Objective This study assesses the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus (WEFE-N) vulnerability in the Yellow River Basin from 2011 to 2023, identifies its key obstacle factors, and forecasts the vulnerability change trends for the next decade, providing a decision-making basis for regional sustainable development and risk management. Methods Based on the vulnerability scoping diagram (VSD) framework, an evaluation index system for WEFE-N vulnerability was constructed from three dimensions: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. The criteria importance through inter-criteria correlation (CRITIC) weighting method and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) model were comprehensively applied to evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of the basin′s vulnerability from 2011 to 2023. The obstacle degree model was used to identify key obstacle factors, and the Grey-Markov model was employed to forecast the vulnerability levels from 2024 to 2033. Results (1) From 2011 to 2023, the overall vulnerability of the WEFE-N system in the Yellow River Basin showed a fluctuating downward trend, with a spatial pattern in which vulnerability was higher in the downstream than in the middle and upstream reaches. (2) System vulnerability was jointly influenced by multiple factors such as vegetation index, per capita domestic water consumption, and industrial wastewater treatment rate. Among these, water resources subsystem had the highest obstacle degree, which was the key constraint on system′s sustainable development. (3) Prediction results indicated that vulnerability levels in the entire basin and in the upper, middle, and lower reaches would continue to decline from 2024 to 2033. However, the extent of decline varied across regions, and significant inter-regional disparities in vulnerability remained. Conclusion This study evaluates and forecasts a declining trend in WEFE-N system vulnerability in the Yellow River Basin with significant regional differences, identifies water resources as the key obstacle to its sustainable development, and provides targeted scientific reference for advancing the ecological protection and formulating high-quality development strategies in the Yellow River Basin.
LiC Y, ZhangS Q. Chinese provincial water-energy-food coupling coordination degree and influencing factors research[J]. China Population,Resources and Environment, 2020,30(1):120-128.
[3]
RobinsonW C. The limits to growth: a report for the club of Rome′s project on the predicament of mankind Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jergen Randers, and William W. Behrens, III[J]. Demography, 1973,10(2):289-299.
[4]
HoffH. Background Paper for the Bonn 2011 Nexus conference:understanding the nexus[C]∥Bonn2011 Conference:the Water, Energy and Food Security Nexus, 2011.
[5]
ConwayD, van GarderenE A, DeryngD, et al. Climate and southern Africa′s water-energy-food nexus[J]. Nature Climate Change, 2015,5(9):837-846.
[6]
UNEP. Towards a green economy:pathways to sustainable development and poverty eradication[R]. France:Nairobi Kenya Unep, 2017:31-32.
[7]
HeardB R, MillerS A, LiangS, et al. Emerging challenges and opportunities for the food-energy-water nexus in urban systems[J]. Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, 2017,17:48-53.
[8]
HuangD H, LiG J, SunC S, et al. Exploring interactions in the local water-energy-food nexus (WEF-Nexus) using a simultaneous equations model[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2020,703:135034.
[9]
MayorB, López-GunnE, VillarroyaF I, et al. Application of a water-energy-food nexus framework for the Duero river basin in Spain[J]. Water International, 2015,40(5/6):791-808.
[10]
YaoX C, ChenW W, SongC C, et al. Sustainability and efficiency of water-land-energy-food nexus based on emergy-ecological footprint and data envelopment analysis: case of an important agriculture and ecological region in Northeast China[J]. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2022,379:134854.
JiJ, ChenJ F, DengM H, et al. Simulation and optimization of water-energy-food-ecology system for green development in the Yangtze River Delta[J]. Soft Science, 2023,37(5):105-114.
[13]
LiM, FuQ, SinghV P, et al. An optimal modelling approach for managing agricultural water-energy-food nexus under uncertainty[J]. Science of the Total Environment, 2019,651:1416-1434.
ShiP J, WangJ A, ChenJ, et al. The future of human-environment interaction research in geography: Lessons from the 6th open meeting of IHDP[J]. Acta Geographica Sinica, 2006,61(2):115-126.
LuoH P, LiZ Y, HuX Y, et al. Temporal and spatial evolution and center of gravity shift of food security vulnerability in China′s main grain producing areas[J]. Statistics & Decision, 2024,40(2):94-99.
XiaH J, LiC Y, ZhaoD. Spatial and temporal changes of China’s food security vulnerability[J]. Journal of Southern Agriculture, 2020,51(8):2044-2050.
[20]
郭林涛.我国中长期粮食供应的脆弱性分析及其应对[J].中州学刊,2020(8):32-37.
[21]
GuoL T. Analysis on the vulnerability of China′s medium and long term grain supply and its coping strategies[J]. Academic Journal of Zhongzhou, 2020(8):32-37.
BaiY B, DengL, HongX, et al. Ecological vulnerability evaluation of Huaihe river basin based on SRP-ES approach: a case study of Anhui section[J]. Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2024,18(9):2625-2636.
WangY Y, ZangX C, XuW W, et al. SRP model-based assessment and analysis of ecological vulnerability in the Yangtze River economic belt within Jiangsu Province[J]. Remote Sensing for Natural Resources, 2025,37(3):170-182.
ZhuR, AoZ J, JiangY Y. Assessment of ecological environment vulnerability in Tianshui city based on the CRITIC objective weighting method[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2024,44(3):321-331.
LiC S, ZhouY X. Research on the spatio-temporal coupling relationship between agricultural water resources vulnerability and food security in china′s main grain producing areas[J]. Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment, 2022,38(6):722-732.
WanH L, MaoN, SongH L, et al. Type variability research of agro-ecosystem vulnerability in Yulin, Shaanxi, China, based on triangle method[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2021,41(3):224-234.
[32]
BlancardS, BonnetM, HoarauJ F. The influence of agriculture on the structural economic vulnerability of small island spaces: assessment using DEA based composite indicators[J]. Applied Economics, 2021,53(1):79-97.
[33]
CutterS L. The vulnerability of science and the science of vulnerability[J]. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 2003,93(1):1-12.
[34]
WuD, LiZ H, ZhuY C, et al. A new agricultural drought index for monitoring the water stress of winter wheat[J]. Agricultural Water Management, 2021,244:106599.
[35]
NieL, WuM Y, WuZ F, et al. Coupled coordination of the water-food-energy system in nine provinces of the Yellow River Basin: spatiotemporal characteristics and driving mechanisms[J]. Water, 2025,17(7):1040.
[36]
HanH, ZhangK Z, QianZ Z. Adaptability analysis and spatial correlation characteristics of water-energy-food-ecology system in the Yellow River Basin from the perspective of symbiosis[J]. Scientific Reports, 2025,15:42266.
[37]
YinD Y, YuH C, LuY Q, et al. A comprehensive evaluation framework of water-energy-food system coupling coordination in the Yellow River Basin, China[J]. Chinese Geographical Science, 2023,33(2):333-350.
[38]
WilsonS D, SchlaepferD R, BradfordJ B, et al. Functional group, biomass, and climate change effects on ecological drought in semiarid grasslands[J]. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 2018,123(3):1072-1085.
[39]
RaheemN, CravensA E, CrossM S, et al. Planning for ecological drought: Integrating ecosystem services and vulnerability assessment[J]. WIREs Water, 2019,6(4):e1352.
ZhangZ Y, JinG, GuoB S, et al. Research on the spatial vulnerability and resilience of land in the Yangtze River Economic Belt based on multi-criteria decision[J]. Journal of Natural Resources, 2020,35(1):95-105.
JiaoS X, ChenL F, WangA Z, et al. The spatial-temporal patterns of vulnerability analysis and the obstacle diagnosis of agricultural water resource in Henan Province[J]. Research of Agricultural Modernization, 2020,41(2):312-320.