, respectively. 5) After grassland restoration, the actual annual evapotranspiration increased by 12.62 mm, the annual surface runoff, lateral flow and soil water content decreased by 6.47, 3.38 and 10.06 mm, respectively. After restoring cropland to grassland, the annual surface runoff decreased by 8.11 mm, and the actual annual evapotranspiration, lateral flow and soil water content increased by 7.27, 1.21 and 4.37 mm, respectively. Conclusion: Different hydrological parameters responded differently to climate change and vegetation restoration in Qingshuihe watershed. Vegetation restoration is the main driving factor for the reduction of surface runoff, lateral flow, and soil water content, and the main driving factor for the increase of actual evapotranspiration is climate change. The impacts of different vegetation restoration types on hydrology are significantly different. After the grassland was restored to forest, the water consumption increased, and more precipitation can be retained after restoring cropland to grassland. In regions with water scarcity, it is necessary to essential to carefully balance the hydrological regulation functions of different vegetation types to develop sustainable and adaptive watershed management strategies.

Key words: climate change, vegetation restoration, SWAT model, hydrological parameters, quantitative attribution

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