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The Yangtze River, the largest river in China, has been facing major challenges in massive flooding and eco-environmental health over the past decades. Sustainable socioeconomic development in the Yangtze River Basin depends on water and ecosystem security. This overview addresses eco-water security under the changing environment of the Yangtze River Basin. Looking forward to a healthy Yangtze River in the future, there are still uncertainties regarding how to assess and wisely manage the Yangtze River through a systematic, integrated approach applied to multiple dimensions, water, biodiversity, ecological services, and resilience, for the sustainable development of ecosystems and human beings. The Yangtze Simulator, an integrated river basin model powered by artificial intelligence and interdisciplinary science, is introduced and discussed, and it will serve as a robust tool for good governance of the Yangtze River Basin.

Since the launch of the Grain for Green (GFG) program in 1999, the Loess Plateau has undergone significant vegetation changes. However, the driving mechanisms behind these changes in the post-GFG period remain insufficiently understood. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation on the Loess Plateau from 1982 to 2015, based on long-term NDVI time series, and quantitatively identifies the relative contributions of climate variability and human activities using partial correlation and multiple regression residual analysis. The results reveal a significant increase in NDVI after 2000, with the annual variation rate rising from 0.0009 to 0.0028, and the proportion of rapidly greening areas expanding from 13.3% to 62.9%. Spatially, vegetation recovery was more prominent in the eastern and lower-latitude regions. While both climate and anthropogenic factors influenced vegetation changes, the latter became dominant after 2000. The area where human activities significantly enhanced vegetation increased from 1.9% to 60.6%, with the most notable improvements observed in forests, followed by croplands and grasslands. Vegetation in the southern plateau was more sensitive to temperature, while the northern region responded more strongly to precipitation. From 2000 to 2015, the GFG program contributed to increases of 17,059.46 km2 in grasslands and 10,105.78 km2 in forests. These findings improve our understanding of vegetation change drivers on the Loess Plateau and offer a scientific basis for ecological restoration, policy-making, and sustainable development in the Yellow River Basin.

Agricultural activities are major contributors to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions accounting for 40% and 60% of total agricultural emissions, respectively. Therefore, developing effective emission reduction pathways in agriculture is crucial for achieving carbon budget balance. This article synthesizes the impact of farmland management practices on GHG emissions, evaluates prevalent accounting methods and their applicable scenarios, and proposes mitigation strategies based on systematic analysis. The present review (2000–2025) indicates that fertilizer management dominates research focus (accounting for over 50%), followed by water management (approximately 18%) and tillage practices (approximately 14%). Critically, the effects of these practices extend beyond GHG emissions, necessitating concurrent consideration of crop yields, soil health, and ecosystem resilience. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct joint research by integrating multiple approaches such as water-saving irrigation, conservation tillage and intercropping of leguminous crops, so as to enhance productivity and soil quality while reducing emissions. The GHG accounting framework and three primary accounting methods (In situ measurement, Satellite remote sensing, and Model simulation) each exhibit distinct advantages and limitations, requiring scenario-specific selection. Further refinement of these methodologies is imperative to optimize agricultural practices and achieve meaningful GHG reductions.

Central Asia, the pioneering place of the ‘Belt and Road’, is under the threat of prominent water issues. Based on the Gini coefficient model and the matching index, the amount of the total renewable water resources and the cultivated land area were introduced to evaluate the matching pattern between the water and land resources in Central Asia. The water problem of Kazakhstan, being the most prominent, shows low water resources per unit area with the highest reclamation rate. The matching degree for the upstream countries of the Aral Sea (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) was better than those of the downstream countries (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan). The Gini coefficient in Central Asia was 0.32, smaller than that of the global average value (0.59). The overall water available for use and the matching cultivated land resources was reasonable. Large differences exist in the matching degree in water distribution and utilization among Central Asian countries. The matching index of water and land resources in Central Asia was 1.25, similar to the matching degree estimated from the Gini coefficient model. Moreover, rational measures are suggested to alleviate the issue of water and land resources matching in Central Asia.

Periphytic algae is a useful indicator of aquatic ecological conditions. We investigated the periphytic algae on natural substrate and the environmental variables at 44 sites on three river systems in the Weihe River Basin (WRB). A total of 84 species are identified, representing 37 genera. The most common genera were Navicula, Oscillatoria, Nitzschia, Scenedesmus, Cymbell, and Fragilaria. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated significant differences among the three river systems in environmental variables (p

Hyporheic zone (HZ) influences hydraulic and biogeochemical processes in and alongside streams, therefore, investigating the controlling geographic factors is beneficial for understanding the hydrological processes in HZ. Slack water pool (SWP) is an essential micro-topographic structure that has an impact on surface water and groundwater interactions in the HZ during and after high flows. However, only a few studies investigate HZ surface water and groundwater exchange in the SWP. This study used the thermal method to estimate the HZ water exchange in the SWP in a segment of the Weihe River in China during the winter season. The findings show that on the flow-direction parallel to the stream, river recharge dominates the HZ water exchange, while on the opposing flow-direction bank groundwater discharge dominates the water exchange. The water exchange in the opposing flow-direction bank is about 1.6 times of that in the flow-direction bank. The HZ water exchange is not only controlled by flow velocity but also the location and shape of the SWP. Great water exchange amount corresponds to the shape with more deformation. The maximum water exchange within the SWP is close to the river bank where the edge is relatively high. This study provides some guidelines for water resources management during flooding events.

The serious soil erosion problems and decreased runoff of the Loess Plateau may aggravate the shortage of its local water resources. Understanding the spatiotemporal influences on runoff changes is important for water resource management. Here, we study this in the largest tributary of the Yellow River, the Weihe River Basin. Data from four hydrological stations (Lin Jia Cun (LJC), Xian Yang (XY), Lin Tong (LT), and Hua Xian (HX)) and 10 meteorological stations from 1961–2014 were used to analyze changes in annual runoff. The Mann–Kendall test and Pettitt abrupt change point test diagnosed variations in runoff in the Weihe River basin; the time periods before and after abrupt change points are the base period (period I) and change period (period II), respectively. Within the Budyko framework, the catchment properties (ω in Fu’s equation) represent land surface changes; climate variability comprises precipitation (P) and potential evapotranspiration (ET0). All the stations showed a reduction in annual runoff during the recording period, of which 22.66% to 50.42% was accounted for by land surface change and 1.97% to 53.32% by climate variability. In the Weihe River basin, land surface changes drive runoff variation in LT and climate variability drives it in LJC, XY, and HX. The contribution of land surface changes to runoff reduction in period I was less than that in period II, indicating that changes in human activity further decreased runoff. Therefore, this study offers a scientific basis for understanding runoff trends and driving forces, providing an important reference for social development, ecological construction, and water resource management.

The effect of hyporheic exchange on macroinvertebrates is a significant topic in ecohydraulics. A field study was conducted during May and June 2017 to investigate the impacts of magnitude and patterns of hyporheic exchange on the sediment macroinvertebrate community in the Weihe River basin. The results demonstrate that upwelling flows cause resuspension of riverbed sediment, increasing the proportion of swimmer groups (such as Baetidae) in the macroinvertebrate community. However, large resuspension of river bed sediment results in a reduced abundance of macroinvertebrates. By controlling the transport processes of dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients, temperature, and different patterns of hyporheic exchange strongly influence the structure of macroinvertebrate communities. Downwelling is more likely to produce rich invertebrate communities than upwelling. The magnitude for the hyporheic flux of 150–200 mm/d was optimal for the macroinvertebrate community in the Weihe River Basin. Above or below this rate results in a decline in community abundance and diversity. We suggest that research is conducted to better understand the effects of hyporheic exchange across bedforms on macroinvertebrate communities. The study supports any activities to preserve the ecological functions and health of rivers dominated by fine-grained sediments.

Limited water resources and rapid socioeconomic development pose new challenges to watershed water resource management. By integrating the perspectives of stakeholders and decision-makers, this study aims to identify cases and approaches to achieve sustainable water resources management. It improves and expands the experience of previous project research. The comparative evaluation provides an analytical basis to verify the importance of stakeholder participation in water policy interactions. The results show that if an effective demand management policy is not implemented, the Guanzhong area will not meet water demand in the future. Through the combination of water-saving policies, water transfer projects and other measures, the available water resources will continue into the future. Optimizing management measures, improving the ecological environment, and encouraging stakeholder participation will help change this situation, although supply-side limitations and future uncertainties likely cause unsustainable water. Therefore, decision-makers should pay attention to the application potential of water-saving and other measures to reduce dependence on external water sources. In addition, the three sustainable development decision-making principles identified in this paper can promote the fairness and stability of water policy.

Excessive socioeconomic activities in the Weihe River region have caused severe ecosystem degradation, and the call for the recovery and maintenance of the river health has drawn great attention. Based on the connotation of river health, previous research findings, and status quo of the Weihe River ecosystem, in this study, we developed a novel health evaluation index system to quantitatively determine the health of the Weihe River in Shaanxi Province. The river in the study area was divided into five reaches based on the five hydrological gauging stations, and appropriate evaluation indices for each river section were selected according to the ecological environmental functions of that section. A hybrid approach integrating analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and a fuzzy synthetic evaluation method was applied to measure the river health. The results show that Linjiancun-Weijiabao reach and Weijiabao-Xianyang reach are in the “moderate” level of health and Lintong-Huaxian reach and downstream of Huaxian reach are in the “poor” health rating, whereas Xianyang-Lintong reach is in the “sick” rating. Moreover, the most sensitive factors were determined, respectively, for each reach from upper stream to lower stream in the study area.