Regulation of Planting Structure Considering Irrigation Water, Carbon Emission, and Grain Security in the Yellow River Basin, China, by Using Multisource Data

Abstract

Grain security is the foundation for national stability and prosperity. In China, grain production depends heavily on irrigation water, direct energy for machinery use, and indirect energy (such as fertilizers, pesticides, and agricultural film), resulting in growing pressure on water supply and demand and high carbon emissions. Therefore, it is urgent to study the regulation of planting structures to reduce the irrigation water input and carbon emissions on the premise of grain security. It is within the scope of the water–energy–food nexus. In China, water resources are mostly managed at the basin scale. Because of missing or inadequate basin-scale data, in this study, the Yellow River Basin (YRB) was chosen as an example to shed light on basin scale regulation analysis; YRB is an important grain production base in China, but it is facing serious water shortage and severe environmental problems. First, production and consumption of diverse grain species in the basin were estimated using remote sensing and statistical data simultaneously. Then, the blue water and carbon footprints were calculated to analyze the water use and carbon emission characteristics of grain production. Finally, the grain planting structure was regulated to reduce the irrigation water input and carbon emissions. Our findings suggest that, with effective planting structure regulation, 4.11×108 m3 irrigation water and 16.98×104 tons CO2 equivalents could be reduced and the grain production increased by about 31×104 tons in the YRB. This study can be viewed as a step towards the use of multisource data to facilitate the analysis of diverse grain species characteristics and sustainable grain development while considering the water–energy–food nexus. A combination of effective planting structure regulation in arid regions and policies will contribute to an increase in grain production as well as saving of resources.