Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin

By introducing virtual water (VW) flow correlation coefficients and risk indicators, this study examines the VW transmission relationship between urban agglomerations and cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and its impact on regional water resources pressure. The results show that: except for the...

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Main Authors: Jingjing Yang, Zhong Ma, Weijing Ma, Xingxing Niu, Ting Mao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Geography and Sustainability
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666683924000762
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author Jingjing Yang
Zhong Ma
Weijing Ma
Xingxing Niu
Ting Mao
author_facet Jingjing Yang
Zhong Ma
Weijing Ma
Xingxing Niu
Ting Mao
author_sort Jingjing Yang
collection DOAJ
description By introducing virtual water (VW) flow correlation coefficients and risk indicators, this study examines the VW transmission relationship between urban agglomerations and cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and its impact on regional water resources pressure. The results show that: except for the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration (SPUA) and Central Plains Urban Agglomeration (CPUA), the other urban agglomerations primarily act as VW exporting regions, while virtual water-importing cities are concentrated in the eastern regions. Notably, the Ningxia Urban Agglomeration (NUA) demonstrates significantly higher VW impact and sensitivity coefficients values than the remaining six urban agglomerations. First-tier cities generally display lower virtual water impact and sensitivity coefficients, whereas emerging cities exhibit the opposite trend. Additionally, we observe uneven risk variations between VW importing and exporting regions. Taking NUA as an example, the risk increase resulting from VW exports significantly exceeds the risk reduction associated with VW imports in the corresponding regions. It’s important to highlight that first-tier cities consistently decrease water resource risk through VW imports in the study years. However, among second and third-tier cities, only 38.9 % experience reduced water resource risk through VW imports. Therefore, we recommend a focused examination of VW imports and exports in western region urban agglomerations, cities, and second and third-tier cities within the watershed. Leveraging virtual water’s asymmetric and high-value transfer can alleviate water resource pressure and scarcity risks in high-pressure regions by shifting them to lower-pressure regions, thus mitigating water resource stress across regions.
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spelling doaj-art-5998f2934f56463282cd42d30be5b57e2025-02-08T05:01:24ZengElsevierGeography and Sustainability2666-68392025-04-0162100223Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River BasinJingjing Yang0Zhong Ma1Weijing Ma2Xingxing Niu3Ting Mao4College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China; College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaCollege of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China; Corresponding author.College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, ChinaBy introducing virtual water (VW) flow correlation coefficients and risk indicators, this study examines the VW transmission relationship between urban agglomerations and cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and its impact on regional water resources pressure. The results show that: except for the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration (SPUA) and Central Plains Urban Agglomeration (CPUA), the other urban agglomerations primarily act as VW exporting regions, while virtual water-importing cities are concentrated in the eastern regions. Notably, the Ningxia Urban Agglomeration (NUA) demonstrates significantly higher VW impact and sensitivity coefficients values than the remaining six urban agglomerations. First-tier cities generally display lower virtual water impact and sensitivity coefficients, whereas emerging cities exhibit the opposite trend. Additionally, we observe uneven risk variations between VW importing and exporting regions. Taking NUA as an example, the risk increase resulting from VW exports significantly exceeds the risk reduction associated with VW imports in the corresponding regions. It’s important to highlight that first-tier cities consistently decrease water resource risk through VW imports in the study years. However, among second and third-tier cities, only 38.9 % experience reduced water resource risk through VW imports. Therefore, we recommend a focused examination of VW imports and exports in western region urban agglomerations, cities, and second and third-tier cities within the watershed. Leveraging virtual water’s asymmetric and high-value transfer can alleviate water resource pressure and scarcity risks in high-pressure regions by shifting them to lower-pressure regions, thus mitigating water resource stress across regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666683924000762Input-output modelRisk transmissionWater resource stressVirtual water flow
spellingShingle Jingjing Yang
Zhong Ma
Weijing Ma
Xingxing Niu
Ting Mao
Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin
Geography and Sustainability
Input-output model
Risk transmission
Water resource stress
Virtual water flow
title Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin
title_full Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin
title_fullStr Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin
title_full_unstemmed Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin
title_short Spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale: A case study of the Yellow River Basin
title_sort spatial correlations and risk transmission of virtual water flow at city scale a case study of the yellow river basin
topic Input-output model
Risk transmission
Water resource stress
Virtual water flow
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666683924000762
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