A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States
Green water is vital for the terrestrial ecosystem, but water resource assessment often focuses on blue water. In this study, we estimated green water availability for major crops (i.e., corn, soybean, and wheat) and all other users (e.g., forest, grassland, and ecosystem services) at the county lev...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-02-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/2/148 |
| _version_ | 1811256240201793536 |
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| author | Hui Xu May Wu |
| author_facet | Hui Xu May Wu |
| author_sort | Hui Xu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Green water is vital for the terrestrial ecosystem, but water resource assessment often focuses on blue water. In this study, we estimated green water availability for major crops (i.e., corn, soybean, and wheat) and all other users (e.g., forest, grassland, and ecosystem services) at the county level in the United States. We estimated green water resources from effective rain (ER) using three different methods: Smith, U.S. Department of Agriculture—Soil Conservation Service (USDA-SCS), and the NHD plus V2 dataset. The analysis illustrates that, if green water meets all crop water demands, the fraction of green water resources available to all other users varies significantly across regions, from the Northern Plains (0.71) to the Southeast (0.98). At the county level, this fraction varies from 0.23 to 1.0. Green water resources estimated using the three different ER methods present diverse spatiotemporal distribution patterns across regions, which could affect green water availability estimates. The water availability index for green water (WAI_R) was measured taking into account crop water demand and green water resources aggregated at the county level. Beyond these parameters, WAI_R also depends on the precipitation pattern, crop type and spatially differentiated regions. In addition, seasonal analysis indicated that WAI_R is sensitive to the temporal boundary of the analysis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:37:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e3cbd2e95b31488d95ed8769e1fbc38a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:37:08Z |
| publishDate | 2018-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-e3cbd2e95b31488d95ed8769e1fbc38a2022-12-22T03:22:57ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412018-02-0110214810.3390/w10020148w10020148A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United StatesHui Xu0May Wu1Energy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave, Lemont, IL 60439, USAEnergy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave, Lemont, IL 60439, USAGreen water is vital for the terrestrial ecosystem, but water resource assessment often focuses on blue water. In this study, we estimated green water availability for major crops (i.e., corn, soybean, and wheat) and all other users (e.g., forest, grassland, and ecosystem services) at the county level in the United States. We estimated green water resources from effective rain (ER) using three different methods: Smith, U.S. Department of Agriculture—Soil Conservation Service (USDA-SCS), and the NHD plus V2 dataset. The analysis illustrates that, if green water meets all crop water demands, the fraction of green water resources available to all other users varies significantly across regions, from the Northern Plains (0.71) to the Southeast (0.98). At the county level, this fraction varies from 0.23 to 1.0. Green water resources estimated using the three different ER methods present diverse spatiotemporal distribution patterns across regions, which could affect green water availability estimates. The water availability index for green water (WAI_R) was measured taking into account crop water demand and green water resources aggregated at the county level. Beyond these parameters, WAI_R also depends on the precipitation pattern, crop type and spatially differentiated regions. In addition, seasonal analysis indicated that WAI_R is sensitive to the temporal boundary of the analysis.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/2/148green water availabilityeffective raincrop water demandwater resources |
| spellingShingle | Hui Xu May Wu A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States Water green water availability effective rain crop water demand water resources |
| title | A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States |
| title_full | A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States |
| title_fullStr | A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States |
| title_short | A First Estimation of County-Based Green Water Availability and Its Implications for Agriculture and Bioenergy Production in the United States |
| title_sort | first estimation of county based green water availability and its implications for agriculture and bioenergy production in the united states |
| topic | green water availability effective rain crop water demand water resources |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/2/148 |
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