Abstract
The water footprint (WF) of crop production is a friendly approach for the analysis of water resource consumption in agricultural production systems. This study assessed the inter-annual variability of the total WF of three types of main crops, namely, cereal (i.e., spring wheat and barley), oilseed (i.e., canola and sunflower) and pulse (i.e., lentils and chickpea), from the perspective of yield and protein. It also determined the major factors that influence the WFs in Saskatchewan province of Canada. Over the period of 1965–2014, the annual precipitation in Saskatchewan fluctuated considerably but increased slightly with time. The grain yield-based WF ranged between 1.08 and 1.80, 0.90 and 1.38, 1.71 and 2.58, 1.94 and 4.28, 1.47 and 2.37, and 1.39 and 1.79 m3 kg−1; whereas the protein yield-based WF ranged between 7.69 and 10.44, 8.27 and 16.47, 3.79 and 7.75, 4.86 and 11.17, 5.09 and 7.42, and 5.51 and 10.69 m3 kg−1 for spring wheat, barley, canola, sunflower, lentils, and chickpea, respectively. All the WFs of crops generally decreased with time, which could be attributed to precipitation factors. In addition, the scientific and technological progress and agricultural inputs also evidently influenced the grain yield-based WFs of all crops. Pulse crops had a higher grain yield-based WF (an average of 1.59 m3 kg−1 for pulse crops and 1.18 m3 kg−1 for cereal crops) but a lower protein yield-based WF (an average of 6.58 m3 kg−1 for pulse crops and 9.25 m3 kg−1 for cereal crops) than cereal crops. Under conditions of improved protein consumption and healthy living in the future, pulse crops may be a preferred crop.
Highlights
During the past three decades, environmental and economic advantages of crop diversification have promoted a steady increase in the production of alternative oilseeds and pulse crops in northern high-latitude areas such as Northwest Europe [1], Northeast Eurasia and Siberia steppes [2], NorthwestChina [3], and the Northern Great Plains of North America [4]
In line with a slight increase in annual precipitation, the effective precipitations during crop growing seasons increased at rates of 12.3, 9.9, 10.7, 11.2, 8.0, and 8.5 mm decade−1 for spring wheat, barley, canola, sunflower, lentil, and chickpea, respectively
This study provides a long-term analysis of crop water footprint (WF) for a Canadian prairie scenario over the past past five decades
Summary
During the past three decades, environmental and economic advantages of crop diversification have promoted a steady increase in the production of alternative oilseeds and pulse crops in northern high-latitude areas such as Northwest Europe [1], Northeast Eurasia and Siberia steppes [2], NorthwestChina [3], and the Northern Great Plains of North America [4]. The inclusion of oilseed and pulses in the traditional cereal-based cropping systems has been shown to improve nutrient use efficiency [5], overall productivity [6], and economic sustainability [4]. Water 2018, 10, 1609 temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration (ET), may have significant effect on water use in agriculture production at regional and national scales [8]. Evaluation of water resource utilization during agricultural production may become a consideration to improve agricultural water management practices in this region and beyond. In a world with continuously increasing pressure on water resources, concerns over sufficiency of water resources for short- and long-term food security and human welfare have emerged. Climate change has affected elements of the hydrologic cycle, such as precipitation redistribution, along with surface and groundwater cycling [9]
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