IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v281y2023ics037837742300104x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Climate change impacts on regional agricultural irrigation water use in semi-arid environments

Author

Listed:
  • Tian, Xin
  • Dong, Jianzhi
  • Jin, Shuangyan
  • He, Hai
  • Yin, Hao
  • Chen, Xi

Abstract

Agricultural irrigation water is essential for global food production. Climate change may significantly increase future atmosphere evaporative demand, which can further intensify local water stress, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. In this study, we investigate climate change impacts on future irrigation water use (IWU) change, with a focus on a semi-arid (Zhangye) region in Northwest China. Specifically, this approach estimates crop water demand using Penman-Monteith-[CO2] equation which is modified to account for atmospheric CO2 concentration impacts. The IWU is then calculated as the difference between crop water demand and effective precipitation. This approach is validated using observed IWU. Combined with climate projections from eight Earth System Models (ESMs), future (up to 2100) IWU changes under different CO2 emission scenarios are evaluated. Results demonstrate that our Penman-Monteith-[CO2] approach is robust in IWU estimation, with a relative error of 2.4% during the validation period of 2015–2020. In the medium emission scenario (SSP245), IWU has a significant increasing trend of 1.4×105 m3/yr during 2021–2100, which is mainly attributed to the increased future atmospheric evaporation demand. Interestingly, IWU presents a decreasing trend of − 1.3×105 m3/yr for the high emission scenario (SSP585). This is because strongly elevated CO2 concentration levels can substantially increase crop water use efficiency – leading to reduced IWU, and this impact outweighs the increased atmospheric evaporation demand in the SSP585 scenario. Therefore, our study suggests that future IWU change is determined by both climate change and crop responses to atmospheric CO2 concentration. Finally, we highlight that adjusting crop patterns can reduce both the IWU mean and variation changes, which can potentially alleviate local water stress.

Suggested Citation

  • Tian, Xin & Dong, Jianzhi & Jin, Shuangyan & He, Hai & Yin, Hao & Chen, Xi, 2023. "Climate change impacts on regional agricultural irrigation water use in semi-arid environments," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:281:y:2023:i:c:s037837742300104x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108239
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837742300104X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108239?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jianzhi Dong & Fangni Lei & Wade T. Crow, 2022. "Land transpiration-evaporation partitioning errors responsible for modeled summertime warm bias in the central United States," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Kimberly A. Novick & Darren L. Ficklin & Paul C. Stoy & Christopher A. Williams & Gil Bohrer & A. Christopher Oishi & Shirley A. Papuga & Peter D. Blanken & Asko Noormets & Benjamin N. Sulman & Russel, 2016. "The increasing importance of atmospheric demand for ecosystem water and carbon fluxes," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(11), pages 1023-1027, November.
    3. Yuting Yang & Michael L. Roderick & Shulei Zhang & Tim R. McVicar & Randall J. Donohue, 2019. "Hydrologic implications of vegetation response to elevated CO2 in climate projections," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 44-48, January.
    4. Zhao, Wenzhi & Liu, Bing & Zhang, Zhihui, 2010. "Water requirements of maize in the middle Heihe River basin, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 215-223, February.
    5. Jonathan A. Foley & Navin Ramankutty & Kate A. Brauman & Emily S. Cassidy & James S. Gerber & Matt Johnston & Nathaniel D. Mueller & Christine O’Connell & Deepak K. Ray & Paul C. West & Christian Balz, 2011. "Solutions for a cultivated planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 478(7369), pages 337-342, October.
    6. Delphine Deryng & Joshua Elliott & Christian Folberth & Christoph Müller & Thomas A. M. Pugh & Kenneth J. Boote & Declan Conway & Alex C. Ruane & Dieter Gerten & James W. Jones & Nikolay Khabarov & St, 2016. "Regional disparities in the beneficial effects of rising CO2 concentrations on crop water productivity," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(8), pages 786-790, August.
    7. Sebastiaan Luyssaert & Mathilde Jammet & Paul C. Stoy & Stephan Estel & Julia Pongratz & Eric Ceschia & Galina Churkina & Axel Don & KarlHeinz Erb & Morgan Ferlicoq & Bert Gielen & Thomas Grünwald & R, 2014. "Land management and land-cover change have impacts of similar magnitude on surface temperature," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(5), pages 389-393, May.
    8. Trevor F. Keenan & David Y. Hollinger & Gil Bohrer & Danilo Dragoni & J. William Munger & Hans Peter Schmid & Andrew D. Richardson, 2013. "Increase in forest water-use efficiency as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations rise," Nature, Nature, vol. 499(7458), pages 324-327, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lekarkar, Katoria & Nkwasa, Albert & Villani, Lorenzo & van Griensven, Ann, 2024. "Localizing agricultural impacts of 21st century climate pathways in data scarce catchments: A case study of the Nyando catchment, Kenya," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    2. Irene Palazzoli & Gianluca Lelli & Serena Ceola, 2024. "Land Cover and Spatial Distribution of Surface Water Loss Hotspots in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-21, September.
    3. Dang, Chiheng & Zhang, Hongbo & Yao, Congcong & Mu, Dengrui & Lyu, Fengguang & Zhang, Yu & Zhang, Shuqi, 2024. "IWRAM: A hybrid model for irrigation water demand forecasting to quantify the impacts of climate change," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shan Jiang & Jian Zhou & Guojie Wang & Qigen Lin & Ziyan Chen & Yanjun Wang & Buda Su, 2022. "Cropland Exposed to Drought Is Overestimated without Considering the CO 2 Effect in the Arid Climatic Region of China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Yao Zhang & Pierre Gentine & Xiangzhong Luo & Xu Lian & Yanlan Liu & Sha Zhou & Anna M. Michalak & Wu Sun & Joshua B. Fisher & Shilong Piao & Trevor F. Keenan, 2022. "Increasing sensitivity of dryland vegetation greenness to precipitation due to rising atmospheric CO2," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-9, December.
    3. Gao, Yukun & Zhao, Hongfang & Zhao, Chuang & Hu, Guohua & Zhang, Han & Liu, Xue & Li, Nan & Hou, Haiyan & Li, Xia, 2022. "Spatial and temporal variations of maize and wheat yield gaps and their relationships with climate in China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    4. David L. Miller & Sebastian Wolf & Joshua B. Fisher & Benjamin F. Zaitchik & Jingfeng Xiao & Trevor F. Keenan, 2023. "Increased photosynthesis during spring drought in energy-limited ecosystems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Haoshan Wei & Yongqiang Zhang & Qi Huang & Francis H. S. Chiew & Jinkai Luan & Jun Xia & Changming Liu, 2024. "Direct vegetation response to recent CO2 rise shows limited effect on global streamflow," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    6. Yao, Yuxia & Liao, Xingliang & Xiao, Junlan & He, Qiulan & Shi, Weiyu, 2023. "The sensitivity of maize evapotranspiration to vapor pressure deficit and soil moisture with lagged effects under extreme drought in Southwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    7. Rommel, Jens & Anggraini, Eva, 2018. "Spatially explicit framed field experiments on ecosystem services governance," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(PB), pages 201-205.
    8. Ascui, Francisco & Ball, Alex & Kahn, Lewis & Rowe, James, 2021. "Is operationalising natural capital risk assessment practicable?," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    9. Meike Weltin & Silke Hüttel, 2023. "Sustainable Intensification Farming as an Enabler for Farm Eco-Efficiency?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(1), pages 315-342, January.
    10. Ning Chen & Yifei Zhang & Fenghui Yuan & Changchun Song & Mingjie Xu & Qingwei Wang & Guangyou Hao & Tao Bao & Yunjiang Zuo & Jianzhao Liu & Tao Zhang & Yanyu Song & Li Sun & Yuedong Guo & Hao Zhang &, 2023. "Warming-induced vapor pressure deficit suppression of vegetation growth diminished in northern peatlands," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    11. Law, Elizabeth A. & Macchi, Leandro & Baumann, Matthias & Decarre, Julieta & Gavier-Pizarro, Gregorio & Levers, Christian & Mastrangelo, Matías E. & Murray, Francisco & Müller, Daniel & Piquer-Rodrígu, 2021. "Fading opportunities for mitigating agriculture-environment trade-offs in a south American deforestation hotspot," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 262.
    12. Gong, Ziqian & Baker, Justin S. & Wade, Christopher M. & Havlík, Petr, 2024. "Irrigation intensification in U.S. agriculture under climate change – an adaptation mechanism or trade-induced response?," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343581, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Ongolo, Symphorien & Giessen, Lukas & Karsenty, Alain & Tchamba, Martin & Krott, Max, 2021. "Forestland policies and politics in Africa: Recent evidence and new challenges," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    14. Marcela Prokopová & Luca Salvati & Gianluca Egidi & Ondřej Cudlín & Renata Včeláková & Radek Plch & Pavel Cudlín, 2019. "Envisioning Present and Future Land-Use Change under Varying Ecological Regimes and Their Influence on Landscape Stability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-24, August.
    15. Li, Sien & Kang, Shaozhong & Zhang, Lu & Du, Taisheng & Tong, Ling & Ding, Risheng & Guo, Weihua & Zhao, Peng & Chen, Xia & Xiao, Huan, 2015. "Ecosystem water use efficiency for a sparse vineyard in arid northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 24-33.
    16. James J Elser & Timothy J Elser & Stephen R Carpenter & William A Brock, 2014. "Regime Shift in Fertilizer Commodities Indicates More Turbulence Ahead for Food Security," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(5), pages 1-7, May.
    17. Islam, AFM Tariqul & Islam, AKM Saiful & Islam, GM Tarekul & Bala, Sujit Kumar & Salehin, Mashfiqus & Choudhury, Apurba Kanti & Dey, Nepal C. & Hossain, Akbar, 2022. "Adaptation strategies to increase water productivity of wheat under changing climate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    18. Vogel, Everton & Martinelli, Gabrielli & Artuzo, Felipe Dalzotto, 2021. "Environmental and economic performance of paddy field-based crop-livestock systems in Southern Brazil," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    19. Abdulai, Issaka & Hoffmann, Munir P. & Jassogne, Laurence & Asare, Richard & Graefe, Sophie & Tao, Hsiao-Hang & Muilerman, Sander & Vaast, Philippe & Van Asten, Piet & Läderach, Peter & Rötter, Reimun, 2020. "Variations in yield gaps of smallholder cocoa systems and the main determining factors along a climate gradient in Ghana," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    20. Qian Sun & Mingjie Wu & Peiyu Du & Wei Qi & Xinyang Yu, 2022. "Spatial Layout Optimization and Simulation of Cultivated Land Based on the Life Community Theory in a Mountainous and Hilly Area of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-15, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:281:y:2023:i:c:s037837742300104x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.