As the Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys) is a tool to simulate the interactions between ecological and hydrological processes, many RHESSys-based studies have been implemented for sustainable watershed management. However, it is crucial to review a RHESSys updating history, pros, and cons for further improving the RHESSys and promoting ecohydrological studies. This paper reviewed the progress of ecohydrological studies employing RHESSys by a bibliometric analysis that quantitatively analyzed the characteristics of relevant studies. In addition, we addressed the main application progress, parameter calibration and validation methods, and uncertainty analysis. We found that since its release in 1993, RHESSys has been widely applied for basins (<100 km²) within mainly seven biomes. The RHESSys model has been applied for evaluating the ecohydrological responses to climate change, land management, urbanization, and disturbances, as well as water quality and biogeochemical cycle. While most studies have paid their attention on climate change, the focus has shifted to the application for land management in recent years. This study also identified many challenges in RHESSys such as the inaccessible data and parameters, oversimplified calibration approach, few applications for large-scale watersheds, and limited application fields. Therefore, this study proposed a set of suggestions to overcome the limitations and challenges: (1) Developing a new approach for parameter acquisition and calibration from multi-source data, (2) improving the applicability for a large-scale basin, and (3) extending the scope of application fields. We believe RHESSys can improve the understandings of human–environment relationships and the promotion of sustainable watersheds development.

Light pollution (LP), induced by human activities, has become a crucial threat to biodiversity on the Tibetan plateau (TP), but few studies have explored its coverage and dynamics. In this study, we intended to measure the spatiotemporal patterns of LP on the TP from 1992 to 2018. First, we extracted the annual extent of LP from time-series nighttime light data. After that, we analyzed its spatiotemporal patterns at multiple scales and identified the natural habitats and the species habitats affected by LP. Finally, we discussed the main influencing factors of LP expansion on the TP. We found that the LP area increased exponentially from 1.2 thousand km² to 82.8 thousand km², an increase of nearly 70 times. In 2018, LP accounted for 3.2% of the total area of the TP, mainly concentrated in the eastern and southern areas. Several national key ecological function zones (e.g., the Gannan Yellow river key water supply ecological function zone) and national nature reserves (e.g., the Lalu Wetland National Nature Reserve) had a large extent of LP. The proportion of LP area on natural habitats increased from 79.6% to 91.4%. The number of endangered species with habitats affected by LP increased from 89 to 228, and more than a quarter of the habitats of 18 endangered species were affected by LP. We also discovered that roadways as well as settlements in both urban and rural areas were the main sources of LP. Thus, to lessen LP’s negative effects on biodiversity, effective measures should be taken during road construction and urbanization on the TP.