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The change in the water-scarcity footprint (WSF) of rice and maize in Northeast China. (a) is the WSF of rice in 2010, and (b) is the change of rice WSF between 2010 and 2000. (c) is the WSF of maize in 2010, and (d) is the change of maize WSF between 2010 and 2000.
Source publication
In recent decades, China’s crop production experienced a spatial shift, and this shift may significantly influence the national water resources due to the geographical mismatch between water resources and cropland. By applying the widely applied AquaCrop model, this study quantified the impact of grain crop (rice and maize) expansion in northeaster...
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Purpose
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Citations
... The results of this study have shown that the WSF of broccoli and cauliflower in Spain depended on the production area, with higher values in Granada and Valencia than in Badajoz (Table 9). Previous studies obtained similar results with other crops and areas, as such maize, rice and wheat (Scherer and Pfister 2016;Huai et al. 2020;Jaibumrung et al. 2023) or potato (Hess et al. 2015), whose WFS varied considerably according to the country of origin. Silalertruksa et al. (2017) revealed that palm oil production in the northeast and north of Thailand, with less climatically suitable areas, requires intensive treatments and irrigation, resulting in high GHG emissions and WSF per t of product. ...
Purpose
Carbon footprint (CF), nitrogen footprint (NF), and water scarcity footprint (WSF) are increasingly used to reduce the environmental impact due to agricultural practices, mainly fertilization and water use. The aim of the study was to assess and quantify the CF, NF, and WSF of cauliflower and broccoli production in three different edapho-climatic areas of Spain (Badajoz, Granada, and Valencia) with increasing nitrogen fertilizer rates (N0, N1, N2, and N3).
Methods
The environmental burdens and footprints associated to these crops were calculated and evaluated using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The functional unit defined was the mass unit, 1 t of commercial fresh weight of each crop. GHG emissions were calculated following a LCA from the cradle (raw material extraction) to the farm gate (last harvest). Inputs and outputs associated to all phases (fertilizers, crop management, pesticides, and irrigation system) carried out during the production process of each crop in all scenarios were considered. Reactive nitrogen (Nr) emission and NF of the cauliflower and broccoli crops production were quantified following the perspective of LCA approach, considering the inputs and outputs associated to the fertilizers applied (different N rates, P2O5, and K2O). WSF was calculated as the product of water applied by irrigation during the crop cycles of each scenario per t of commercial fresh product and the water stress index based on location.
Results and discussion
The results demonstrated environmental and agronomic benefits of adequate nitrogen management in broccoli and cauliflower production in different areas of Spain, maintaining or reducing CF, NF, and Nr emissions, without reducing crop yields. For example, a reduction of 18% of CF and of 17% of NF was observed under treatment N2 (212 kg ha⁻¹) compared to N3 (313 kg ha⁻¹) for broccoli in Badajoz. In addition, the selection of areas with climatic conditions that require less water for irrigation, such as Badajoz, contributed to the reduction of WSF, resulting in a mean difference between treatments of 42.3 m³t⁻¹ for cauliflower and 81 m³ t⁻¹ for broccoli compared to Valencia and Granada, respectively.
Conclusions and recommendations
The optimization of nitrogen fertilizers application combined with an efficient irrigation system (using recycled and/or longer service life materials and renewable energy sources) should be a priority for mitigating CF and NF and reduction of Nr emissions in broccoli and cauliflower production. Designing optimal fertilization treatments in areas with lower water consumption could be considered an alternative management tool for sustainable agriculture of Brassica oleracea crops, while maintaining or increasing crop productivity.
... The crop planting structure has been largely adjusted in recent years, especially having rapidly expanded the area of the water-intensive crops but reduced the water-saving soybean crops [37]. This has led to an increase in the regional crop irrigation water requirement [38,39]. In addition, climate changes have an impact on the crop irrigation water requirement [40][41][42]. ...
Northeast China (NEC) is one of the most important national agricultural production bases, and its agricultural water dynamics are essential for food security and sustainable agricultural development. However, the dynamics of long-term annual crop-specific agricultural water and its crop type and climate impacts remain largely unknown, compromising water-saving practices and water-efficiency agricultural management in this vital area. Thus, this study used multi-source data of the crop type, climate factors, and the digital elevation model (DEM), and multiple digital agriculture technologies of remote sensing (RS), the geographic information system (GIS), the Soil Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA-SCS) model, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Penman–Monteith (FAO P-M) model, and the water supply–demand index (M) to map the annual spatiotemporal distribution of effective precipitation (Pe), crop water requirement (ETc), irrigation water requirement (IWR), and the supply–demand situation in the NEC from 2000 to 2020. The study further analyzed the impacts of the crop type and climate changes on agricultural water dynamics and revealed the reasons and policy implications for their spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The results indicated that the annual average Pe, ETc, IWR, and M increased by 1.56%/a, 0.74%/a, 0.42%/a, and 0.83%/a in the NEC, respectively. Crop-specifically, the annual average Pe increased by 1.15%/a, 2.04%/a, and 2.09%/a, ETc decreased by 0.46%/a, 0.79%/a, and 0.89%/a, IWR decreased by 1.03%/a, 1.32%/a, and 3.42%/a, and M increased by 1.48%/a, 2.67%/a, and 2.87%/a for maize, rice, and soybean, respectively. Although the ETc and IWR for all crops decreased, regional averages still increased due to the expansion of water-intensive maize and rice. The crop type and climate changes jointly influenced agricultural water dynamics. Crop type transfer contributed 39.28% and 41.25% of the total IWR increase, and the remaining 60.72% and 58.75% were caused by cropland expansion in the NEC from 2000 to 2010 and 2010 to 2020, respectively. ETc and IWR increased with increasing temperature and solar radiation, and increasing precipitation led to decreasing IWR in the NEC. The adjustment of crop planting structure and the implementation of water-saving practices need to comprehensively consider the spatiotemporally heterogeneous impacts of crop and climate changes on agricultural water dynamics. The findings of this study can aid RS-GIS-based agricultural water simulations and applications and support the scientific basis for agricultural water management and sustainable agricultural development.
... The magnitude of the water footprint WSF (H2Oe) based on LCA (life cycle assessment) is determined via both the crop irrigation water usage and the WSI value [25], where the WSI values for wheat and maize are provided by Stephan Pfister and Peter Bayer's research [26]. The calculation formula for the water scarcity footprint is as follows [27]: ...
To reduce crop-related water consumption and enhance agricultural water resource efficiency in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, this study employed the AquaCrop model to simulate crop yield and irrigation water requirements and calculated the water scarcity footprint (WSF). The results were as follows: (1) The AquaCrop model exhibited strong applicability, with R2, RMSE (Root Mean Square Error), EF (Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency coefficient) and d values of 0.9611, 6.6%, 0.91, and 0.98 (winter wheat), and 0.9571, 5.5%, 0.95, and 0.99 (summer maize) for canopy cover simulation. Similarly, aboveground biomass simulation yielded values of 0.9661, 0.8 t/ha, 0.93, and 0.98 (winter wheat), and 0.9087, 1.3 t/ha, 0.90, and 0.98 (summer maize). Winter wheat soil moisture content simulation showed an R2 of 0.9706, RMSE of 3.7 mm, EF of 0.93, and d of 0.98. (2) The AquaCrop model simulated the winter wheat and summer maize yields and irrigation water requirements for the years 2009, 2014, and 2019, validating the scalability and spatial visualization capabilities of GeoSim in extending AquaCrop simulations. (3) Integrating the water footprint and the water resources system, this study assessed the WSFs of winter wheat and summer maize. From 2009 to 2019, winter wheat production in the region increased by 25.08%, and summer maize production increased by 37.39%. The WSF of winter wheat decreased, whereas the WSF of summer maize increased. It is recommended to reduce crop cultivation areas in regions such as Daming County, Ningjin County, and Dingzhou City while further improving irrigation water efficiency, which would facilitate the sustainable utilization of water resources in the area.
... Given the relevance of the topic, previous analyses assessed the impact of freshwater use on water scarcity in national or sub-national case studies (Huai et al., 2020;Li et al., 2020). The blue water footprint linked to global coffee consumption reaches 0.74 Gm 3 . ...
Coffee consumption is concentrated in the "Global North", while production is mainly located in the "Global South". This trade-driven dependency leads to the exploitation of natural resources. As an export-oriented cash crop, such dependency jeopardizes the existence of a fair distribution of the risks and revenues among all the actors taking part in its globalized supply chain. Coffee trees are mainly rain-fed and only partly irrigated. However, the increasing global coffee demand led to higher consumption of freshwater, which can exacerbate the stressed condition of already stressed water basins. This study quantifies the impact of global coffee consumption on water scarcity, considering the larger system made of producer and consumer countries. The global displacement of such impact is driven by consumer preferences. We found that the US, EU and Asian countries' coffee consumption create impact on water scarcity mostly in African and South American countries, which is also representative of the economic disparities existing behind the global trade flows. Climate change will likely affect the varieties currently preferred by global consumers. Therefore, immediate environmental sustainability actions including water resource preservation are necessary to face current and future challenges.
... In general, AquaCrop has been used to simulate crop development, yield production, and water-related variables such as evapotranspiration and water productivity, while considering different stress conditions [13] such as leaf growth and canopy expansion, stomatal conductance and canopy senescence, and pollination failure [13]. Different studies around the world have been conducted using AquaCrop, with some examples being a simulation of the water footprint of rice and maize in China [14], a calculation of irrigation technologies' impact on cotton [15], and an evaluation of tomato's water needs in Italy [16]. Rakotoarivony et al. [17] applied the AquaCrop model on a raster dataset using an R-based approach to determine spatial variations in seasonal evapotranspiration of maize. ...
... For Martonvasar, values of maize soil moisture were used for validation, and for the experimental field in Gödöllő, different NDVI time series for the region were used for comparison with the modeled biomass data and green canopy crop cover (CC). It is known from many studies how well the AquaCrop model behaves, and it has been extensively validated [14][15][16][17], but for this paper, the points that were analyzed were to show the importance of having the results given by AquaCrop in a spatial manner. The primary focus of this study was the catchment area of the Rákos Stream and its surrounding region, which contains the experimental field in Gödöllő. ...
... Plants 2022, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW NDVI time series for the region were used for comparison with the modeled bioma and green canopy crop cover (CC). It is known from many studies how well the Aq model behaves, and it has been extensively validated [14][15][16][17], but for this paper, the that were analyzed were to show the importance of having the results given by Aqu in a spatial manner. ...
Modeling crop water use and soil moisture availability is becoming increasingly critical, particularly in light of recent drought events. Our study focuses on the spatial application of the AquaCrop model, using a raster-based approach in an R-based environment. The formulated methodology was initially applied and tested on two point-based examples in the Central region of Hungary, followed by the spatial application of the model at the Rákos Stream catchment in the same region. For evaluation purposes, we also utilized satellite-based NDVI data. The results showed that there is a strong correlation between NDVI values and the model-based biomass estimation. We also found that the model simulated the soil moisture content fairly well, with a correlation coefficient of 0.82. While our results support the validity of the applied methodology, it is also clear that input data availability and quality are still critical issues in spatial application of the AquaCrop model.
... It is estimated that agriculture accounts for 70% of total global freshwater withdrawals and 30% of total global energy consumed [4]. In different countries or regions, or in different periods of the same region, there are often differences in agricultural planting structure and, consequently, in the amount of water and energy consumed [5][6][7]. ...
Water consumption and energy consumption are inevitable in grain production, but few studies have focused on the integrated assessment of these two indicators and their relationships. To address the research deficiency, taking the North China Plain (NCP) as a case study, this paper quantifies the changes in grain crop planting structure and the accompanying changes in irrigation water consumption (IWC) and energy consumption (EC) in the NCP. On this basis, the water-energy coupling index (CI) is constructed to analyze the water-energy coupling relationship in the context of grain crop planting structure change. The results revealed that the sown area of three of the four main grain crops in the NCP, namely winter wheat, summer maize, and rice, roughly increased in the south and decreased in the north, while the sown area of spring maize increased in most counties where it was planted in the NCP from 2000 to 2015. With the change of grain crop planting structure, IWC and EC of winter wheat in the NCP decreased by 19.87 × 106 m3 and 16.78 × 108 MJ, respectively, mainly distributed in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, while IWC and EC of other crops all increased. In terms of CI values, although that of spring maize increased, those of winter wheat, summer maize, and rice all decreased, and the overall CI values of grain production in the NCP decreased from 0.442 in 2000 to 0.438 in 2015, indicating that grain crop distribution has been optimized toward a less water- and energy-intensive and more sustainable layout in the NCP. This paper can add case and methodological support to the food-water-energy (FEW) nexus research and can also provide policy suggestions for regional crop optimization layout and conservation of both water and energy resources.
... Industrial and urban water continue to compete with agricultural water uses, threatening farmland irrigation water, which directly affects crop yield and national food security. In Northeast China, resourcebased water shortages caused by uneven distributions of water resources and uncoordinated matching of water and land resources coexist with quality-based water shortages caused by pollutant discharge (Porkka et al. 2016;Huai et al. 2019). At the same time, excessive utilization of water resources has become an important cause of environmental deterioration such as land desertification, salinization, and soil erosion (Cao et al. 2015). ...
Agricultural water use has long accounted for more than 70% of water consumption in Northeast China. Estimating farmland irrigation water requirements and water balance is essential to ensure safe agricultural water and promote rational development and utilization of regional water resources. In this study, based on the modified Penman–Monteith equation recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, the net crop irrigation water requirements for four main crops in Northeast China were calculated, and the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics were also analyzed. Additionally, regional farmland irrigation water requirements were estimated, water balance in a typical year was determined, and the dominant factors affecting farmland irrigation water requirements in different regions were analyzed. From 1986 to 2020, the net irrigation water requirements for four main crops all showed the temporal trend of no significant increase and the spatial distribution characteristic of being high in the west and low in the east. The farmland irrigation water requirement decreased, and the monthly average farmland irrigation water requirement peaked in July during 2010–2019. Compared with 2010, in 2019, the irrigation water requirement per cultivated land grid cell in 20 cities increased and that in 16 cities decreased. Most cities were facing varying degrees of water shortage. Precipitation had the greatest direct effect on the farmland irrigation water requirement in different regions. These results quantify the farmland irrigation water requirement and water balance in Northeast China, and provide a reference for water resources and related environmental governance.
... Agricultural production accounts for more than 70% of total water consumption [1,2]. Agricultural water directly affects crop production and is crucial to food security [3][4][5]. The agricultural water supply also affects the level of sustainable development in a country or region [6]. ...
The output intensity of water resources has become a subject of increasing concern. Based on spatial autocorrelation, the Gini coefficient, the Theil index, and geographically and temporally weighted models, this work studied the spatial correlation and regional differences of the output intensity of agricultural water and the main factors influencing the output intensity of agricultural water from a spatial–temporal perspective in China from 2003 to 2019. The results show that the output intensity of agricultural water showed an upward trend and that the output in the central region was higher than the output in the eastern region, and the eastern region had higher output than the western region. By analyzing the spatial autocorrelation, it was found that the output intensity of agricultural water presented a significant spatial dispersion trend and showed the spatial difference. The overall difference in the output intensity of agricultural water in China showed an increasing trend, but the widening difference showed an alleviating trend; the main reason for this increase in the overall differences is that the intra-group differences in the three regions were increasing, with the largest intra-group differences being observed in the western region followed by the eastern region and the central region. Population scale, water use scale, water use structure, effective irrigation scale, urbanization, and industrial structure create significant spatial differences in the output intensity of agricultural water. However, the level of economic development positively impacts the agricultural water output intensity of all provinces. Therefore, water resource management departments should formulate water resource management policies based on regional water conditions and the differences between influencing factors.
... Previous analyses assessed the impact of freshwater use on water scarcity in national or sub-national case studies (Huai et al., 2020;Li et al., 2020). Also, a recent study revealed the global displacement of resources linked to coffee consumption worldwide, including blue water (Sporchia et al., 2021). ...
SEE PUBLICATION AT https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116881
Coffee consumption is concentrated in countries belonging to the "Global North", while its production is concentrated in countries belonging to the "Global South". This dependency creates a trade-driven exploitation of natural resources such as cropland, fertilizer, water, etc. As a cash crop, the production of this export-oriented commodity tends to be market-oriented for consumers beyond its country of origin. This jeopardizes the existence of a fair distribution of the risks associated to its production among all the stakeholders involved in its global supply chains. Coffee trees thrive in tropical habitats where the water requirements of the plants are satisfied by rain and only partly by irrigation. However, the increasing demand for this commodity led to agricultural intensification, with an associated raise of the consumption of resources, and extensification, often linked to deforestation and biodiversity loss. The increased demand for freshwater can exacerbate the stressed condition in already stressed water basins, especially where various sectors compete for the same resource. This study quantifies the impact on water scarcity due to the consumption of coffee in the European Union (EU) tracking the environmental impact until the country of origin. The global displacement of such impact is strictly linked to the EU consumer preferences for specific varieties of coffee. While the currently existing sustainability initiatives mostly focus on the social sustainability or few environmental aspects, none accounts for the pressures and impacts on the water resources. We revealed that EU coffee consumption create impact on water scarcity mostly in African and South American countries. Climate change will likely affect the varieties preferred by EU consumers. Therefore, immediate action on the environmental sustainability including water resources is necessary to face future challenges.
SEE PUBLICATION AT https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116881
... Others discovered a rapid northward expansion of cropland and an overall increase in paddy field in Cold China starting in the 21st century (Pan et al., 2019). Most previous studies focused only on the overall increases/decreases and distribution patterns of cropland changes (Dong et al., 2015); a few studies have tried to discuss the mechanisms underlying these changes, such as the impacts of climate change and crop adaptation , crop water-scarcity footprints, and crop water consumption (Huai et al., 2020;Huang et al., 2020) in the total cropland area and crop production in Cold China. To date, the grain production impacts from shifts in cropland structure (i.e., from upland crops to irrigated paddy field) between different agricultural systems (i.e., state farms vs. private farms) in Cold China are lacking compared to the previously published studies on similar topics from the rest of China and the world. ...
Rapid cropland reformation is occurring in the cold region of China (hereafter referred to as Cold China), affecting national crop structure production. In addition, different agricultural systems, including state and private farms, exist in Cold China. To date, the different effects of cropland reformation on grain production in state and private farms are lacking. Focusing on this issue and using synergistic methodology, results revealed that the transformation from upland crops to paddy field was principal land change across Cold China from 1990-2015. This transformation increased grain production by 434.0×10⁴ t, accounting for over 14.0% of the total grain production increase in Cold China (i.e., from 748.0×10⁴ t in 1990 to 3785.1×10⁴ t in 2015) in the study period, showing positive feedback on grain security. Between two agricultural systems, more intensive transformation area (10993.3 km² vs. 4673.5 km²) and a larger contribution to grain production increase (11.1% vs. 3.2%) occurred on state compared with private farms. Crop structure also evolved differently in the two agricultural systems. Dominant crop changed from soybean (1990-2000) to rice paddy (2000-2015) on state farms but from soybean (1990-2005) to corn (2005-2015) on private farms, indicating state farms focused on human dietary supply and private farms mainly served industrial needs. This study showed cropland reformation in response to global food trade increased grain production in Cold China. State farms were more efficient in such reformation; more market-oriented policies should be designed to encourage the reformation on private farms. This study provided a new reference for other regions/countries’ investigation on cropland and food structural security in different agricultural systems.
