Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin Irrigation District of China
Irrigation water is the main type of water consumption in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district of Xinjiang, which is an oasis-type irrigation district in the arid region of Northwest China. With the continuous expansion of cultivated areas, there is an increasing demand for irrigation water, resultin...
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/12/2990 |
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| author | Huan Cheng Dengfeng Liu Guanghui Ming Fiaz Hussain Lan Ma Qiang Huang Xianmeng Meng |
| author_facet | Huan Cheng Dengfeng Liu Guanghui Ming Fiaz Hussain Lan Ma Qiang Huang Xianmeng Meng |
| author_sort | Huan Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Irrigation water is the main type of water consumption in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district of Xinjiang, which is an oasis-type irrigation district in the arid region of Northwest China. With the continuous expansion of cultivated areas, there is an increasing demand for irrigation water, resulting in an irrigation efficiency paradox and the phenomenon of “the more water-saving, the more water-scarce”. In this study, the water balance method and the improved IWMI (International Water Management Institute) water balance method were used with remote sensing and statistical data from 1980 to 2020 to analyze the changes in the irrigation water supply, consumption, and loss for improvement in irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) in the Yanqi Basin. The results showed that there was an upward trend in the cultivated land area in the irrigation district of Yanqi Basin, as monitored with remote sensing from 1980 to 2020, and the values from the remote sensing data were higher than those from the yearbooks. According to the remote sensing data, the arable land area in the irrigation district increased from 1672 km<sup>2</sup> in 1980 to 2494 km<sup>2</sup> in 2020, thus showing a trend of expansion. The traditional water use efficiency in the irrigation district showed an increasing trend. The lowest value for the field water-use coefficient was 0.70 in 1998, and it exceeded to 0.81 from 2009 to 2020. The canal water-use coefficient was as low as 0.50 in 1998 and increased from 0.54 in 2009 to 0.82 in 2020. The irrigation water-use coefficient increased from 0.35 in 1998 to 0.68 in 2020, with a general upward trend. In this study, the water consumption ratio indicator D<sub>Fg</sub> (depleted fraction), determined using the improved water balance method, increased from 0.8390 in 1980 to 0.8562 in 2020, although it showed an overall decreasing trend, and the average was 0.8436. Cultivated land’s actual irrigation water consumption per unit area reached the highest value of 8.41 × 10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/hm<sup>2</sup>/a in 2011 and the minimum value of 4.01 × 10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/hm<sup>2</sup>/a in 2020, and from 1980 to 2020 it showed a decreasing trend, while the total water diversion showed an increasing trend due to the continuous expansion of arable land. From 1980 to 2020, water diversion into the irrigation district changed from 1.214 km<sup>3</sup> to 1.000 km<sup>3</sup>, and it reached a maximum of 1.593 km<sup>3</sup> in 2000; water diversion into the irrigation district showed an overall upward trend. The positive impact of the post-2000 water conservation phase with the adaptation of water-saving irrigation technology was clear, as the findings showed an increase in IWUE in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district. These results provide a theoretical basis for breaking the paradox of irrigation efficiency, which can be used in the water resource management of irrigation districts. |
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| spelling | doaj.art-0e3d57a544a44393a22e3ce1ccbe60922023-12-22T13:46:35ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952023-12-011312299010.3390/agronomy13122990Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin Irrigation District of ChinaHuan Cheng0Dengfeng Liu1Guanghui Ming2Fiaz Hussain3Lan Ma4Qiang Huang5Xianmeng Meng6State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, School of Water Resources and Hydropower, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, School of Water Resources and Hydropower, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaKey Laboratory of Water Management and Water Security for Yellow River Basin, Ministry of Water Resources, Yellow River Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou 450003, ChinaDepartment of Land and Water Conservation Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi 46300, PakistanState Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, School of Water Resources and Hydropower, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, School of Water Resources and Hydropower, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, ChinaSchool of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, ChinaIrrigation water is the main type of water consumption in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district of Xinjiang, which is an oasis-type irrigation district in the arid region of Northwest China. With the continuous expansion of cultivated areas, there is an increasing demand for irrigation water, resulting in an irrigation efficiency paradox and the phenomenon of “the more water-saving, the more water-scarce”. In this study, the water balance method and the improved IWMI (International Water Management Institute) water balance method were used with remote sensing and statistical data from 1980 to 2020 to analyze the changes in the irrigation water supply, consumption, and loss for improvement in irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) in the Yanqi Basin. The results showed that there was an upward trend in the cultivated land area in the irrigation district of Yanqi Basin, as monitored with remote sensing from 1980 to 2020, and the values from the remote sensing data were higher than those from the yearbooks. According to the remote sensing data, the arable land area in the irrigation district increased from 1672 km<sup>2</sup> in 1980 to 2494 km<sup>2</sup> in 2020, thus showing a trend of expansion. The traditional water use efficiency in the irrigation district showed an increasing trend. The lowest value for the field water-use coefficient was 0.70 in 1998, and it exceeded to 0.81 from 2009 to 2020. The canal water-use coefficient was as low as 0.50 in 1998 and increased from 0.54 in 2009 to 0.82 in 2020. The irrigation water-use coefficient increased from 0.35 in 1998 to 0.68 in 2020, with a general upward trend. In this study, the water consumption ratio indicator D<sub>Fg</sub> (depleted fraction), determined using the improved water balance method, increased from 0.8390 in 1980 to 0.8562 in 2020, although it showed an overall decreasing trend, and the average was 0.8436. Cultivated land’s actual irrigation water consumption per unit area reached the highest value of 8.41 × 10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/hm<sup>2</sup>/a in 2011 and the minimum value of 4.01 × 10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/hm<sup>2</sup>/a in 2020, and from 1980 to 2020 it showed a decreasing trend, while the total water diversion showed an increasing trend due to the continuous expansion of arable land. From 1980 to 2020, water diversion into the irrigation district changed from 1.214 km<sup>3</sup> to 1.000 km<sup>3</sup>, and it reached a maximum of 1.593 km<sup>3</sup> in 2000; water diversion into the irrigation district showed an overall upward trend. The positive impact of the post-2000 water conservation phase with the adaptation of water-saving irrigation technology was clear, as the findings showed an increase in IWUE in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district. These results provide a theoretical basis for breaking the paradox of irrigation efficiency, which can be used in the water resource management of irrigation districts.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/12/2990Yanqi Basin irrigation districtwater-saving irrigationirrigation efficiency paradoxwater balancewater use efficiency |
| spellingShingle | Huan Cheng Dengfeng Liu Guanghui Ming Fiaz Hussain Lan Ma Qiang Huang Xianmeng Meng Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin Irrigation District of China Agronomy Yanqi Basin irrigation district water-saving irrigation irrigation efficiency paradox water balance water use efficiency |
| title | Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin Irrigation District of China |
| title_full | Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin Irrigation District of China |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin Irrigation District of China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin Irrigation District of China |
| title_short | Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin Irrigation District of China |
| title_sort | evaluation of water balance and water use efficiency with the development of water saving irrigation in the yanqi basin irrigation district of china |
| topic | Yanqi Basin irrigation district water-saving irrigation irrigation efficiency paradox water balance water use efficiency |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/13/12/2990 |
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