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Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (7): 1185-1197.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.473

• Climatology and Hydrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatial pattern and evolution trend of agricultural grey water footprint intensity in the Yellow River Basin

CHENG Peng1(), PENG Haiyang1, HOU Dingrong1, SUN Mingdong2, SONG Xiaowei1   

  1. 1. College of Resources and Environment, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan 030006, Shanxi, China
    2. Institute of Water Ecology and Environment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China
  • Received:2024-08-07 Revised:2024-11-21 Online:2025-07-25 Published:2025-07-04

Abstract:

Effective management of agricultural water pollution is essential for addressing the water crisis and promoting sustainable regional development. This study introduces the agricultural grey water footprint intensity (AGWFI), which integrates the agricultural grey water footprint and local economic development levels to reflect agricultural pollution levels. It calculates the AGWFI for 112 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin of China from 2012 to 2021, thoroughly analyzing the spatial patterns and trends of AGWFI in the region. In addition, a quantile regression method is employed to examine the influencing factors. The findings reveal the following. (1) From 2012 to 2021, AGWFI significantly decreased across the Yellow River Basin and its upper, middle, and lower reaches, with a more significant reduction in the upper reaches compared to the middle and lower reaches. (2) The AGWFI displayed a distribution pattern characterized by high values in the west and low values in the east; the Gini coefficient for AGWFI in the basin and its upper, middle, and lower reaches was notably high and increasing, with intra- and inter-regional disparities as primary sources. Furthermore, the transfer of AGWFI primarily occurred between adjacent levels. (3) The level of agricultural economic development negatively affected the overall AGWFI in the Yellow River Basin and its upper, middle, and lower reaches. By contrast, the output share of the primary industry and the utilization rate of agricultural water resources positively influenced AGWFI. These research findings can serve as scientific references for the development of targeted agricultural water pollution management strategies in the Yellow River Basin.

Key words: agricultural grey water footprint intensity, spatial pattern, evolution trend, influencing factors, Yellow River Basin