[Spatiotemporal Coupling and Spatial Correlation Between Water Conservation and Human Activities in Counties of the Yellow River Basin]

Abstract

Quantitative evaluation of the coupling coordination and spatial correlation between water conservation and human activities is crucial for alleviating the contradiction between human beings and water and promoting the coordinated development of social-ecological systems in the Yellow River Basin. The InVEST model and human activity intensity （HAI） were used to quantitatively evaluate water conservation and human activities in the Yellow River Basin. The spatiotemporal coupling and spatial correlation between water conservation and human activities in the counties of the Yellow River Basin were analyzed by combining the coupling coordination degree and bivariate spatial autocorrelation. The results showed that： ① From 1980 to 2020, the water conservation in the Yellow River Basin showed a fluctuating upward trend, with an average annual water conservation of 5.823 14 billion m³, showing a spatial distribution pattern of higher water conservation in the upstream and downstream areas and lower water conservation in the middle reaches. ②From 1980 to 2020, the intensity of human activities in the Yellow River Basin showed a gradual upward trend, with the HAI value increasing from 0.143 4 in 1980 to 0.185 5 in 2020. The overall spatial distribution pattern of human activity intensity at the county level was high in the east and low in the west. ③From 1980 to 2020, the coupling coordination level between water conservation and human activities in the Yellow River Basin counties increased but remained in a state of imbalance, showing a dynamic evolutionary characteristic of "moderate imbalance as the main body, with extreme and severe imbalance decreasing and mild and critical imbalance increasing" and a spatial distribution pattern of high in the east and low in the west. ④ From 1980 to 2020, there was a spatial negative correlation between water conservation and human activities in the Yellow River Basin counties, and the negative effect intensified. The most important relationship type and the county with the largest decrease in number were low-low clusters.

Keywords: Yellow River Basin; bivariate spatial autocorrelation; coupling coordination; human activities intensity （HAI）; water conservation.