The biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in China’s drylands
Irrigation is critical for food production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, and it has complex and interactive effects on local climate, evapotranspiration, and crop growth. Here, we used satellite remote sensing data and statistical models to quantify the biophysical effects of irrigation...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Agricultural Water Management |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001854 |
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| author | Shuangshuang Zi Yan Li Jingwen Zhang Chengcheng Hou Huiqing Lin Zhengjie Xu Shan Sang Jinwei Dong Bojie Fu |
| author_facet | Shuangshuang Zi Yan Li Jingwen Zhang Chengcheng Hou Huiqing Lin Zhengjie Xu Shan Sang Jinwei Dong Bojie Fu |
| author_sort | Shuangshuang Zi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Irrigation is critical for food production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, and it has complex and interactive effects on local climate, evapotranspiration, and crop growth. Here, we used satellite remote sensing data and statistical models to quantify the biophysical effects of irrigation on land surface temperature (LST), evapotranspiration (ET), crop greenness, and crop yield effects and their spatiotemporal changes in China’s drylands. Results show that during 2001–2012, irrigation in China's drylands led to a significant cooling in daytime LST (-0.52 °C), a weak cooling in nighttime LST (-0.14 °C), and increases in ET (+0.16 mm/d), crop greenness (+0.02) and maize yields (+3.4 ton/ha; 55 %) compared with rainfed croplands. The spatial variations of these irrigation effects were in synergy, driven by irrigation water use and climate conditions, with greater effects in the dry regions with higher irrigation intensity. Temporally, the irrigation cooling effects gradually weakened from 2001 to 2020 (0.08 °C), while the enhanced effects on ET (+0.062 mm/d), crop greenness (+0.006) and maize yields (+720 kg/ha) were still increasing. These divergent changes were mainly driven by declined irrigation water use and increased irrigation water productivity due to adopting water-saving irrigation technologies. This study improves our understanding of the irrigation effects and their responses to changing irrigation practices and climate in water-limited regions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b1ed613119c34099a6c2f1178ccd5ebb |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1873-2283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agricultural Water Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-b1ed613119c34099a6c2f1178ccd5ebb2025-08-20T02:13:59ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-05-0131310947110.1016/j.agwat.2025.109471The biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in China’s drylandsShuangshuang Zi0Yan Li1Jingwen Zhang2Chengcheng Hou3Huiqing Lin4Zhengjie Xu5Shan Sang6Jinwei Dong7Bojie Fu8State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.School of Civil Engineering, Center of Water Resources and Environment, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaIrrigation is critical for food production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, and it has complex and interactive effects on local climate, evapotranspiration, and crop growth. Here, we used satellite remote sensing data and statistical models to quantify the biophysical effects of irrigation on land surface temperature (LST), evapotranspiration (ET), crop greenness, and crop yield effects and their spatiotemporal changes in China’s drylands. Results show that during 2001–2012, irrigation in China's drylands led to a significant cooling in daytime LST (-0.52 °C), a weak cooling in nighttime LST (-0.14 °C), and increases in ET (+0.16 mm/d), crop greenness (+0.02) and maize yields (+3.4 ton/ha; 55 %) compared with rainfed croplands. The spatial variations of these irrigation effects were in synergy, driven by irrigation water use and climate conditions, with greater effects in the dry regions with higher irrigation intensity. Temporally, the irrigation cooling effects gradually weakened from 2001 to 2020 (0.08 °C), while the enhanced effects on ET (+0.062 mm/d), crop greenness (+0.006) and maize yields (+720 kg/ha) were still increasing. These divergent changes were mainly driven by declined irrigation water use and increased irrigation water productivity due to adopting water-saving irrigation technologies. This study improves our understanding of the irrigation effects and their responses to changing irrigation practices and climate in water-limited regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001854IrrigationLand surface temperatureEvapotranspirationCrop yieldWater-saving irrigationDrylands |
| spellingShingle | Shuangshuang Zi Yan Li Jingwen Zhang Chengcheng Hou Huiqing Lin Zhengjie Xu Shan Sang Jinwei Dong Bojie Fu The biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in China’s drylands Agricultural Water Management Irrigation Land surface temperature Evapotranspiration Crop yield Water-saving irrigation Drylands |
| title | The biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in China’s drylands |
| title_full | The biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in China’s drylands |
| title_fullStr | The biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in China’s drylands |
| title_full_unstemmed | The biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in China’s drylands |
| title_short | The biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in China’s drylands |
| title_sort | biophysical and crop yield effects of irrigation and their changes in china s drylands |
| topic | Irrigation Land surface temperature Evapotranspiration Crop yield Water-saving irrigation Drylands |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001854 |
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