Assessment of winter wheat water‐saving potential in the groundwater overexploitation district of the North China Plain. (10th January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Yulin; Wang, Xiaohui; Ti, Jinsong; Lu, Zhou; Yin, Xiaogang; Chu, Qingquan; Lei, Yongdeng; Chen, Fu
• Is Part Of: Agronomy Journal. Volume 112:Number 1(2020)
• Page Start: 44
• Page End: 55
• Publication Date: 2020-01-10
• Subjects: Agronomy -- Periodicals; 630
• DOI: 10.1002/agj2.20041
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-1962

Abstract

Abstract: Water resources are the largest limiting factors for wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) production in the North China Plain (NCP). Irrigation used in wheat production has caused a reduction in the groundwater table and aggravated regional water scarcity. In this research, we analyzed the spatiotemporal changes in winter wheat cropping area and water balance during the winter wheat growing season in the groundwater overexploitation district (GOD) from 1985 to 2015. Focusing on typical districts, we set different optimized cropping scenes and estimated water‐saving potential based on current national policy (fallow planting area and reduce irrigation events). The winter wheat area increased in the GOD during the past 30 yr, especially in deep overexploitation area (DOA). There was a slight decrease in shallow overexploitation area (SOA) but a slight increase in the mixed area (MA). The winter wheat area was more concentrated in DOA during the past 30 yr. Lower precipitation, higher crop evapotranspiration (ETc), and higher evapotranspiration of applied water (ETaw) occurred in the GOD than in other areas in the NCP. We set optimized planting scenes that fallow 10% cultivated area in DOA and 5% in MA while reducing one irrigation event in the whole area. Results showed that the water‐saving potential in GOD could reach 14.09 billion m 3 with 4.54 Tg yield lost. This research can help us better understand the influence of winter wheat production on groundwater overexploitation and is useful for the government to develop and extend ongoing adaptation strategies for coping with groundwater overexploitation events.