Abstract
BackgroundMany countries are experiencing significant water scarcity and related problems due to limited availability, uneven distribution of water resources and high demand. Therefore, increasing water use efficiency and better management of existing resources have become substantially important. The agricultural sector is responsible for around 80% of global freshwater withdrawal. Wheat is one of the most important crops having large volumes of virtual water (VW) which is defined as the hidden water embedded in the products.MethodsWater footprint (WF) is an indicator showing the total volume of freshwater consumption of a product or process. Blue water concept is defined as the amount of exploited surface and groundwater resources. Green water represents the total volume of rainwater allocated by the product. WF methodology brings a new approach to inter-regional water use and management by quantifying the amount of direct and indirect water use and tracing the hidden links between production, consumption and trade. The main objective of this study is to analyze Turkey’s national blue and green WF of wheat production, consumption and virtual water trade between 2008 and 2019. Detailed province-based quantification of wheat’s water exploitation is provided using spatial interpolation method.ResultsTotal consumptive WF of wheat production and consumption of Turkey is calculated as 39.3 and 48.1 Gm3/year, respectively. The average blue and green VW contents of wheat production through Turkey are assessed to be 1161 and 748 m3/ton, respectively. The water footprint parameters of each province are calculated and discussed using climatic and agricultural data. VW transfer of Turkey’s international wheat trade is also analyzed. Total national water saving is calculated as 7.8 Gm3/year which is mostly imported from Russia. Global VW deficit due to international wheat trade is calculated to be 1.76 Gm3/year.ConclusionDespite its high contribution to global wheat production, increasing population and strong wheat-based diet, quantitative, comparative and up-to-date analyses of the blue and green WF and the VW transfer of wheat production in Turkey are not available. This study contributes to the national and international water management and planning studies to increase the water allocation efficiency of agricultural products.
Highlights
Wheat in the world and Turkey Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the most cultivated cereal grains in the world (Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2010a), exceeding 200 million hectares of land area and providing around one-fifth of the total calorific input of world’s population (Thapa et al 2019)
Wheat has an important role in people’s diets in Turkey. It is the most important crop supplying around 53% of the total calorie intake of Turkey’s national population, while this ratio remains at 20% for the global average (Unakıtan and Aydın 2018)
Water provided from the precipitation is estimated to be the most important factor affecting the yield of wheat production in Turkey (Keser et al 2017)
Summary
Wheat in the world and Turkey Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the most cultivated cereal grains in the world (Mekonnen and Hoekstra 2010a), exceeding 200 million hectares of land area and providing around one-fifth of the total calorific input of world’s population (Thapa et al 2019). The Southeastern Anatolia is the homeland of Turkey provides a quite suitable location and diverse ecology for wheat production (Gummadov et al 2015). It is the world’s eighth largest wheat producer (Özdoğan 2011). Wheat has an important role in people’s diets in Turkey It is the most important crop supplying around 53% of the total calorie intake of Turkey’s national population, while this ratio remains at 20% for the global average (Unakıtan and Aydın 2018). Wheat is one of the most important crops having large volumes of virtual water (VW) which is defined as the hidden water embedded in the products
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