Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 4 complete abstracts (747 words), 10 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Environmental reservoirs of water related to natural water cycle by which water is obtained for various purposes. This includes but is not limited to watersheds, aquifers and springs.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Resources, Water; Resource, Water; Water Resource.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Natural Resources
- See also
- Groundwater; Conservation of Water Resources
Related concepts
- Water Cycle
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 1,769 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Water Resources” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 964 of them (54.5%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2020 onward with 964 records.
Reviews account for 136 records (7.7%) and meta-analyses for 11. Randomized controlled trials number 0 (0.0%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 0 |
| 2010-2019 | 810 |
| 2020 onward | 964 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 136 | 7.7% |
| Meta-analyses | 11 | 0.6% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 0 | 0.0% |
Method: PubMed query "Water Resources"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in public health and nutrition
Population and nutrition studies mostly observe what people eat, breathe or are exposed to and then look for links with health, which shows association and not proof of cause. Self-reported diet is imprecise, people who eat or live differently also differ in other ways, and effects measured across a population may not apply to one person. Check the study design, how exposure was measured, what else was accounted for and the size of the effect, not only whether it was statistically significant.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Observed increasing water constraint on vegetation growth over the last three decades | 2021 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 136 | cc by PMID 34145253 · DOI · PMC8213694 |
| Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances thermal destruction at water resource recovery facilities: A state of the science review | 2021 | Review article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 85 | cc by PMID 33190313 · DOI · PMC8375574 |
| Groundwater depletion causing reduction of baseflow triggering Ganges river summer drying | 2018 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 33 | cc by PMID 30104737 · DOI · PMC6089894 |
| Intuitionistic fuzzy PAMSSEM method for MAGDM incorporating cumulative prospect theory and its application to the assessment on water resource carrying capacity | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 0 | cc by PMID 42430340 · DOI · PMC13354012 |
Observed increasing water constraint on vegetation growth over the last three decades [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Despite the growing interest in predicting global and regional trends in vegetation productivity in response to a changing climate, changes in water constraint on vegetation productivity (i.
- Closing excerpt
- Our findings highlight the need for a more explicit consideration of the influence of water constraints on regional and global vegetation under a warming climate.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (181 words)
Despite the growing interest in predicting global and regional trends in vegetation productivity in response to a changing climate, changes in water constraint on vegetation productivity (i.e., water limitations on vegetation growth) remain poorly understood. Here we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of changes in water constraint on vegetation growth in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere between 1982 and 2015. We document a significant increase in vegetation water constraint over this period. Remarkably divergent trends were found with vegetation water deficit areas significantly expanding, and water surplus areas significantly shrinking. The increase in water constraints associated with water deficit was also consistent with a decreasing response time to water scarcity, suggesting a stronger susceptibility of vegetation to drought. We also observed shortened water surplus period for water surplus areas, suggesting a shortened exposure to water surplus associated with humid conditions. These observed changes were found to be attributable to trends in temperature, solar radiation, precipitation, and atmospheric CO2. Our findings highlight the need for a more explicit consideration of the influence of water constraints on regional and global vegetation under a warming climate.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 34145253 · DOI · PMC8213694
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances thermal destruction at water resource recovery facilities: A state of the science review [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a recalcitrant group of chemicals and can be found throughout the environment.
- Closing excerpt
- Other thermal technologies such as smoldering combustion, pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal liquefaction provide promise but are in developmental phases.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (220 words)
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a recalcitrant group of chemicals and can be found throughout the environment. They often collect in wastewater systems with virtually no degradation prior to environmental discharge. Some PFAS partitions to solids captured in wastewater treatment which require further processing. Of all the commonly applied solids treatment technologies, incineration offers the only possibility to completely destroy PFAS. Little is known about the fate of PFAS through incineration, in particular, for the systems employed in water resource recovery facilities (WRRF). This review covers available research on the fate of PFAS through incineration systems with a focus on sewage sludge incinerators. This research indicates that at least some PFAS destruction will occur with incineration approaches used at WRRFs. Furthermore, PFAS in flue gas, ash, or water streams used for incinerator pollution control may be undetectable. Future research involving full-scale fate studies will provide insight on the efficacy of PFAS destruction through incineration and whether other compounds of concern are generated. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Thermal processing is the only commercial approach available to destroy PFAS. Thermal degradation conditions required for destruction of PFAS during incineration processes are discussed. Fate of PFAS through water resource recovery facility incineration technologies remains unclear. Other thermal technologies such as smoldering combustion, pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal liquefaction provide promise but are in developmental phases.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 33190313 · DOI · PMC8375574
Groundwater depletion causing reduction of baseflow triggering Ganges river summer drying [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- In summer (pre-monsoon) of recent years, low water level among the last few decades, has been observed in several lower Indian reaches of the Ganges (or Ganga) river (with estimated river water level depletion rates at the range of -0.
- Closing excerpt
- The results of this study could be used to decipher the groundwater-linked river water depletion as well as the regional water security in other densely populated parts of the globe.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (198 words)
In summer (pre-monsoon) of recent years, low water level among the last few decades, has been observed in several lower Indian reaches of the Ganges (or Ganga) river (with estimated river water level depletion rates at the range of -0.5 to -38.1 cm/year between summers of 1999 and 2013 in the studied reaches). Here, we show this Ganges river depletion is related to groundwater baseflow reduction caused by ongoing observed groundwater storage depletion in the adjoining Gangetic aquifers (Ganges basin, -0.30 ± 0.07 cm/year or -2.39 ± 0.56 km3/year). Our estimates show, 2016-baseflow amount (~1.0 × 106 m3/d) has reduced by ~59%, from the beginning of the irrigation-pumping age of 1970s (2.4 × 106 m3/d) in some of the lower reaches. The net Ganges river water reduction could jeopardize domestic water supply, irrigation water requirements, river transport, ecology etc. of densely populated northern Indian plains. River water reduction has direct impact on food production indicating vulnerability to more than 100 million of the population residing in the region. The results of this study could be used to decipher the groundwater-linked river water depletion as well as the regional water security in other densely populated parts of the globe.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 30104737 · DOI · PMC6089894
Intuitionistic fuzzy PAMSSEM method for MAGDM incorporating cumulative prospect theory and its application to the assessment on water resource carrying capacity [4]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Assessing water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) is essential for regional high-quality development.
- Closing excerpt
- These findings provide actionable insights for sustainable water management.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (148 words)
Assessing water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) is essential for regional high-quality development. However, most existing WRCC assessment models fail to handle uncertainties and mixed data arising from multiple criteria, which compromises their practical applicability. To address this limitation, this study integrates cumulative prospect theory (CPT) with the PAMSSEM outranking method to develop a novel intuitionistic fuzzy CPT-PAMSSEM model. Then the proposed method is validated through a case study of four cities in the middle and lower reaches of the Tuojiang River Basin. Results show that: (1) WRCC varies significantly across the four cities: Luzhou and Ziyang show favorable conditions, Zigong is near the critical threshold, and Neijiang faces a severe water resource shortage crisis. (2) the proposed model markedly improves the discrimination of different evaluation results, achieving a differentiation level approximately 3-6 times greater than that of conventional methods. These findings provide actionable insights for sustainable water management.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42430340 · DOI · PMC13354012
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article A critical review of the risks to water resources from unconventional shale gas development and hydraulic fracturing in the United States [5]
- Research article Emerging solutions to the water challenges of an urbanizing world [6]
- Research article Urban growth and water access in sub-Saharan Africa: Progress, challenges, and emerging research directions [7]
- Research article Differences in dissolved organic matter between reclaimed water source and drinking water source [8]
- Research article A comprehensive review of deep learning applications in hydrology and water resources [9]
- Research article Eco-environmental impact of inter-basin water transfer projects: a review [10]
References
- Jiao W, Wang L, Smith WK, Chang Q, Wang H, D'Odorico P. Observed increasing water constraint on vegetation growth over the last three decades. . 2021. PMID 34145253 · DOI · PMC8213694
- Winchell LJ, Ross JJ, Wells MJM, Fonoll X, Norton JW, Bell KY. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances thermal destruction at water resource recovery facilities: A state of the science review. . 2021. PMID 33190313 · DOI · PMC8375574
- Mukherjee A, Bhanja SN, Wada Y. Groundwater depletion causing reduction of baseflow triggering Ganges river summer drying. . 2018. PMID 30104737 · DOI · PMC6089894
- Lv C, Wei G, Feng Q, Chen Y, Huang Q. Intuitionistic fuzzy PAMSSEM method for MAGDM incorporating cumulative prospect theory and its application to the assessment on water resource carrying capacity. . 2026. PMID 42430340 · DOI · PMC13354012
- Vengosh A, Jackson RB, Warner N, Darrah TH, Kondash A. A critical review of the risks to water resources from unconventional shale gas development and hydraulic fracturing in the United States. Environ Sci Technol. 2014. PMID 24606408 · DOI
- Larsen TA, Hoffmann S, Lüthi C, Truffer B, Maurer M. Emerging solutions to the water challenges of an urbanizing world. Science. 2016. PMID 27199414 · DOI
- Dos Santos S, Adams EA, Neville G, Wada Y, de Sherbinin A, Mullin Bernhardt E, et al.. Urban growth and water access in sub-Saharan Africa: Progress, challenges, and emerging research directions. Sci Total Environ. 2017. PMID 28704674 · DOI
- Hu HY, Du Y, Wu QY, Zhao X, Tang X, Chen Z. Differences in dissolved organic matter between reclaimed water source and drinking water source. Sci Total Environ. 2016. PMID 26874770 · DOI
- Sit M, Demiray BZ, Xiang Z, Ewing GJ, Sermet Y, Demir I. A comprehensive review of deep learning applications in hydrology and water resources. Water Sci Technol. 2020. PMID 33341760 · DOI
- Zhuang W. Eco-environmental impact of inter-basin water transfer projects: a review. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2016. PMID 27178293 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-11-04; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-11-04.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.