Abstract
While irrigated crops produce much higher yields than rain-fed crops, the ionic components of irrigation water have important effects on crop yield. Groundwater is widely used for irrigation in the Baojixia irrigation area in China. The chemical characteristics and water quality of groundwater in the Baojixia irrigation area were analyzed and evaluated to study the impact of groundwater quality on crop yield. Results showed cations in the groundwater to mainly be Na+, Ca2+, and Mg2+, whereas the anions are mainly HCO3−, SO42−, and Cl−. Water-rock interaction and cation exchange were identified as the main factors affecting hydrogeochemical properties from west to east. The study found salinity and alkalinity of groundwater in the western region of the study area to be low, and therefore suitable for irrigation. Groundwater in the eastern part of the study area was found to have a medium to high salinity and alkalinity, and is therefore not recommended for long-term irrigation. The groundwater irrigated cultivation of wheat and corn in the research area over 2019, for example, would have resulted in a drop in the annual crop output and an economic loss of 0.489 tons and 0.741 × 104 yuan, respectively. Irrigation using groundwater was calculated to result in the cumulative loss of crop yields and an economic loss of 49.17 tons and 80.781 × 104 yuan, respectively, by 2119. Deterioration of groundwater quality will reduce crop yields. It is recommended that crop yields in the study area be increased by strengthening irrigation water management and improving groundwater quality.
Highlights
Human activities and natural environmental changes are the two main driving forces of regional hydrology and changes to water resources [1,2,3,4]
The total dissolved solids (TDS) in the western region was between 203–888 mg/L, with an average value of 542 mg/L, indicating that the groundwater in the western region is fresh water
Judging from the calculation method, hardness reflects the relationship between cation and bicarbonate in water and ion content [10,41]
Summary
Human activities and natural environmental changes are the two main driving forces of regional hydrology and changes to water resources [1,2,3,4]. Population growth and the acceleration of industrialization have led to excessive demand for natural resources, which has subsequently resulted in many social and ecological problems. These issues inevitably exacerbate the human impact on the environment, on surface water and groundwater resources [5,6,7,8,9]. Groundwater is the most reliable source of water for human survival, in arid and semi-arid regions such as northwest China, where precipitation and surface runoff are scarce and large volumes of groundwater are extracted for domestic, agricultural, and industrial activities. The yield of wheat and corn depends on the quality of irrigation water and soil
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