Impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the Zishui River Basin, Southern China
Recent declines in the rice Multiple Cropping Index (MCI) have reshaped grain production and water dynamics across Southern China, yet their effects on production stability and watershed hydrology, particularly in subtropical hilly regions, remain insufficiently studied. To address this, we extracte...
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Agricultural Water Management |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002860 |
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| author | Chengcheng Yuan Xinlin Li Yufeng Wu Gary W. Marek Srinivasulu Ale Raghavan Srinivasan Yong Chen |
| author_facet | Chengcheng Yuan Xinlin Li Yufeng Wu Gary W. Marek Srinivasulu Ale Raghavan Srinivasan Yong Chen |
| author_sort | Chengcheng Yuan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent declines in the rice Multiple Cropping Index (MCI) have reshaped grain production and water dynamics across Southern China, yet their effects on production stability and watershed hydrology, particularly in subtropical hilly regions, remain insufficiently studied. To address this, we extracted the current rice cropping structure in the Zishui River Basin (ZRB), Hunan Province, leveraging high-resolution Remote Sensing (RS) data. A planting suitability evaluation system for double cropping rice was developed by integrating climatic, soil, and site conditions through an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS overlay. Based on these inputs, alternative rice cropping scenarios were simulated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to evaluate changes in hydrology and yield. The current rice planting scenario (S0) included 27.4 % single and 72.6 % double cropping areas, while 81.5 % of paddy fields were suitable for double cropping. The SWAT model, parameterized with RS-derived structures, achieved excellent streamflow simulation, with a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.86 and 0.88 during calibration and validation periods, and percent bias (PBIAS) of 4.5 % and 3.1 %, respectively. Simulation results indicated that the optimized rice planting structure (S3) enhanced rice yield with minimal hydrological impacts. Compared to S0, S3 increased irrigation, evapotranspiration, percolation, and rice yield by 4.8 %, 1.4 %, 5.5 %, and 4.0 %, respectively, while full double cropping scenario (S2) achieved an 11.0 % yield increase but raised irrigation demand by 11.2 %. The opposite results were found for full single cropping rice scenario (S1). This study demonstrates RS-coupled watershed modeling as a robust framework for optimizing rice cropping systems and promoting sustainable agriculture in subtropical hilly regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1dea7ee611ea45bbaf93df5f9b8a0e60 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1873-2283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agricultural Water Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-1dea7ee611ea45bbaf93df5f9b8a0e602025-08-20T03:08:54ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-07-0131610957210.1016/j.agwat.2025.109572Impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the Zishui River Basin, Southern ChinaChengcheng Yuan0Xinlin Li1Yufeng Wu2Gary W. Marek3Srinivasulu Ale4Raghavan Srinivasan5Yong Chen6College of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaUSDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX 79012, USATexas A&M AgriLife Research (Texas A&M University System), Vernon, TX 76384, USADepartment of Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USACollege of Land Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Corresponding author.Recent declines in the rice Multiple Cropping Index (MCI) have reshaped grain production and water dynamics across Southern China, yet their effects on production stability and watershed hydrology, particularly in subtropical hilly regions, remain insufficiently studied. To address this, we extracted the current rice cropping structure in the Zishui River Basin (ZRB), Hunan Province, leveraging high-resolution Remote Sensing (RS) data. A planting suitability evaluation system for double cropping rice was developed by integrating climatic, soil, and site conditions through an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS overlay. Based on these inputs, alternative rice cropping scenarios were simulated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to evaluate changes in hydrology and yield. The current rice planting scenario (S0) included 27.4 % single and 72.6 % double cropping areas, while 81.5 % of paddy fields were suitable for double cropping. The SWAT model, parameterized with RS-derived structures, achieved excellent streamflow simulation, with a Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) of 0.86 and 0.88 during calibration and validation periods, and percent bias (PBIAS) of 4.5 % and 3.1 %, respectively. Simulation results indicated that the optimized rice planting structure (S3) enhanced rice yield with minimal hydrological impacts. Compared to S0, S3 increased irrigation, evapotranspiration, percolation, and rice yield by 4.8 %, 1.4 %, 5.5 %, and 4.0 %, respectively, while full double cropping scenario (S2) achieved an 11.0 % yield increase but raised irrigation demand by 11.2 %. The opposite results were found for full single cropping rice scenario (S1). This study demonstrates RS-coupled watershed modeling as a robust framework for optimizing rice cropping systems and promoting sustainable agriculture in subtropical hilly regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002860Multiple cropping indexPlanting suitability evaluationRemote sensingSWAT |
| spellingShingle | Chengcheng Yuan Xinlin Li Yufeng Wu Gary W. Marek Srinivasulu Ale Raghavan Srinivasan Yong Chen Impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the Zishui River Basin, Southern China Agricultural Water Management Multiple cropping index Planting suitability evaluation Remote sensing SWAT |
| title | Impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the Zishui River Basin, Southern China |
| title_full | Impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the Zishui River Basin, Southern China |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the Zishui River Basin, Southern China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the Zishui River Basin, Southern China |
| title_short | Impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the Zishui River Basin, Southern China |
| title_sort | impacts of change in multiple cropping index of rice on hydrological components and grain production in the zishui river basin southern china |
| topic | Multiple cropping index Planting suitability evaluation Remote sensing SWAT |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002860 |
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