Abstract The concept of virtual water was first proposed by the geographer Tony Allan in 1993, referring to the amount of water needed to produce products and services. Research on virtual water has gradually increased in recent years. This paper explored the current research status of virtual water from the aspects of virtual water accounting methods, impact assessment, and research limitations and gaps. In terms of research methods, in addition to continuing to use traditional virtual water accounting methods, recent research also focuses on the use of input-output model to calculate virtual water content, the scenario analysis methods to predict future virtual water flow trends, and the gravitational model to analyze driving factors. The research content has also gradually diversified, from quantifying the virtual water content of commodities and analyzing virtual water flow paths, it has gradually evolved into “temporal and spatial evolution of virtual water trade, research combined with water footprint, virtual water and economic development, virtual water impact assessment, analysis of virtual water flow driving force” and other research content. The prediction and driving factors analysis of virtual water need further research; the availability and accuracy of data must be ensured. So virtual water research still needs to be improved and perfected. Virtual water research is an interdisciplinary discipline involving hydrology, socio-economy, and the ecological environment, so future research should be conducted in conjunction with relevant knowledge in other disciplines. And researching the impacts of virtual water trade on the formulation of regional trade policies and the regional ecological environment will provide a powerful reference for policy makers on the adjustment of regional trade patterns and management of water resources. This paper can provide reference for virtual water researchers.

中文翻译：

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虚拟水研究现状回顾：核算方法视角、影响评估及局限性

摘要 虚拟水的概念最早由地理学家 Tony Allan 于 1993 年提出，指的是生产产品和服务所需的水量。近年来，对虚拟水的研究逐渐增多。本文从虚拟水核算方法、影响评估、研究局限和差距等方面探讨了虚拟水的研究现状。在研究方法上，除了继续沿用传统的虚拟水核算方法外，近期的研究还集中在利用投入产出模型计算虚拟水含量、情景分析方法预测未来虚拟水流量趋势、引力模型来分析驱动因素。研究内容也逐渐多元化，从量化商品虚拟水含量和分析虚拟水流动路径，逐渐演变为“虚拟水贸易的时空演化、水足迹、虚拟水与经济发展相结合的研究、虚拟水影响评估、虚拟水流分析”。水流驱动力”等研究内容。虚拟水的预测和驱动因素分析需要进一步研究；必须确保数据的可用性和准确性。因此虚拟水的研究还有待改进和完善。虚拟水研究是一门涉及水文学、社会经济和生态环境的交叉学科，未来的研究应结合其他学科的相关知识进行。研究虚拟水贸易对区域贸易政策制定和区域生态环境的影响，将为决策者调整区域贸易格局和水资源管理提供有力参考。本文可为虚拟水研究人员提供参考。