The characteristics of the runoff and sediment in the Yellow River were analysed and predicted Based on measured data of from 1951 to 2017. Initially, the phase characteristics of runoff and sediment were analysed by the cumulative anomaly curve method. After that, the trend and catastrophe of runoff and sediment are discuessed using the Mann-Kendall methods. The results revealed that the decreasing trend of runoff and sediment was significant, and the catastrophe time was 1979 and 1992, respectively. Finally, the evolution of the runoff and sediment was predicted quantitatively by using the ARMA model. The predictions indicated that, the Yellow River is likely to remain in the stage of low runoff and sediment.

Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) change is one of the core features of global change. Habitat quality is an essential representation of ecosystem service functioning and ecosystem health. It is of great significance to assess the habitat quality spatiotemporal heterogeneity caused by land-use change in the regional ecological environment for security and sustainable regional management. Based on the interpreted LULC data of the Yellow River Delta (YRD) in 2000, 2010, and 2020, the PLUS model was used to forecast different LULC 2030 scenarios. Specifically, this study aimed to analyze the LULC change in the YRD and use the InVEST model to evaluate the overall habitat quality in the historical period of the region and future scenarios. From 2000 to 2020, the most critical land-use changes within a 20 km radius from the coastline in the study area are mainly the sharp increase in construction land, mariculture and salt pan, and the sharp decline of coastal wetlands, which is mainly due to the high intensity of human development activities and the process of erosion and deposition in coastal zones and estuarine deltas. During the period, the average habitat quality in the YRD decreased yearly, with the overall regional habitat quality classified as intermediate. The habitat quality was the most significant in the 0–20 km range from the coastline because of the high intensity of human development activities in this area. The habitat quality in the YRD varied under different scenarios in 2030. In the baseline scenario (BS) and socio-economic development (SD) scenario, the habitat quality decreased continuously, but the habitat quality increased under the ecological protection (EP) scenario. This research can provide relevant scientific references for optimizing landscape patterns and improving habitat quality in the YRD region.

Available water resources are decreasing in river basins around the world. Some reseachers have suggested various indicators and methods that should be used to allocate water resources. This paper attempts an integrated approach to water allocation that accounts for a wide range of factors at the river basin level. Using the Hai, Huai, and Yellow River Basins of Shandong Province in China, 19 indicators were assimilated into a water scarcity index and weighted based on surveys collected from 82 multidisciplinary experts. Fuzzy set probability was then used to quantify water scarcity for each river basin. A water allocation method was also calculated using 13 indicators and objectively weighted using the analytical hierarchy process. Results show that all river basins in Shandong Province have severe water scarcity and highlight that economic factors play the most critical role in water scarcity, followed by water supply factors then water demand. Water allocation indicators were prioritized accord...

With wetlands categorized as one of the three major ecosystems, the study of wetland health has global environmental implications. Multiple regression models were employed to establish relationships between Landsat-8 images, vegetation indices and field measured biomass in the Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve. These models were then used to estimate the spatial distribution of wetland vegetative biomass. The relationships between wetland vegetative biomass and soil factors (organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, water soluble salt, pH and moisture) were modeled. We were able to achieve higher correlations and improved model fits using vegetative indices and spectral bands 1–5 as independent variables. Several important soil factors were isolated, including soil moisture and salt concentrations, which affect wetland biomass spatial distributions. Overall, wetland biomass decreased from land to the ocean and from the river courses outward.