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Cited by 293Historical and Environmental StudiesFlood Risk Assessment and ManagementHydrology and Sediment Transport Processes

Socio-economic Impacts on Flooding: A 4000-Year History of the Yellow River, China

Open access
Chen, Yunzhen, Syvitski, James P. M., Gao, Shu, Overeem, Irina, Kettner, Albert J.·2012·AMBIO
DOI 10.1007/s13280-012-0290-5PMC PMC3472015
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Abstract

We analyze 4000-year flood history of the lower Yellow River and the history of agricultural development in the middle river by investigating historical writings and quantitative time series data of environmental changes in the river basin. Flood dynamics are characterized by positive feedback loops, critical thresholds of natural processes, and abrupt transitions caused by socio-economic factors. Technological and organizational innovations were dominant driving forces of the flood history. The popularization of iron plows and embarkment of the lower river in the 4th century BC initiated a positive feedback loop on levee breaches. The strength of the feedback loop was enhanced by farming of coarse-sediment producing areas, steep hillslope cultivation, and a new river management paradigm, and finally pushed the flood frequency to its climax in the seventeenth century. The co-evolution of river dynamics and Chinese society is remarkable, especially farming and soil erosion in the middle river, and central authority and river management in the lower river.

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  • The vulnerability of societies to climatic hazards largely depends on factors such as cultural representation of the natural environment, technological level, social system, governance, and preparedness to overcome exogenous shocks.

    “As Christian Pfister indicated, 'the vulnerability of societies to climatic hazards largely depends on certain factors, such as their cultural representation of the natural environment, their technological level, social system, their governance and the degree of their preparedness to overcome exogenous shocks'.120”

    From Climate change and Chinese history: a review of trends, topics, and methods (2015) · cites this paper as [120]

    The Abstract and Conclusion link Yellow River flooding to technological and organizational changes, river management, and central authority. They do not state the quoted general claim about societies’ vulnerability to climatic hazards, including cultural representations and preparedness for exogenous shocks; searches for the quotation and Pfister found no matching passage. No page numbers were available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 7

  1. Shi, N., E. Cao, and S. Zhu. 1985. The vicissitude of forest and grassland in the Loess Plateau. Xi'an: Shaanxi People's Press (in Chinese).
  2. Tang, K., G. Xiong, J. Liang, K. Jing, S. Zhang, Y. Chen, and S. Li. 1993. Soil erosion and runoff sediment changes in the Yellow River basin (1988--1992. Beijing: China Science and Technol- ogy Press (in Chinese).
  3. Wu, X., Z. Niu, and S. Wang. 1994. Changes of environment, water and sediment of the Yellow River basin in historical times. Beijing: China Meteorological Press (in Chinese).
  4. Yang, P. 1993. Population geography of the middle Yellow River basin in historical times. In Collection of researches on environmental changes of the Yellow River basin and laws of water and sediment transportation, vol. 5: Historical changes in vegetation and human factors in the Loess Plateau, ed. S. Wang, 198. Beijing: China Ocean Press (in Chinese).
  5. Ye, D., J. Yang, and Y. Gao. 1956. Precipitation in the Yellow River basin. Beijing: Science Press (in Chinese).
  6. Yellow River Conservancy Commission. 1998. A summary of the Yellow River basin. Zhengzhou: Henan People's Press (in Chinese).
  7. Zhang, P. 1996. Climate changes in china during historical times. Jinan: Science and Technology Press (in Chinese).

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Authors
Chen, Y., Syvitski, J. P. M., Gao, S., Overeem, I., & Kettner, A. J.
Affiliations
  • Nanjing University (CN)
  • Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (US)
Corresponding author
Gao, Shu
ORCID
Venue
AMBIO
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2012-06-05
Volume
41
Issue
7
Pages
682-698
ISSN
  • 0044-7447 (ISSN-L)
  • 1654-7209
DOI
10.1007/s13280-012-0290-5
PMC
PMC3472015
OpenAlex
W2009321545
Cited by
293
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5
FWCI
21.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • AMBIO (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Historical and Environmental Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Flood Risk Assessment and Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes
Keywords
Yellow River, flood history, agricultural development, levee breach, positive feedback loop, critical threshold, river embankments, river management, soil erosion, central authority, historical environmental change
MeSH terms
China, Socioeconomic Factors, Rivers, Floods

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