Optimal Planning and Management of Land Use in River Source Region: A Case Study of Songhua River Basin, China

Yucong Duan; Jie Tang; Zhaoyang Li; Yao Yang; Ce Dai; Yunke Qu; Hang Lv

doi:10.3390/ijerph19116610

Optimal Planning and Management of Land Use in River Source Region: A Case Study of Songhua River Basin, China

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 28;19(11):6610. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116610.

Authors

Yucong Duan^{1

2

3}, Jie Tang^{1

2

3}, Zhaoyang Li^{1

2

3}, Yao Yang^{1

2

3}, Ce Dai^{1

2

3}, Yunke Qu^{1

2

3}, Hang Lv^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Groundwater Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
² Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Water Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
³ College of New Energy and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.

Abstract

Adjusting land use is a practical way to protect the ecosystem, but protecting water resources by optimizing land use is indirect and complex. The vegetation, soil, and rock affected by land use are important components of forming the water cycle and obtaining clean water sources. The focus of this study is to discuss how to optimize the demands and spatial patterns of different land use types to strengthen ecological and water resources protection more effectively. This study can also provide feasible watershed planning and policy suggestions for managers, which is conducive to the integrity of the river ecosystem and the sustainability of water resources. A watershed-scale land use planning framework integrating a hydrological model and a land use model is established. After quantifying the water retention value of land use types through a hydrological model, a multi-objective land use demands optimization model under various development scenarios is constructed. Moreover, a regional study was completed in the source area of the Songhua River in Northeast China to verify the feasibility of the framework. The results show that the method can be used to optimize land use requirements and obtain future land use maps. The water retention capacity of forestland is strong, about 2500-3000 m³/ha, and there are differences among different forest types. Planning with a single objective of economic development will expand the area of cities and cultivated land, and occupy forests, while multi-objective planning considering ecological and water source protection tends to occupy cultivated land. In the management of river headwaters, it is necessary to establish important forest reserves and strengthen the maintenance of restoration forests. Blindly expanding forest area is not an effective way to protect river headwaters. In conclusion, multi-objective land use planning can effectively balance economic development and water resources protection, and find the limits of urban expansion and key areas of ecological barriers.

Keywords: China; land planning framework; land use optimization; water retention; watershed management.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem*
Forests
Rivers*
Water

Substances

Water

Grants and funding

The project was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2019YFC0409103), named “Technology and model of efficient utilization of groundwater and high-quality mineral water resources”.