Analysis of the contribution of multiple factors to the recent decrease in discharge and sediment yield in the Yellow River Basin, China

The Yellow River basin is well known for its high sediment yield. However, this sediment yield has clearly decreased since the 1980s, especially after the year 2000. The annual average sediment yield was 1.2 billion tons before 2000, but has significantly decreased to 0.3 billion tons over the last 10 years. Changes in discharge and sediment yield for the Yellow River have attracted the attention of both the Central Government and local communities. This study aimed to identify the individual contributions of changes in precipitation and human activities (e.g. water conservancy projects, terracing, silt dams, socio-economic and needs, and soil and water conservation measures) to the decrease in discharge and sediment yield of the Yellow River. The study used both improved the hydrological method and the soil and water conservation method. The study focused on discharge analysis for the upper reaches and the investigation of sediments for the middle reaches of the river. The results showed that discharge and sediment yield have both presented significant decreasing trends over the past 50 years. Precipitation showed an insignificant decreasing trend over the same period. The annual average discharge decreased by 5.68 billion m3above Lanzhou reach of the Yellow River from 2000 to 2012; human activities (e.g. socio-economic water use) contributed 43.4% of the total reduction, whereas natural factors (e.g. evaporation from lakes, wetlands and reservoirs) accounted for 56.6%. The decrease in annual discharge and sediment yield of the section between Hekouzhen station and Tongguan station were 12.4 billion m3and 1.24 billion tons, respectively. Human activities contributed 76.5% and 72.2% of the total reduction in discharge and sediment yield, respectively, and were therefore the dominant factors in the changes in discharge and sediment yield of the Yellow River.