Sociohydrology: An Effective Way to Reveal the Coupled Evolution of Human and Water Systems

Human activities are profoundly changing the state of natural water systems. Human-water interactions have shown unprecedented scale and intensity. Traditional hydrological methods have difficulty systematically analyzing the process of water utilization, transformation, transportation and redistribution in the production and consumption of products. This paper reviews the literature surrounding sociohydrology to illustrate its useful exploration in the study of human-water coupling. The paper begins by presenting background information before conducting a bibliometric analysis of the development trends. Four perspectives of sociohydrology revealing the interaction between humans and water are introduced: the evolution of basin-scale water allocation patterns; human activities and hydrological disasters under climate change; virtual water—a useful tool for analyzing water utilization and transformation in the production and consumption of products; and public participation and water management policies. Subsequently, major methods and their potential applications are covered: sociohydrological modeling, field surveys and statistical models. A literature review suggests that the focus of research on human-water coupling lies in the selection and modeling of elements. The macro-element describing system changes should be extended at the political and cultural levels. Research on structural and institutional indicators on a long historical scale should be deepened and expanded. Interdisciplinary research still needs further development.