Root-induced channels are the primary controlling factors for rapid movement of water and solute in forest soils. To explore the effects of root distribution on preferential flow during rainfall events, deciduous (Quercus variabilis BI.) and coniferous forest (Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco) sites were selected to conduct dual-tracer experiments (Brilliant Blue FCF and Bromide [Br⁻]). Each plot (1.30 × 1.30 m) was divided into two subplots (0.65 × 1.30 m), and two rainfall simulations (40 mm, large rainfall and 70 mm, extreme rainfall) were conducted in these. Vertical soil profiles (1.00 m × 0.40 m) were excavated, and preferential flow path features were quantified based on digital image analysis. Root (fine and coarse) abundance and Br⁻ concentration were investigated for each soil profile. In deciduous forest, accumulated roots in the upper soil layer induce larger lateral preferential flow as compared to the coniferous forest soil during large rainfall events. Compared with deciduous forest, coniferous forest soil, with higher (horizontal and vertical) spatial variability of preferential flow paths, promotes higher percolation and solute leaching to deeper soil layers during extreme rainfall events. Fine roots, accounting for a larger proportion of total roots (compared to coarse roots), facilitate preferential flow in the 0–40 cm forest soil layer. Overall, our results indicate that the root distribution pattern of different tree species can exert diverse effects on preferential flow in forest soils.

Agricultural water and land resources are key elements of human production and their unbalanced distribution has threatened the sustainable development of agriculture and regional food security. This study is aiming to investigate the spatial–temporal changes of matching characteristics between agricultural water and land resources in Ningxia during 2007 to 2017. The agricultural irrigation water (AIW), farmland area (FA) and effective irrigated area (EIA) were selected as quantity parameters for agricultural water and land resource. Results show that the gravity centers of AIW and EIA both moved in the southeast direction, while the gravity center of FA moved northwestward, which indicated a better spatial matching degree between AIW and EIA. According to the Gini coefficient and total spatial mismatch index, the spatial mismatch between AIW and FA of Ningxia was remedied and that of AIW and EIA was worse. Counties with sufficient and insufficient AIW were distributed in the north and the south of Ningxia, respectively. The sensitivity of agricultural irrigation water to land resources remarkably increased in the study period, particularly for the counties in northern area of Ningxia. The findings may provide implications for effective management of regional agricultural water and land resources.

The Tarim River Basin in China has predominantly assumed the task of commodity cotton and other high water-intensive crop production in recent years. The spatial matching status of agricultural water and land resources is a prerequisite for local economic development. This paper provides an insight into the spatiotemporal variation trends of agricultural production water footprint and oasis farmland in the Tarim River Basin. The degree of spatial mismatching between oasis farmland and crop production water footprints studied in this paper found how the crop water footprint affected the change in oasis farmland area by sensitivity analysis. Time series data covering the period of 1990–2015 were used for the study. The results showed that the annual variation of crop production water footprint and oasis farmland area have experienced upward trends in Tarim River Basin. The blue water makes the largest contribution to the components of the crop production water footprint in each district (all exceeded 77%). The crop production water footprint and oasis farmland area tend to aggregate towards the eastern region. The level of spatial mismatch between the blue water footprint and farmland area fluctuated during the study period, but it was gradually remedied after 2000, while the spatial mismatch between green water footprint and farmland area gradually worsened. The number of districts with mid and high sensitivity to changes in blue water footprint continuously increased during 1990–2005, which revealed that the change in blue water footprint has an increasing influence on oasis farmland. The results can provide operable recommendations for efficient use of water resources, maintaining oasis suitable farmland scale and agricultural sustainable development in the Tarim River Basin.

Agricultural economy is usually studied by total factor analysis, while it is uncertain what factors affect agricultural production in the perspective of water utilization. The aim of this study was to investigate driving forces of agricultural economy related to water utilization effects in Ningxia during 2007 to 2017. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method was selected to decompose the driving forces of agricultural production value. Results showed that the agricultural production value increased significantly in 2007–2017 in all of Ningxia and in each city. In terms of the whole region, the effect of agriculture water efficiency played a leading and positive role in the increase of the agricultural production value. The effects of water stress, water utilization structure, and water resource endowment all showed a negative driving force, while population exerted a positive effect. For five cities, the effect of agriculture water efficiency and water utilization structure showed no spatial difference; whereas the other effects expressed different driving forces between cities in the northern plain area and southern hilly area due to varied natural conditions and agricultural activities. The results of this research suggested that the first and foremost strategy of agricultural development and water resource management in Ningxia should be to promote water-saving irrigation and optimize agricultural structure.

The conflict between urban energy supply and demand is becoming increasingly evident. One aspect that consumes a great deal of this energy is the allocation of urban water resources. This study proposes a new scheme for rationally allocating urban water resources considering the high levels of energy currently consumed in Jinan city of Shandong, China. The focus is on simultaneously minimizing energy consumption and water shortage rates and granting priority to public water supplies in line with the predicted water supply levels for all available sources. Based on this assessment, further adjustments were made in terms of system configuration and the analysis of energy consumption. The results of the general water resource allocation model not only show that Jinan’s total water supply in 2030 will increase by 33.7% from 2019 but that energy consumption will also increase by 58.5%. If energy consumption is constrained and water supplies are restricted for high-energy-consumption activities, the results of the water resource allocation model considering energy consumption show that energy consumption will increase only by 44.2%. And the results also show that local groundwater is less energy intensive than imported surface water, which suggests that groundwater should be preferred (at least for energy reasons). Through modeling to reduce the total energy consumption in water resource allocation, this paper can provide a reference for energy saving for urban water supply systems.