An evaluation of the water utilization and grain production of irrigated and rain-fed croplands in China

Abstract

Irrigation plays a major role in Chinese agricultural production, as China is experiencing water and food scarcity. Assessing water use (WU) and water productivity (WP) will contribute to regional water management and grain production improvement. This paper quantifies the water use and productivity in grain production for 31 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities (PAMs) by distinguishing between irrigated and rain-fed farmland. An indicator of marginal productivity of blue water (MWPb) is established and calculated to evaluate irrigation profits. National water use (WUt) for grain cultivation from 1998 to 2010 was approximately 689.04Gm3 (42.26% blue water and 57.74% green water). The productive water proportions for irrigated and total croplands were 65.57% and 76.85%, respectively. Water use compositions from both blue–green and productive–unproductive perspectives changed slightly over time. The water use productivity (WPU) and water consumption productivity (WPC) for integrated grain products of China during the study period were 0.747 and 0.972kg/m3, respectively. The spatial distribution patterns of irrigated WPs (WPUI, WPCI) were consistent with those for total cropland. China has achieved sufficient food supply without increasing water use. The national MWPb was estimated to be 0.673kg/m3, revealing a higher increase in crop yield on irrigated land compared to rain-fed land. The northeast provinces urgently need to improve irrigation efficiency, and the North China Plain PAMs should promote rain-fed crop yield to increase grain production and control water use in the future.