Resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in China

The crop-related virtual water (VW) flow has reshaped the water resources burdens virtually and caused increasingly vulnerabilities under natural and anthropogenic pressures and shocks. However, the resilience assessment of crop VW networks remains lacking. Here, we first constructed China’s interpr...

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Main Authors: Hongrong Huang, La Zhuo, Yiping Wu, Yilin Liu, Xiangxiang Ji, Pute Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Agricultural Water Management
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001702
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author Hongrong Huang
La Zhuo
Yiping Wu
Yilin Liu
Xiangxiang Ji
Pute Wu
author_facet Hongrong Huang
La Zhuo
Yiping Wu
Yilin Liu
Xiangxiang Ji
Pute Wu
author_sort Hongrong Huang
collection DOAJ
description The crop-related virtual water (VW) flow has reshaped the water resources burdens virtually and caused increasingly vulnerabilities under natural and anthropogenic pressures and shocks. However, the resilience assessment of crop VW networks remains lacking. Here, we first constructed China’s interprovincial VW flow network by simulating crop trade based on minimum-cost linear optimization and calculating VW content using AquaCrop model. We then analyzed network topological properties including connectivity, betweenness centrality, and community structure. Finally, we evaluated network resilience through four dimensions (resistance, absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities) by simulating structural and functional responses under both intentional and random node failure scenarios for three major crops (rice, wheat, and maize). Results show that the total inter-provincial VW and crop trade of increased by 57.8 % and 106.4 %, respectively from 2000 to 2017. Although trade edges increased by 11 %-12 % during the study period, the overall VW network density remained low with maximum of 0.2. The resilience of blue VW networks for rice, wheat, and maize cumulatively decreased by 69.4 %, 81.9 %, and 44.7 %, respectively, under intentional attacks of the top 20 % nodes (six provinces). Notably, the wheat blue VW network was the most vulnerable as key domain provinces facing the water scarcity risk. Our analysis reveals that China’s crop VW flow network are vulnerable to targeted disruptions due to their low connectivity and high dependence on water-scarce producing provinces, highlighting the urgent need for diversifying VW flow patterns and strengthening water resource management in key exporting regions.
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spelling doaj-art-b3e4d8b682994097b24f0aeaa5fbdb802025-08-20T02:26:40ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-05-0131210945610.1016/j.agwat.2025.109456Resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in ChinaHongrong Huang0La Zhuo1Yiping Wu2Yilin Liu3Xiangxiang Ji4Pute Wu5Research Center for Eco-environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, China; College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; Department of Earth & Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province 710049, China; Corresponding author at: Research Center for Eco-environmental Engineering, Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan 523808, ChinaInstitute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China; Correspondence to: College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaDepartment of Earth & Environmental Science, School of Human Settlements and Civil Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province 710049, ChinaCollege of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaCollege of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, ChinaInstitute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, ChinaThe crop-related virtual water (VW) flow has reshaped the water resources burdens virtually and caused increasingly vulnerabilities under natural and anthropogenic pressures and shocks. However, the resilience assessment of crop VW networks remains lacking. Here, we first constructed China’s interprovincial VW flow network by simulating crop trade based on minimum-cost linear optimization and calculating VW content using AquaCrop model. We then analyzed network topological properties including connectivity, betweenness centrality, and community structure. Finally, we evaluated network resilience through four dimensions (resistance, absorptive, adaptive, and transformative capacities) by simulating structural and functional responses under both intentional and random node failure scenarios for three major crops (rice, wheat, and maize). Results show that the total inter-provincial VW and crop trade of increased by 57.8 % and 106.4 %, respectively from 2000 to 2017. Although trade edges increased by 11 %-12 % during the study period, the overall VW network density remained low with maximum of 0.2. The resilience of blue VW networks for rice, wheat, and maize cumulatively decreased by 69.4 %, 81.9 %, and 44.7 %, respectively, under intentional attacks of the top 20 % nodes (six provinces). Notably, the wheat blue VW network was the most vulnerable as key domain provinces facing the water scarcity risk. Our analysis reveals that China’s crop VW flow network are vulnerable to targeted disruptions due to their low connectivity and high dependence on water-scarce producing provinces, highlighting the urgent need for diversifying VW flow patterns and strengthening water resource management in key exporting regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001702Complex networkTopological structureShock simulationVulnerabilityWater footprint
spellingShingle Hongrong Huang
La Zhuo
Yiping Wu
Yilin Liu
Xiangxiang Ji
Pute Wu
Resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in China
Agricultural Water Management
Complex network
Topological structure
Shock simulation
Vulnerability
Water footprint
title Resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in China
title_full Resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in China
title_fullStr Resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in China
title_full_unstemmed Resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in China
title_short Resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in China
title_sort resilience assessment of interprovincial crop virtual water flow network in china
topic Complex network
Topological structure
Shock simulation
Vulnerability
Water footprint
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001702
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