Coordinated development of the “water-energy-land-carbon” system in nine provinces and regions of the Yellow River Basin and analysis of obstacle factors
- 1School of Water Conservancy, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
- 2College of Surveying and Geo-informatics, North China University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
Abstract
Water resources, energy, land, and carbon emissions are the core resource and environmental factors that support the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Using the panel data of nine provinces and regions in the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2024 as the research sample, by constructing the “water-energy-land-carbon” comprehensive coupling and coordination index (WELCNI), this study analyzes the coupling and coordinated development characteristics of the four subsystems and the composite system from both temporal evolution and spatial differentiation dimensions. The obstacle degree model is used to identify the core single obstacle factor restricting the system’s development, and the geographical detector model is used to reveal the interactive coupling driving mechanism of the obstacle factors. Combined with the upper, middle, and lower divisions of the basin for comparative analysis, this study systematically explores the evolution laws and constraint mechanisms of the basin system’s collaborative development. The research results show: (1) During the study period, the four subsystems of water resources, energy, land, and carbon emissions in the Yellow River Basin and the comprehensive coupling and coordination level of WELCNI have all continuously increased, and the quality of system collaborative development has significantly improved. (2) The coupling and coordinated development of the basin system presents a stable spatial gradient pattern of east being stronger a0nd west being weaker. The downstream areas of Shandong and Henan are the core areas of high-level coordination, while the upstream provinces such as Qinghai and Sichuan have weak development foundations and are the main bottleneck areas restricting the overall balanced development. (3) The constraint intensity of single obstacle factors shows a hierarchical characteristic of energy dimension > water resources dimension > carbon emissions dimension > land dimension. The energy consumption volume is the main obstacle factor, water resource endowment insufficiency is the secondary constraint key, and the land system has the weakest constraint effect. (4) Each obstacle factor has a significant collaborative enhancement interaction effect. The water, energy, and carbon systems form a complex linkage constraint network. Coal production, water resources volume, and total carbon emissions are the core factors with strong coupling effects. The cross-system superimposed constraint effect is prominent, and only unit GDP energy consumption is an independent constraint factor with weak linkage influence. This study systematically clarifies the evolution mechanism and obstacle mechanism of the “water-energy-land-carbon” system coupling and coordination in the Yellow River Basin, providing scientific references and theoretical support for differentiated zoning control, multi-factor collaborative governance, breaking through system development bottlenecks, and promoting the high-quality collaborative development of the basin.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026coordinated,
title = {{Coordinated development of the “water-energy-land-carbon” system in nine provinces and regions of the Yellow River Basin and analysis of obstacle factors}},
author = {Ming Wang and Jinhang Li and Menghao Yang},
journal = {Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fevo.2026.1932520},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2026.1932520},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Coordinated development of the “water-energy-land-carbon” system in nine provinces and regions of the Yellow River Basin and analysis of obstacle factors
AU - Ming Wang
AU - Jinhang Li
AU - Menghao Yang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.3389/fevo.2026.1932520
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2026.1932520
AB - Water resources, energy, land, and carbon emissions are the core resource and environmental factors that support the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. Using the panel data of nine provinces and regions in the Yellow River Basin from 2000 to 2024 as the research sample, by constructing the “water-energy-land-carbon” comprehensive coupling and coordination index (WELCNI), this study analyzes the coupling and coordinated development characteristics of the four subsystems and the composite system from both temporal evolution and spatial differentiation dimensions. The obstacle degree model is used to identify the core single obstacle factor restricting the system’s development, and the geographical detector model is used to reveal the interactive coupling driving mechanism of the obstacle factors. Combined with the upper, middle, and lower divisions of the basin for comparative analysis, this study systematically explores the evolution laws and constraint mechanisms of the basin system’s collaborative development. The research results show: (1) During the study period, the four subsystems of water resources, energy, land, and carbon emissions in the Yellow River Basin and the comprehensive coupling and coordination level of WELCNI have all continuously increased, and the quality of system collaborative development has significantly improved. (2) The coupling and coordinated development of the basin system presents a stable spatial gradient pattern of east being stronger a0nd west being weaker. The downstream areas of Shandong and Henan are the core areas of high-level coordination, while the upstream provinces such as Qinghai and Sichuan have weak development foundations and are the main bottleneck areas restricting the overall balanced development. (3) The constraint intensity of single obstacle factors shows a hierarchical characteristic of energy dimension > water resources dimension > carbon emissions dimension > land dimension. The energy consumption volume is the main obstacle factor, water resource endowment insufficiency is the secondary constraint key, and the land system has the weakest constraint effect. (4) Each obstacle factor has a significant collaborative enhancement interaction effect. The water, energy, and carbon systems form a complex linkage constraint network. Coal production, water resources volume, and total carbon emissions are the core factors with strong coupling effects. The cross-system superimposed constraint effect is prominent, and only unit GDP energy consumption is an independent constraint factor with weak linkage influence. This study systematically clarifies the evolution mechanism and obstacle mechanism of the “water-energy-land-carbon” system coupling and coordination in the Yellow River Basin, providing scientific references and theoretical support for differentiated zoning control, multi-factor collaborative governance, breaking through system development bottlenecks, and promoting the high-quality collaborative development of the basin.
SN - 2296-701X
ER -