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...
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/357 |
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| author | Di Zhang Dongxiao Li Haoran Li Hongguang Wang Jinna Liu Hui Ju William D. Batchelor Ruiqi Li Yanming Li |
| author_facet | Di Zhang Dongxiao Li Haoran Li Hongguang Wang Jinna Liu Hui Ju William D. Batchelor Ruiqi Li Yanming Li |
| author_sort | Di Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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<sup>−1</sup>. Water-saving irrigation with 300 kg ha<sup>−1</sup> 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:50:34Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:50:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-a31f76d8923f4d9cad78c0639b495dac2023-11-23T18:20:36ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-01-0112235710.3390/agronomy12020357Strategies to Reduce Crop Water Footprint in Intensive Wheat-Maize Rotations in North China PlainDi Zhang0Dongxiao Li1Haoran Li2Hongguang Wang3Jinna Liu4Hui Ju5William D. Batchelor6Ruiqi Li7Yanming Li8State Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Crop Growth Regulation of Hebei Province, College of Agronomy, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Crop Growth Regulation of Hebei Province, College of Agronomy, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Crop Growth Regulation of Hebei Province, College of Agronomy, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Crop Growth Regulation of Hebei Province, College of Agronomy, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaDepartment of Biological Engineering, Yangling Vocational & Technical College, Xianyang 712000, ChinaInstitute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing 100081, ChinaBiosystems Engineering Department, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36830, USAState Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Crop Growth Regulation of Hebei Province, College of Agronomy, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaState Key Laboratory of North China Crop Improvement and Regulation, Key Laboratory of Crop Growth Regulation of Hebei Province, College of Agronomy, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, ChinaThe 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<sup>−1</sup>. Water-saving irrigation with 300 kg ha<sup>−1</sup> 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/357water footprintwinter wheatsummer maizerotationDSSAT model |
| spellingShingle | Di Zhang Dongxiao Li Haoran Li Hongguang Wang Jinna Liu Hui Ju William D. Batchelor Ruiqi Li Yanming Li Strategies to Reduce Crop Water Footprint in Intensive Wheat-Maize Rotations in North China Plain Agronomy water footprint winter wheat summer maize rotation DSSAT model |
| title | Strategies to Reduce Crop Water Footprint in Intensive Wheat-Maize Rotations in North China Plain |
| title_full | Strategies to Reduce Crop Water Footprint in Intensive Wheat-Maize Rotations in North China Plain |
| title_fullStr | Strategies to Reduce Crop Water Footprint in Intensive Wheat-Maize Rotations in North China Plain |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strategies to Reduce Crop Water Footprint in Intensive Wheat-Maize Rotations in North China Plain |
| title_short | Strategies to Reduce Crop Water Footprint in Intensive Wheat-Maize Rotations in North China Plain |
| title_sort | strategies to reduce crop water footprint in intensive wheat maize rotations in north china plain |
| topic | water footprint winter wheat summer maize rotation DSSAT model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/2/357 |
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