IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i8p1602-d160559.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rapid Population Growth in Chinese Floodplains from 1990 to 2015

Author

Listed:
  • Yongqiang Fang

    (Department of Geography, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, China)

  • Shiqiang Du

    (Department of Geography, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, China
    Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Paolo Scussolini

    (Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

  • Jiahong Wen

    (Department of Geography, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, China)

  • Chunyang He

    (State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes & Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Qingxu Huang

    (State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes & Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Jun Gao

    (Department of Geography, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, China
    Institute of Urban Studies, Shanghai Normal University, 100 Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, China)

Abstract

Although China suffers from frequent and disastrous floods, the spatiotemporal pattern of its population living in the floodplain (PopF) is still unknown. This strongly limits our understanding of flood risk and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Here we present the first quantification of Chinese PopF and its dynamics, based on newly-available population datasets for years 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2015 and on a flood map. We found that the PopF in 2015 was 453.3 million and accounted for 33.0% of the total population, with a population density 3.6 times higher than outside floodplains. From 1990 to 2015, the PopF increased by 1.3% annually, overwhelmingly faster than elsewhere (0.5%). A rising proportion (from 53.2% in 1990 to 55.6% in 2015) of the PopF resided in flood zones deeper than 2 m. Moreover, the PopF is expected to increase rapidly in the coming decades. We also found the effect of flood memory on controlling PopF growth and its decay over time. These findings imply an exacerbating flood risk in China, which is concerning in the light of climate change and rapid socioeconomic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongqiang Fang & Shiqiang Du & Paolo Scussolini & Jiahong Wen & Chunyang He & Qingxu Huang & Jun Gao, 2018. "Rapid Population Growth in Chinese Floodplains from 1990 to 2015," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-11, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:8:p:1602-:d:160559
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/8/1602/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/8/1602/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joern Birkmann & Torsten Welle & William Solecki & Shuaib Lwasa & Matthias Garschagen, 2016. "Boost resilience of small and mid-sized cities," Nature, Nature, vol. 537(7622), pages 605-608, September.
    2. Hans Visser & Arthur Petersen & Willem Ligtvoet, 2014. "On the relation between weather-related disaster impacts, vulnerability and climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 461-477, August.
    3. Pujun Liang & Wei Xu & Yunjia Ma & Xiujuan Zhao & Lianjie Qin, 2017. "Increase of Elderly Population in the Rainstorm Hazard Areas of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-17, August.
    4. Philip J. Ward & Brenden Jongman & Jeroen C. J. H. Aerts & Paul D. Bates & Wouter J. W. Botzen & Andres Diaz Loaiza & Stephane Hallegatte & Jarl M. Kind & Jaap Kwadijk & Paolo Scussolini & Hessel C. W, 2017. "A global framework for future costs and benefits of river-flood protection in urban areas," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 7(9), pages 642-646, September.
    5. Yi Qiang & Nina S. N. Lam & Heng Cai & Lei Zou, 2017. "Changes in Exposure to Flood Hazards in the United States," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 107(6), pages 1332-1350, November.
    6. Ge, Dazhuan & Long, Hualou & Zhang, Yingnan & Ma, Li & Li, Tingting, 2018. "Farmland transition and its influences on grain production in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 94-105.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chaoxu Xia & Gaozhong Nie & Huayue Li & Xiwei Fan & Wenhua Qi, 2023. "A composite database of casualty-inducing earthquakes in mainland China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 116(3), pages 3321-3351, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jiaxing Cui & Xuesong Kong & Jing Chen & Jianwei Sun & Yuanyuan Zhu, 2021. "Spatially Explicit Evaluation and Driving Factor Identification of Land Use Conflict in Yangtze River Economic Belt," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-24, January.
    2. Mohammad Hadavi & Lutong Sun & Djordje Romanic, 2023. "Normalized insured losses caused by windstorms in Quebec and Ontario, Canada, in the period 2008-2021," Papers 2309.16695, arXiv.org.
    3. Cesar Casiano Flores & Joep Crompvoets & Maria Eugenia Ibarraran Viniegra & Megan Farrelly, 2019. "Governance Assessment of the Flood’s Infrastructure Policy in San Pedro Cholula, Mexico: Potential for a Leapfrog to Water Sensitive," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-28, December.
    4. Liu, Yansui & Zhou, Yang, 2021. "Territory spatial planning and national governance system in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    5. Xiaowei Yao & Ting Luo & Yingjun Xu & Wanxu Chen & Jie Zeng, 2022. "Prediction of Spatiotemporal Changes in Sloping Cropland in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Region under Different Scenarios," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-22, December.
    6. Xinyao Li & Lingzhi Wang & Bryan Pijanowski & Lingpeng Pan & Hichem Omrani & Anqi Liang & Yi Qu, 2022. "The Spatio-Temporal Pattern and Transition Mode of Recessive Cultivated Land Use Morphology in the Huaibei Region of the Jiangsu Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-16, November.
    7. Tao, Jieyi & Lu, Yuqi & Ge, Dazhuan & Dong, Ping & Gong, Xiao & Ma, Xiaobin, 2022. "The spatial pattern of agricultural ecosystem services from the production-living-ecology perspective: A case study of the Huaihai Economic Zone, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Laura Devitt & Jeffrey Neal & Gemma Coxon & James Savage & Thorsten Wagener, 2023. "Flood hazard potential reveals global floodplain settlement patterns," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    9. Carlynn Fagnant & Avantika Gori & Antonia Sebastian & Philip B. Bedient & Katherine B. Ensor, 2020. "Characterizing spatiotemporal trends in extreme precipitation in Southeast Texas," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 104(2), pages 1597-1621, November.
    10. Matteo Coronese & Francesco Lamperti & Francesca Chiaromonte & Andrea Roventini, 2018. "Natural Disaster Risk and the Distributional Dynamics of Damages," LEM Papers Series 2018/22, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    11. Han Huang & Yang Zhou & Mingjie Qian & Zhaoqi Zeng, 2021. "Land Use Transition and Driving Forces in Chinese Loess Plateau: A Case Study from Pu County, Shanxi Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, January.
    12. Quntao Yang & Shuliang Zhang & Qiang Dai & Rui Yao, 2020. "Improved Framework for Assessing Vulnerability to Different Types of Urban Floods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-18, September.
    13. Li, Gensheng & Hu, Zhenqi & Li, Pengyu & Yuan, Dongzhu & Wang, Wenjuan & Yang, Kun, 2021. "The optimal framework and model to balance underground coal mining and cropland protection in Jining, eastern China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Junqiang Xia & Yifei Cheng & Meirong Zhou & Shanshan Deng & Xiaolei Zhang, 2023. "Experimental and numerical model studies of dike-break induced flood processes over a typical floodplain domain," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 116(2), pages 1843-1861, March.
    15. Ligang Lyu & Zhoubing Gao & Hualou Long & Xiaorui Wang & Yeting Fan, 2021. "Farmland Use Transition in a Typical Farming Area: The Case of Sihong County in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, March.
    16. Tesselaar, Max & Botzen, W.J. Wouter & Robinson, Peter J. & Aerts, Jeroen C.J.H. & Zhou, Fujin, 2022. "Charity hazard and the flood insurance protection gap: An EU scale assessment under climate change," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    17. Álvarez, Xana & Gómez-Rúa, María & Vidal-Puga, Juan, 2019. "Risk prevention of land flood: A cooperative game theory approach," MPRA Paper 91515, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Julien Boulange & Yukiko Hirabayashi & Masahiro Tanoue & Toshinori Yamada, 2023. "Quantitative evaluation of flood damage methodologies under a portfolio of adaptation scenarios," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 118(3), pages 1855-1879, September.
    19. Syed Abu Shoaib & Mohammad Zaved Kaiser Khan & Nahid Sultana & Taufique H. Mahmood, 2021. "Quantifying Uncertainty in Food Security Modeling," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, January.
    20. Sun, Xueqing & Xiang, Pengcheng & Cong, Kexin, 2023. "Research on early warning and control measures for arable land resource security," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:8:p:1602-:d:160559. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.