Rural Resilience Evaluation and Risk Governance in the Middle Reaches of the Heihe River, Northwest China: An Empirical Analysis from Ganzhou District, a Typical Irrigated Agricultural Area
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper presents a study on the rural resilience and risk governance in part of the Northwest China. The study focuses on the typical irrigation agricultural area of Ganzhou district.
The authors presented a very detailed introduction both to the studied issues as well as the studied case area. In the material and methods section the authors explained the choice of the case study area.
Figure 2 presenting research framework diagram clearly presents the study problems and the approach apply to evaluate the rural resilience. The research methodology was based on the entropy weighting method.
I highly appreciate the fact that in the discussion section the authors clearly stated their theoretical contribution and policy implications. Moreover, the authors presented the limitations of their study.
The authors correctly planned and conducted the study. The study procedure and results are clearly presented. The construction of the study shows great expertise of its authors.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsReview Report
Title: Rural resilience evolution and risk governance in the middle reaches of the Heihe River, Northwest China: An empirical analysis focusing on the typical irrigation agricultural area of Ganzhou District
Manuscript ID: land-3514675
General:
In this manuscript he evolution of rural resilience and risk governance strategies have been investigated for the middle reaches of the Heihe River to obtain a scientific basis for the sustainable development of villages within inland river basins in arid regions. "Interference-resistance-adaptation" evaluation system has been constructed by drawing on landscape ecology theory. The study takes the Ganzhou District which is a typical irrigation agricultural area, as a case study to analyze the characteristics of rural resilience evolution from 1990 to 2020. Key obstacle factors affecting rural resilience development have been identified and hence risk governance strategies are proposed. This study aims to optimize the human-land relationship in the rural areas of the middle reaches of the Heihe River. It is highly useful research. The literature review and discussions are plausible. The manuscript is of good quality, however, if the presentation is slightly improved, it will further raise the quality of the manuscript. A few suggestions for minor improvements are as follows:
Suggestions/Comments
A brief description about data collection and its analysis may kindly be provided in abstract.
I think the sub-headings should be arranged in a better way. Presently it is confusing---- Kindly check the sentences below and improve the presentation.
Line 59-62: Scholars mainly conduct research on the evolution and connotations of rural resilience, assessment frameworks and measurement systems, influencing factors and enhancement pathways. (1) Evolution and connotations of rural resilience.
Line 77 to 81: Overall, rural resilience refers to the ability of the core system of 78 a rural area to resist, absorb, adapt to, and transform to the greatest extent possible, 79 avoiding unstable operation or even collapse of the system, and thus promoting the 80 renewal, transformation, and entry of the system into a more stable and advanced 81 state [10]. (2) Assessment frameworks and measurement systems.
Line 97-100: Commonly used evaluation methods 98 for rural resilience include the structural dynamics and system dynamics method, 99 comprehensive index evaluation method, function model method, scenario analysis 100 method, etc. [32]. (3) Influencing factors and enhancement pathways.
Line 117-171: The Heihe River is the second largest inland river in the arid region of Northwest China-----------------Kindly check these paragraphs. If the information is repeated in these paragraphs and “Study Area” section, kindly reduce it accordingly.
Line 306: In the formula, x’ij is different than that in the text. Kindly use the same symbol in the text as that used in the equation.
Equation 6: My suggestion to change t1 and t2 to t1 and t2 making 1 and 2 as subscript. The same may be used in the text wherever t1 and t2 appear.
Line 536-558: I think if the main suggestion is highlighted by some ways, it will result in better presentation as follows:
- Modernize Irrigation Systems: Upgrade traditional irrigation infrastructure with advanced water-saving technologies to boost water conveyance efficiency. This includes adopting drip or sprinkler irrigation systems that minimize water waste.
- Optimize Crop Planting Structures: Adjust crop layouts by reducing the cultivation of high water-consuming crops and promoting varieties that are better suited to local climatic conditions and have lower water requirements.
- Strengthen Groundwater Management: Implement a stringent permit system for water extraction to ensure sustainable management and protection of groundwater resources,
Comments on the Quality of English Language
The English may kindly be improved to raise the quality of the manuscript.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe author conducted a study on the evolution of rural resilience and risk management in the middle reaches of Heihe River. By screening 14 evaluation indicators and using Index change rate and Barrier degree model, the author constructed an evaluation system of "interference-resistance-adaptation", which provided a reference for optimizing the human-land relationship in the middle reaches of Heihe River. The article has the following problems:
- Why is entropy weight method used to determine the weight of each index? What are the advantages? Is the weight of the indicator unique?
- Are both the Index change rate and Barrier degree modelconstructed by the authors themselves? If not, what is the reference basis?
- The author constructed the evaluation system of "interference - resistance - adaptation", but in the result analysis, the three seem to be separated, and the interpretation and discussion in this aspect should be strengthened.
- In the introduction, the author mentions that the groundwater level of the Heihe River basin is declining and the agricultural water supply is tense. How can these be reflected in the evaluation indicators? Are the 14 indicators chosen by the author too few? Have some of the data been checked?
English writing is good.
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear authors,
In your research, you analyse the characteristics of rural resilience in Ganzhou District from 1990 to 2020, identify key barriers affecting the development of rural sustainability, and propose risk management strategies.
What is unclear is what you mean by "a long time series"? While the period 1990-2020 is indeed a reference period climatologically speaking, is it an appropriate term if you are analysing evolution, as in your study? From the title to various sections of the paper, I kindly ask that you refrain from using the term "evolution". Please revise it where necessary. For example, in line 508, you have the same reference. I suggest using "evaluation" instead – both in the title and throughout the paper.
I commend your research and confirm its significant contribution to landscape ecology, as well as to the identification of barriers and drivers for rural sustainability.
- In lines 39 and 40, replace key terms to increase the visibility of the paper. Omit words already included in the title and substitute them with others that better highlight the focus of your research.
- In lines 177-179, replace the units with those used in the SI system (e.g., meters – m).
- In lines 180-182, georeference the locations to the north, south, west, and east, or add coordinates to Figure 1 (line 211). The paper covers a wide range of altitudes, so it would be beneficial to provide readers with more specific information about the study area.
- After line 344, list all the software packages with their exact versions that you used in your research, especially for GIS.
-In line 364, update the caption for Figure 3, adding labels 1, 2, and 3, as mentioned in lines 351-359.
- In lines 570-571, you state "and aim to enrich and refine data through surveys and in-depth interviews." It is unclear how these tools will provide a stronger scientific foundation for adaptive management and sustainable rural development. Please specify and cite appropriate literature to support this.
- In section 4.3 Research Limitations, lines 561-572, you do not include any citations. It is essential to relate your results to other similar studies. Please add relevant citations.
- In general, the entire Discussion chapter needs to be strengthened by citing appropriate literature.
Literature suggestions:
Yu, C.; Zhou, Z.; Gao, J. Rural Network Resilience: A New Tool for Exploring the Mechanisms
and Pathways of Rural Sustainable Development. Sustainability 2024, 16, 5850. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16145850
Guo Y and Li S (2024) A policy analysis of China’s sustainable rural revitalization: integrating
environmental, social and economic dimensions. Front. Environ. Sci. 12:1436869. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1436869
Lai, S., Zopi, C. Sustainable Spatial Planning Based on Ecosystem Services, Green Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions. Sustainability 2024, 16(6), 2591; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062591
Liu, H.-Y.; Jay, M.; Chen, X. The role of nature-based solutions for improving environmental quality, health and well-being. Sustainability 2021, 13, 10950
Li, Y.; Song, C.; Huang, H. Rural Resilience in China and Key Restriction Factor Detection. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1080. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031080
Langemeyer, J.; Gómez-Baggethun, E.; Haase, D.; Scheuer, S.; Elmqvist, T. Bridging the gap between ecosystem service assessmentsand land-use planning through Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Environ. Sci. Policy 2016, 62, 45–56.
- Move the part about future research from the Discussion section to the Conclusion.
Kind regards
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see the attachment
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe author has answered all the questions one by one and in detail, resolving the reviewers' concerns and recommending acceptance.
