Spatio-temporal Evolution of Water Utilization Structure in the Guanzhong Region

Analyzing the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of water use structure in core areas is crucial for optimizing water resources management and promoting the coordinated development of social economy and ecological environment. We employed the methods of information entropy, Lorentz curve, Gini coefficient, and location entropy, which mutually corroborated and complemented each other from different perspectives, to uncover the spatiotemporal evolution and spatial distribution characteristics of the water use structure in the Guanzhong region of China over the past decade. Findings indicate that from 2012 to 2021, the overall water use structure in the Guanzhong region evolved towards greater balance, and the spatial distribution disparity of water use structure gradually diminished. Nevertheless, spatial distribution differences existed among various types of water use, particularly in ecological environment and urban public water use. Moreover, significant disparities were observed in the water use structure among cities (districts) in the Guanzhong region. The water use structures of the Xixian (west Xianyang) New District and Xi’an City were the most balanced, whereas that of Weinan City was the most unbalanced. These results are largely consistent with the actual situation, offering valuable references for optimizing water resources allocation and scientifically planning the water use structure in the Guanzhong region.