Abstract
Agriculture and crop production is the sector with the highest water demand, and because of water shortages and an unbalanced distribution of natural resources in China, improving the efficiency of agricultural water use is essential. In this study, we quantified the total water footprint (WF) of major crop products in Northwest China using the Penman–Monteith formula. The logarithmic mean divisor index (LMDI) was used to explain the four factors driving the spatial and temporal differences in the WFs of the major crops in five provinces and regions in Northwest China. The results showed that from 2006 to 2015, the total WF of the major crops was increasing overall. From a temporal perspective, the crop area and yield effects, which were the factors driving the overall increase in the WF, positively impacted the overall change in the WF of the major crops in Northwest China. The effects of the virtual water content (VWC) and crop structure were both volatile. The effect of the crop structure made a relatively small contribution, while the effect of the VWC played a significant role in changing the overall WF. From a spatial perspective, the changes in the VWC and crop structure negatively inhibited the increase of the WF, widening the difference between these provinces and regions and Shanxi. The increased yields in Xinjiang most clearly increased the WF, followed by those in Ningxia, Qinghai, and Gansu. In comparison with Shanxi, in all the provinces and regions except Xinjiang, the change in cultivated area was less effective in promoting the WF. Therefore, scientific planting plans should be developed for adapting to climate change, considering the differences in natural features among various provinces and regions. Water conservation and advanced agricultural technology should be promoted to enhance the sustainability of agricultural development.
Highlights
Water is the most essential natural resource, playing a vital role in environmental and ecosystem services
We excluded the estimation of the grey water footprint (WF) since the aim of this paper was to study the volume of agricultural water used at the point of production, while the grey WF is an index describing the number of water resources needed to dilute pollutants discharged from agricultural production to meet local environmental discharge standards and not the actual amount of water consumed in crop production
We set out to identify the drivers of the WF of grain crops, focusing on the virtual water content (VWC), yield, crop structure, and crop area
Summary
Water is the most essential natural resource, playing a vital role in environmental and ecosystem services. As a traditional agricultural country with a large population, China is facing many water problems. Water shortages have become an important bottleneck restricting the economic and social development of Northern China, as the distribution of water resources in China is uneven in time and space [1], with an adequate distribution in the south and a low distribution in the north. To guarantee the food security of China’s 1.4 billion people with minimal environmental costs, efficiently evaluating and managing water resource consumption is essential [2]. For the sustainable use of water resources, we need to effectively alleviate the pressure on water resources due to agricultural production
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