Increase In Water Footprint Research Articles

Mutual impact of salinity and climate change on crop production water footprint in a semi-arid agricultural watershed: Application of SWAT-MODFLOW-Salt

Sustainable agriculture in intensively irrigated watersheds, particularly those in arid and semi-arid regions, requires enhanced management practices to maintain crop production, which depends on climate, available water resources, soil conditions, irrigation practices, and crop type. Among these factors, soil salinity and climate change are significant challenges to agricultural productivity. To investigate the long-term influence of salinity and climate change on crop production from 1999 to 2100 in irrigated semi-arid regions, we apply the water footprint (WF) concept using the hydro-chemical watershed model SWAT-MODFLOW-Salt, driven by five General Circulation Models (GCMs) and two climate scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), to a 732 km2 irrigated stream-aquifer system within the Lower Arkansas River Valley (LARV), Colorado, USA. The study focused on calculating the green (WFgreen), blue (WFblue), and total (WFtotal) crop production WFs for 29 crops in the region, with and without including salinity effect on crop yield. Results reveal that during the baseline period (1999–2009), the total annual average WFgreen, WFblue, and WFtotal increased by 7.6 %, 4.4 %, and 6.5 %, respectively, under salinity stress, as crops experienced reductions of up to 4.6 %, 1.6 %, and 2.3 % in green, blue, and total crop yield. The mutual impact of salinity and the worst-case climate model (IPSL_CM5A_MR) under the higher emission scenario (RCP8.5) led to a 3.3 %, 1.9 %, and 3 % increase in green, blue, and total crop production WFs. Furthermore, the study highlighted that the proportion of green, blue, and total crop production WFs in the LARV exceeded the world average. This discrepancy was attributed to various factors, including different spatial and temporal crop distribution, irrigation practices, soil types, and climate conditions. Notably, salinity stress affected green crop yield and green WF more significantly than blue crop yield and blue WF across all GCM models. This finding underscores the importance of prioritizing management practices to control salinity-associated challenges within the region.

Investigating agricultural water sustainability in arid regions with Bayesian network and water footprint theories

Water scarcity is a significant constraint in agricultural ecosystems of arid regions, necessitating sustainable development of agricultural water resources. This study innovatively combines Bayesian theory and Water Footprint (WF) to construct a Bayesian Network (BN). Water quantity and quality data were evaluated comprehensively by WF in agricultural production. This evaluation integrates WF and local water resources to establish a sustainability assessment framework. Selected nodes are incorporated into a BN and continuously updated through structural and parameter learning, resulting in a robust model. Results reveal a nearly threefold increase of WF in the arid regions of Northwest China from 1989 to 2019, averaging 189.95 × 108 m3 annually. The region's agricultural scale is expanding, and economic development is rapid, but the unsustainability of agricultural water use is increasing. Blue WF predominates in this region, with cotton having the highest WF among crops. The BN indicates a 70.1 % probability of unsustainable water use. Sensitivity analysis identifies anthropogenic factors as primary drivers influencing water resource sustainability. Scenario analysis underscores the need to reduce WF production and increase agricultural water supply for sustainable development in arid regions. Proposed strategies include improving irrigation methods, implementing integrated water-fertilizer management, and selecting drought-resistant, economically viable crops to optimize crop planting structures and enhance water use efficiency in current agricultural practices in arid regions. This study not only offers insights into water management in arid regions but also provides practical guidance for similar agricultural contexts. The BN model serves as a flexible tool for informed decision-making in dynamic environments.

History and future of water footprint in the Yangtze River Delta of China.

Quantifying the drivers of water footprint evolution in the Yangtze River Delta is vital for the optimization of China's total water consumption. The article aims to decompose and predict the water footprint of the Yangtze River Delta and provide policy recommendations for optimizing water use in the Yangtze River Delta. The paper applies the LMDI method to decompose the water footprint of the Yangtze River Delta and its provinces into five major drivers: water footprint structure, water use intensity, R&D scale, R&D efficiency, and population size. Furthermore, this paper combines scenario analysis and Monte Carlo simulation methods to predict the potential evolution trends of water footprint under the basic, general, and enhanced water conservation scenario, respectively. The results show that (1) the expansion of R&D scale is the main factor promoting the growth of water footprint, the improvement of R&D efficiency, and the reduction of water intensity are the main factors inhibiting the increase of water footprint, and the water footprint structure and population size have less influence on water footprint. (2) The evolution trend of water footprint of each province under three scenarios is different. Compared to the basic scenario, the water footprint decreases more in Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Anhui under the general and enhanced water conservation scenario. The increase in water footprint in Jiangsu under the enhanced scenario is smaller than that of the general water conservation scenario.

Climate resilience of dry season cereals in India

India is the world’s second largest producer of wheat, with more than 40% increase in production since 2000. Increasing temperatures raise concerns about wheat’s sensitivity to heat. Traditionally-grown sorghum is an alternative rabi (winter season) cereal, but area under sorghum production has declined more than 20% since 2000. We examine sensitivity of wheat and sorghum yields to historical temperature and compare water requirements in districts where both cereals are cultivated. Wheat yields are sensitive to increases in maximum daily temperature in multiple stages of the growing season, while sorghum does not display the same sensitivity. Crop water requirements (mm) are 1.4 times greater for wheat than sorghum, mainly due to extension of its growing season into summer. However, water footprints (m3 per ton) are approximately 15% less for wheat due to its higher yields. Sensitivity to future climate projections, without changes in management, suggests 5% decline in wheat yields and 12% increase in water footprints by 2040, compared with 4% increase in water footprint for sorghum. On balance, sorghum provides a climate-resilient alternative to wheat for expansion in rabi cereals. However, yields need to increase to make sorghum competitive for farmer profits and efficient use of land to provide nutrients.

Estimation of the water footprint of kiwifruit: in the areas transferred from hazelnut to kiwi.

Agriculture is the largest consumer of freshwater and plays a critical role in addressing global water scarcity. While numerous studies have focused on the water footprint (WF) of various agricultural products, little attention has been paid to changing cropping patterns and their impact on WF. Here, we investigate the impact of conversion from hazelnut fields to kiwi orchards on green, blue, and gray WF between 2010 and 2021 in Ordu, Turkey. Our results show a total increase of 803,901 tons WF for all green, blue, and gray WF. Compared to the previous situation, changing the agricultural product and growing kiwifruit on previously established hazelnut fields increases green WF by 372,106 tons and blue WF by 334,167 tons. Thus, the change of cultivation pattern could significantly contribute to the water scarcity in the area, and at the same time, the increase in WF. Although kiwi cultivation might be advantageous economically, this economic benefit might be an ecological disadvantage as kiwi production is highly dependent on limited blue water resources. Therefore, it is suggested to further promote the rain-fed product, the hazelnut.

Strategies to Reduce Crop Water Footprint in Intensive Wheat-Maize Rotations in North China Plain

The intensive use of groundwater and nitrogen fertilizer has led to serious negative impacts on the environment of the North China Plain (NCP). Water footprint is an emerging approach to assess the consumptive water use and the environmental impacts on winter wheat-summer maize systems. A seven-year rotation experiment was conducted to collect data on wheat and maize growth response to nitrogen rates and irrigation schedules and to explore how the water footprint was affected, using DSSAT 4.6 Wheat and Maize crop models. Results showed that the increase in farm inputs contributed greatly to the increase in water footprint, primarily through the grey water footprint. The water footprints of maize and wheat were more sensitive to the nitrogen rate and irrigation, respectively. An irrigation of 160 mm produced a minimum total water footprint and higher yield for wheat. The grey water footprint of maize increased linearly when the nitrogen rate applied to maize exceeded 60 kg ha−1. Water-saving irrigation with 300 kg ha−1 of nitrogen can maintain a higher grain yield and have little impact on the environment. The approach used and the results can help to develop management strategies to maintain high yields while minimizing the water footprint in NCP.

Sustainability in Food Services

The concept of food service encompasses the task of preparing and distributing food. Changes to food systems at a global, national, and local level are required to reorient processes and operations to ensure they are sustainable. Considering the general characteristics of sustainable diets, it is seen that they are richer than vegetables and fruits and more limited than meat and meat products. The excessive presence of foods of animal origin in the menu causes an increase in water footprint and greenhouse gas emission levels. By providing cultural diversity and awareness in the menus, they should organize promotional celebrations with various activities. They should design health and sustainability elements according to operations, menus, and dining areas. The need to dispose of wastes in an environmentally friendly and economical way, and the fact that they are seen as a resource to be destroyed, has led to the emergence of the concept of sustainable waste management. In our review, we highlighted current research gaps and aimed to examine the sustainability in food services.

Estimation of the spatial and temporal water footprint of rice production in Bangladesh

Abstract As Bangladesh has expanded its irrigation coverage and has become self-sufficient on rice production to feed its vast population, there has been a strain on the country's water resources. Water footprint (WF) is an effective metric that estimates the overall water use for any product or service. This study quantified the water footprints and their components for the Aus, Aman, and Boro produced in Bangladesh. The analysis was spatially distributed for the year 1997, 2007, and 2017. The combined, estimated, spatially averaged WF for all three rice varieties (based on unit production) decreased over this 20-year period (5365 m3/tonne, 3980 m3/tonne, and 3404 m3/tonne for 1997, 2007, and 2017, respectively). Irrigation-intensive Boro rice had the lowest WF with the highest contribution from the blue WF part. In contrast, the spatially averaged WF based on total production was estimated to be 98,136 Mm3/year, 115,133 Mm3/year and 123,505 Mm3/year in 1997, 2007, and 2017, respectively. This gradual increase of WF due to an increase in total rice production will affect future water availability, particularly during the irrigation-intensive dry season. Exploratory spatial clustering identified the central-north region as a High-High clustered zone for WFblue– indicating a significant pressure on water resources. As a potential means of reducing this pressure, the feasibility of switching from Boro rice to wheat has been studied. The analyses will help policymakers adopt region-specific plans for crop-related water use to ensure food security, considering water resources sustainability as a prime intent.

Research on the Decoupling of Water Resources Utilization and Agricultural Economic Development in Gansu Province from the Perspective of Water Footprint.

Objectively evaluating the decoupling status of water resources utilization and economic development is an important sign of judging the sustainability of regional economic development. From the perspective of water footprint (WF), this paper expands the scope of water resources accounting by assessing agricultural blue WF, green WF and gray WF. The Tapio decoupling index was used to explore the decoupling status of agricultural WF and economic development in Gansu Province from 2006 to 2015, and the logarithmic mean divisor index (LMDI) decomposition model was used to identify the main driving factors of agricultural WF changes and explore the degree of divergence between agricultural economic development and water resources utilization. The results showed that agricultural economic growth was a main factor for the increase of WF; the improvement of agricultural production technology had a restraining effect, and the population effect and structural effect had a lesser effect. During the research period, the relationship between agricultural WF and economic growth in Gansu Province changed from weak decoupling to strong decoupling, and the contributing factors to decoupling were in descending order: economic, technological, structural and population. Finally, this paper puts forward suggestions on optimizing planting structure, improving agricultural technology and economic development mode to promote the sustainable development of local agriculture.

Environmental Sustainability of Water Footprint in Mainland China

Water footprint (WF) measures human appropriation of water resources for consumptive use of surface and ground water (blue WF) and soil water (green WF) and for assimilating polluted water (grey WF). Questions have been often asked about the exact meaning behind the numbers from WF accounting. However, to date environmental sustainability of WF has never been assessed at the sub-national level over time. This study evaluated the environmental sustainability of blue, green and grey WF for China's 31 mainland provinces in 2002, 2007 and 2012, and identified the unsustainable hotspots. Overall, the total WF increased by 30% between 2002 and 2012. The growth can be attributed to the increase of grey WF because the green and blue WF showed only a slight rise. Among all provinces investigated in 2012, eleven showed unsustainable blue WF (sustainability index SI<0), which were mainly located in the North China Plain. There were 12 provinces that displayed unsustainable green WF, and they were distributed in China's southern and southeastern areas. The grey WF was not sustainable in approximately two third of provinces (19), which were mainly located in China's middle and northern regions and Guangdong province. More than half of China's provinces showed trends of improved SI of green and blue WF from 2002 to 2012. However, the SI of grey WF decreased in almost two third of provinces. Poor levels of WF sustainability were due to water scarcity and pollution, which intensify the degradation of local rivers and ecosystems and make restoration more difficult. The results shed light on the policy making needed to improve sustainable water management, and ecological restoration of hotspot regions.

Decoupling Analysis of Water Footprint and Economic Growth: A Case Study of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region from 2004 to 2017.

The Beijing–Tianji–Hebei region (BTHR) is economically developed and densely populated, but its water resources are extremely scarce. A clear understanding of the decoupling relationship between water footprint and economic growth is conducive to facilitating and realizing the coordinated development of water resources and economic growth in this region. This study calculated the water footprint and other related indicators of BTHR from 2004 to 2017, and objectively evaluated the utilization of water resources in the region. Then, logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) method was applied to study the driving factors that resulted in the change of water footprint and their respective effects. Finally, Tapio decoupling model was used to research the decoupling relationships between water footprint and economic growth, and between the driving factors of water footprint and economic growth. There are three main results in this research. (1) The water utilization efficiency in BTHR continues to improve, and the water footprint shows a gradually increasing trend during the research period, among which the agricultural water footprint accounts for a relatively high proportion. (2) The change of water footprint can be attributed to efficiency effect, economic effect, and population effect. Furthermore, efficiency effect is the decisive factor of water footprint reduction and economic effect is the main factor of water footprint increase, while population effect plays a weak role in promoting the increase in water footprint. (3) The decoupling status between water footprint and economic growth show a weak decoupling in most years, while the status between water footprint intensity and economic growth always remains strong decoupling. Moreover, population size and economic growth always show an expansive coupling state. In sum, it is advisable for policy makers to improve water utilization efficiency, especially agricultural irrigation efficiency, to raise residents’ awareness of water conservation, and increase the import of water-intensive products, so as to alleviate water shortage and realize the coordinated development of water resources and economic growth in BTHR.

Holistic life cycle assessment of water reuse in a tourist-based community

Current trends point to tourism as a growing economic sector for many communities worldwide with possible environmental implications including water use. One solution for these communities is water reuse, which not only has been shown to minimize potable water consumption but also other environmental impacts. Therefore, this study is a life cycle assessment of the environmental impacts (carbon footprint, aquatic eutrophication, metals depletion, and water footprint) of four distinct water management scenarios in the Spanish tourism-dependent city of Lloret de Mar. One scenario is a business-as-usual scenario where hotels are completely dependent of potable water, while the other three scenarios (Decentralized, Hybrid, and Centralized) integrate water reuse (through varying degrees of centralization) in all hotels located in the city. Results show that the implementation of water reuse incurs net carbon footprint, metals depletion, and water footprint impacts, while there is a net benefit associated with marine eutrophication impacts. This is mainly due to the treatment technologies used for potable water and greywater/wastewater treatment for reuse. Comparing water reuse scenarios, an increasing degree of centralization is associated with lower carbon and water footprints. Finally, the notable increase in water footprint associated with water reuse highlights the importance of indirect water usage, in this case, due to the degree of hydroelectricity in the Spanish electricity mix as well as generalized water scarcity issues within Spain.

Examining China's water pressure from industrialization driven by consumption and export during 2002–2015

Water depletion and pollution caused by industrialization have become major environmental concerns worldwide, which are further complicated by the urbanization and globalization. China has become an industrial powerhouse for the world, and its industrial activities-induced water pressure is no longer negligible. This study investigates China's industrial water pressure from final consumption and international export based on water footprint (WF) and dynamic structure decomposition analysis (SDA). The industrial blue and gray WFs with respect to rural consumption, urban consumption, and export are accounted for 2002–2015, and an advanced dynamic SDA model is developed and applied to examining the evolving WFs with 9 socio-economic drivers quantified. Results show that China's water resources pressure is intensified due to the increase of total industrial blue WF (by 47.4%) for 2002–2015, whereas a mitigation of water environment pressure is suggested by the decreasing gray virtual water outflow and total internal gray WF (by 31.9% and 36.4%, respectively). The SDA demonstrates that export scale and urban consumption level are two major drivers of water situation deterioration, which accumulatively contribute 38.3% and 33.0% to the evolving blue and gray WFs, respectively. In contrast, technology development is the dominant contributor alleviating China's water pressure, with absolute contribution proportions of 38.9% and 56.5%, correspondingly. Based on these, export regulation, consumption pattern adjustment and technological innovation are recommended for water policy making. The methodology used in this study can be extended to diagnosing the water issues in other nations/regions as well.

Evolution of Chinese urban household's water footprint

In addition to quantity-induced water scarcity, China at present faces quality-induced water scarcity under the background of rapid urbanization and industrialization. Urban household consumption has significantly contributed to water consumption and pollutant emission. In this study, we use water footprint (WF), which includes water quantity and water quality (represented by blue WF and grey WF, respectively) to calculate the impact of urban household consumption on water resources. Multiple data sources, including the Water Resources Bulletin, China Environmental Statistical Yearbook, China Statistics Yearbook, and First Pollution Sources Census, among others, are considered. The results indicate that the per capita WF of urban household consumption has decreased from 1992 to 2012 in China mainly because of technological innovations. Food consumption contributes the most to the total WF of Chinese urban households. In terms of different income groups, a higher income likely leads to a larger WF. However, reducing the WF intensity may be insufficient for curbing the future increase in WFs. Food-related WF has already shown an increase since 2007 mainly because of the diet transition to animal-based food with larger WF. Thus, apart from technological innovations, measures need to be adopted to curb the consumption of goods with relatively larger WF and subsequently decrease the WF of Chinese urban households.

Seawater and water footprint in different cropping systems: A chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) case study

The world population is forecast to rise, needing a remarkable increase in food production. As agriculture is among the most water-demanding sectors, such augmentation could negatively affect water resource. Thus actions should be taken both to improve the water efficiency of current cropping systems and to seek alternative water sources for agriculture. The improvement of water efficiency in agriculture has been long investigated. Soilless culture, especially hydroponics, is characterized by a particular attention to the water resource. A different approach is represented by alternative water sources, i.e. seawater, considered as a realistic option in agriculture, either desalinized or blended with freshwater. This study compared the water footprint (WF) of the chicory crop (Cichorium intybus L. var. silvestre) grown in the following cropping systems: a conventional soilless system using freshwater (blue-hydroponics); conventional soil cultivation (blue-pots and open field); a soilless system integrated with a 10% share of seawater (sea-hydroponics); pots irrigated with a 10% share of seawater (sea-pots).By adding seawater to irrigation, we also introduced the "seawater footprint" concept, discussing the environmental implications of the provenience of the irrigation water. Our results showed a significant reduction in WF in both blue-hydroponic and sea-hydroponic (i.e. 64% and 75%, respectively) systems compared to soil cultivation with sea-hydroponics providing the best result in terms of biomass production and water saving. By contrast, sea-pots' performances in terms of WF were significantly lower (at P ≤ 0.05), with an increase of WF of 104% compared to open field cultivation. As the seawater share led to very different results in the two systems, it can be speculated that seawater is not the only reason for the sea-pots' poor performance. Nevertheless, the combination of poor results in terms of both biomass production and water saving and the detrimental effects of salinity on soil make the option of soil cropping with seawater unrealistic. However a controlled use of seawater in soilless culture could reduce, without any negative environmental concern, the freshwater withdrawal dedicated to food production. Moreover, our results also suggested a higher salt tolerance in hydroponic conditions compared to soil cultivation for the tested crop.

Quantifying the impact of climate change on crop yield and water footprint of rice in the Nam Oon Irrigation Project, Thailand

Northeast Thailand makes a significant contribution to fragrant and high-quality rice consumed within Thailand and exported to other countries. The majority of rice is produced in rainfed conditions while irrigation water is supplied to rice growers in the dry season. This paper quantifies the potential impact of climate change on the water footprint of rice production using the DSSAT (CERES-Rice) crop growth model for the Nam Oon Irrigation Project located in Northeast Thailand. Crop phenology data was obtained from field experiments and used to set up and validate the CERES-Rice model. The present and future water footprint of rice, the amount of water evaporated during the growing period, was calculated under current and future climatic condition for the irrigation project area. The outputs of three regional climate models (ACCESS-CSIRO-CCAM, CNRM-CM5-CSIRO-CCAM, and MPI-ESM-LR-CSIRO-CCAM) for scenarios RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 were downscaled using quantile mapping method. Simulation results show a considerably high increase in the water footprint of KDML-105 and RD-6 rice varieties ranging from 56.5 to 92.2% and 27.5 to 29.7%. respectively for the future period under RCP 4.5, and 71.4 to 76.5% and 27.9 to 37.6%, respectively under RCP 8.5 relative to the simulated baseline water footprint for the period 1976–2005. Conversely, the ChaiNat-1 variety shows a decrease in projected water footprint of 42.1 to 39.4% under RCP 4.5 and 38.5 to 31.7% under RCP 8.5. The results also indicate a huge increase in the future blue water footprint, which will consequently cause a high increment in the irrigation water requirement in order to meet the plant's evaporation demand. The research outcome highlights the importance of proper adaptation strategies to reduce or maintain acceptable water footprints under future climate conditions.

Future electricity: The challenge of reducing both carbon and water footprint

We estimate the consumptive water footprint (WF) of electricity and heat in 2035 for the four energy scenarios of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and a fifth scenario with a larger percentage of solar energy. Counter-intuitively, the ‘greenest’ IEA scenario (with the smallest carbon footprint) shows the largest WF increase over time: an increase by a factor four over the period 2010–2035. In 2010, electricity from solar, wind, and geothermal contributed 1.8% to the total. The increase of this contribution to 19.6% in IEA's ‘450 scenario’ contributes significantly to the decrease of the WF of the global electricity and heat sector, but is offset by the simultaneous increase of the use of firewood and hydropower. Only substantial growth in the fractions of energy sources with small WFs – solar, wind, and geothermal energy – can contribute to a lowering of the WF of the electricity and heat sector in the coming decades. The fifth energy scenario – adapted from the IEA 450 scenario but based on a quick transition to solar, wind and geothermal energy and a minimum in bio-energy – is the only scenario that shows a strong decline in both carbon footprint (−66%) and consumptive WF (−12%) in 2035 compared to the reference year 2010.

An input–output structural decomposition analysis of changes in sectoral water footprint in China

Policy evolution in China has made great achievements in economic development, while its impact on water has also been significant. This study provides detailed insight into how diverse policy evolution affected the water footprint (WF) in China from 1997 to 2007 through input–output analysis and structural decomposition analysis. Input–output analysis was used to measure China's WF. The results indicate that the total WF in China decreased from 495.5 billion m3 in 1997 to 447.6 billion m3 in 2007. Structural decomposition analysis was applied to quantify the determinants of the changes in WF. The driving factors of the WF changes were decomposed into technology, sectoral connection, economic structure, gross economic scale and population. The results show that the sector with the most space to save water changed from agriculture to tertiary industry during the periods under study. Technology and economic structure effects always offset the WF increase, whereas gross economic scale effect always hindered water conservation. In 2002–2005, the sectoral connection effect abruptly changed from negative to positive, with the proportion of the total contribution rising to 60%. This phenomenon can be linked to market expansion, which led to a decrease in water utilization when China joined the WTO in 2001. To promote water conservation in China, macro-control policies should be formulated in coordination with self-readjustment policies.

Incorporating water consumption into crop water footprint: A case study of China's South–North Water Diversion Project

The crop water footprint (WF) indicates the consumption of water for a crop during the planting period, mainly through evapotranspiration. However, as irrigated agriculture accounts for nearly 25% of the global agriculture water usage, evaluation of WF during transportation becomes essential to improve the efficiency of irrigated agriculture. This study aims at building an improved WF model to understand how much WF is produced due to water diversion and how much crop WF increases during the transfer. The proposed model is then used to calculate the WF of four major crops in five provinces along China's South–North Water Transfer Project in two steps. First, the WF of the water transfer project (WFeng) is assessed in a supply chain analysis method. Second, a WF allocation model is built to distribute the project WF for each crop/province. The results show that the evaporation and seepage are the main sources of WFeng. Out of five provinces, two namely Tianjin and Hebei present higher WFblue and WF increase. A positive correlation between water diversion distance and crop WF increase is noted. Among the four crops, cotton presents higher WFblue and WF increase. The crops with higher WFblue tend to be more strongly influenced by the water diversion project, due to high irrigation water dependency. This analysis may expand the WF concept from an evaporation-related term to a term reflecting crop biological processes and water consumption by artificial irrigation projects. Thus, it may serve as an indicator for optimizing future objectives and strategies associated to water resource planning in China and elsewhere.

Decomposition analysis of water footprint changes in a water-limited river basin: a case study of the Haihe River basin, China

Abstract. Decomposition analysis of water footprint (WF) changes, or assessing the changes in WF and identifying the contributions of factors leading to the changes, is important to water resource management. Instead of focusing on WF from the perspective of administrative regions, we built a framework in which the input-output (IO) model, the structural decomposition analysis (SDA) model and the generating regional IO tables (GRIT) method are combined to implement decomposition analysis for WF in a river basin. This framework is illustrated in the WF in Haihe River basin (HRB) from 2002 to 2007, which is a typical water-limited river basin. It shows that the total WF in the HRB increased from 4.3 × 1010 m3 in 2002 to 5.6 × 1010 m3 in 2007, and the agriculture sector makes the dominant contribution to the increase. Both the WF of domestic products (internal) and the WF of imported products (external) increased, and the proportion of external WF rose from 29.1 to 34.4%. The technological effect was the dominant contributor to offsetting the increase of WF. However, the growth of WF caused by the economic structural effect and the scale effect was greater, so the total WF increased. This study provides insights about water challenges in the HRB and proposes possible strategies for the future, and serves as a reference for WF management and policy-making in other water-limited river basins.