Large Scale Crop Water Footprint Evaluation Based on Remote Sensing Methods: A Case Study of Maize

Abstract Agriculture is the world's largest consumer of water resources, and accurate measurement of crop water footprint (CWF) can provide a scientific basis for evaluating the water use characteristics of agricultural production and guiding water management. The measurement of regional CWF re...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zheng Li, Shikun Sun, Jinfeng Zhao, Chong Li, Zihan Gao, Yali Yin, Yubao Wang, Pute Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023-07-01
Series:Water Resources Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032630
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849426673032757248
author Zheng Li
Shikun Sun
Jinfeng Zhao
Chong Li
Zihan Gao
Yali Yin
Yubao Wang
Pute Wu
author_facet Zheng Li
Shikun Sun
Jinfeng Zhao
Chong Li
Zihan Gao
Yali Yin
Yubao Wang
Pute Wu
author_sort Zheng Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Agriculture is the world's largest consumer of water resources, and accurate measurement of crop water footprint (CWF) can provide a scientific basis for evaluating the water use characteristics of agricultural production and guiding water management. The measurement of regional CWF requires large amounts of ground data, and remote sensing provides an effective means to scientifically measure the CWF on a large scale. In this study, we developed an effective means to estimate regional maize CWF based on global evapotranspiration (MOD16 and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS)‐Noah) products in China. And we also calculated the CWF based on the FAO Penman‐Monteith equation (FAO‐PM) on the site scale in China. We assessed the accuracy of these methods by comparing them against eight eddy‐covariance based flux tower measurements. Links and differences behind the results of the three water footprint calculations were analyzed in terms of the basic principles and characteristics of the calculations. The results showed that the CWF had a similar distribution based on the MOD16 and GLDAS‐Noah, reflecting the influence of regional soil moisture on the CWF. Computational rationale analysis of the three quantitative methods showed that the ETc‐based method from the FAO‐PM model was similar to the MOD16‐ and GLDAS‐Noah‐based CWF in the wetter areas, two remote sensing‐based methods considered the water constraints during soil evaporation and water dissipation during dry and wet canopy conditions, and were closer to reality than the ETc‐based methods in measuring the CWF in arid and semi‐arid regions.
format Article
id doaj-art-b19cfce1af4a4563ae8e55bc12322e6b
institution Kabale University
issn 0043-1397
1944-7973
language English
publishDate 2023-07-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Water Resources Research
spelling doaj-art-b19cfce1af4a4563ae8e55bc12322e6b2025-08-20T03:29:18ZengWileyWater Resources Research0043-13971944-79732023-07-01597n/an/a10.1029/2022WR032630Large Scale Crop Water Footprint Evaluation Based on Remote Sensing Methods: A Case Study of MaizeZheng Li0Shikun Sun1Jinfeng Zhao2Chong Li3Zihan Gao4Yali Yin5Yubao Wang6Pute Wu7Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas Ministry of Education Northwest A&F University Xianyang ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas Ministry of Education Northwest A&F University Xianyang ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas Ministry of Education Northwest A&F University Xianyang ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas Ministry of Education Northwest A&F University Xianyang ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas Ministry of Education Northwest A&F University Xianyang ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas Ministry of Education Northwest A&F University Xianyang ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas Ministry of Education Northwest A&F University Xianyang ChinaKey Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas Ministry of Education Northwest A&F University Xianyang ChinaAbstract Agriculture is the world's largest consumer of water resources, and accurate measurement of crop water footprint (CWF) can provide a scientific basis for evaluating the water use characteristics of agricultural production and guiding water management. The measurement of regional CWF requires large amounts of ground data, and remote sensing provides an effective means to scientifically measure the CWF on a large scale. In this study, we developed an effective means to estimate regional maize CWF based on global evapotranspiration (MOD16 and Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS)‐Noah) products in China. And we also calculated the CWF based on the FAO Penman‐Monteith equation (FAO‐PM) on the site scale in China. We assessed the accuracy of these methods by comparing them against eight eddy‐covariance based flux tower measurements. Links and differences behind the results of the three water footprint calculations were analyzed in terms of the basic principles and characteristics of the calculations. The results showed that the CWF had a similar distribution based on the MOD16 and GLDAS‐Noah, reflecting the influence of regional soil moisture on the CWF. Computational rationale analysis of the three quantitative methods showed that the ETc‐based method from the FAO‐PM model was similar to the MOD16‐ and GLDAS‐Noah‐based CWF in the wetter areas, two remote sensing‐based methods considered the water constraints during soil evaporation and water dissipation during dry and wet canopy conditions, and were closer to reality than the ETc‐based methods in measuring the CWF in arid and semi‐arid regions.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032630crop water footprintremote sensingevapotranspirationmechanism
spellingShingle Zheng Li
Shikun Sun
Jinfeng Zhao
Chong Li
Zihan Gao
Yali Yin
Yubao Wang
Pute Wu
Large Scale Crop Water Footprint Evaluation Based on Remote Sensing Methods: A Case Study of Maize
Water Resources Research
crop water footprint
remote sensing
evapotranspiration
mechanism
title Large Scale Crop Water Footprint Evaluation Based on Remote Sensing Methods: A Case Study of Maize
title_full Large Scale Crop Water Footprint Evaluation Based on Remote Sensing Methods: A Case Study of Maize
title_fullStr Large Scale Crop Water Footprint Evaluation Based on Remote Sensing Methods: A Case Study of Maize
title_full_unstemmed Large Scale Crop Water Footprint Evaluation Based on Remote Sensing Methods: A Case Study of Maize
title_short Large Scale Crop Water Footprint Evaluation Based on Remote Sensing Methods: A Case Study of Maize
title_sort large scale crop water footprint evaluation based on remote sensing methods a case study of maize
topic crop water footprint
remote sensing
evapotranspiration
mechanism
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR032630
work_keys_str_mv AT zhengli largescalecropwaterfootprintevaluationbasedonremotesensingmethodsacasestudyofmaize
AT shikunsun largescalecropwaterfootprintevaluationbasedonremotesensingmethodsacasestudyofmaize
AT jinfengzhao largescalecropwaterfootprintevaluationbasedonremotesensingmethodsacasestudyofmaize
AT chongli largescalecropwaterfootprintevaluationbasedonremotesensingmethodsacasestudyofmaize
AT zihangao largescalecropwaterfootprintevaluationbasedonremotesensingmethodsacasestudyofmaize
AT yaliyin largescalecropwaterfootprintevaluationbasedonremotesensingmethodsacasestudyofmaize
AT yubaowang largescalecropwaterfootprintevaluationbasedonremotesensingmethodsacasestudyofmaize
AT putewu largescalecropwaterfootprintevaluationbasedonremotesensingmethodsacasestudyofmaize