This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the multi-temporal and spatial evolution characteristics, as well as the driving mechanisms, of runoff and sediment discharge in the Yellow River Basin. It also provides multi-model predictions and ensemble evaluations of long-term runoff and sediment trends, alongside forward-looking strategies for managing the Loess Plateau and regulating the Yellow River. The work systematically evaluates the effectiveness of soil and water conservation measures in modulating water and sediment dynamics and their coupled interactions. It further confirms the transformation of runoff generation mechanisms and sediment production-transport patterns in response to changes in the underlying surface, demonstrating that water and sediment regimes in the Yellow River are transitioning toward a new steady state. Notably, this book proposes, for the first time from a basin-wide perspective, a threshold system for maintaining water-sediment balance in the Yellow River Basin. This book serves as a valuable reference for researchers, planners, designers, and managers working in related fields, as well as for university faculty and students.

The English translation of this book, originally written in Chinese, was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and has subsequently been reviewed and refined by the author to ensure accuracy.

Prof. Chunhong Hu, academician of the CAE, is the deputy director of the Civil, Water Conservancy and Building Engineering Department of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and concurrently serves as the director of the Sediment Special Committee of the Chinese Water Resources Society and the head of the Three Gorges Project Sediment Expert Group of the Three Gorges Office of the State Council. Formerly served as the vice president of the China Academy of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, deputy director and secretary general of the International Sediment Research and Training Center. He has been engaged in theoretical and applied research in the fields of sediment motion mechanics, riverbed evolution and river regulation, and engineering sediment for decades.