IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v309y2025ics037837742500054x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spatially optimized allocation of water and land resources based on multi-dimensional coupling of water quantity, quality, efficiency, carbon, food, and ecology

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Yingbin
  • Wang, Haiqing
  • Sun, Jiaxin
  • Qi, Peng
  • Zhang, Wenguang
  • Zhang, Guangxin

Abstract

The research on optimizing agricultural water and land resources is significant for improving resource utilization efficiency, ensuring food security, protecting the ecological environment, and promoting sustainable economic development. However, few studies have been conducted on the spatially optimized allocation of water and land resources based on the multidimensional coupling of water quantity, water quality, efficiency, carbon, ecology, and food. Therefore, this study establishes the Coupling Optimization Model of Water Resources and Landscape Structure (COM-WL). The objective is to optimize resource allocation within the irrigation area by comprehensively considering multiple factors. The COM-WL model integrates our improved genetic algorithm, PAEA-NSGAⅢ, with the landscape allocation model, GridLOpt. PAEA-NSGAⅢ builds upon the traditional NSGA-III algorithm, incorporating a progressive fitness adjustment strategy along with an elite preservation strategy. These enhancements enable the algorithm to explore the solution space more efficiently when addressing complex multi-objective problems to validate the effectiveness and practicality of the COM-WL model, we selected the Daan Irrigation District as the study area. Twenty-four scenarios, spanning four hydrological years, were designed for analysis. Each scenario focuses on six optimization objectives: increasing carbon sequestration, improving irrigation efficiency, enhancing ecological benefits, ensuring food production, reducing groundwater extraction, and controlling pollutant emissions. The GridLOpt model enables grid-based layout and spatial allocation of landscape structure in optimized scenarios, improving ecological connectivity and controlling the costs associated with landscape changes. The optimization results indicate that the irrigated area of rice increased by 0.04–6.08 %, while the irrigated area for corn decreased by 6.20–0.02 %, with the overall irrigated area remaining relatively stable. Additionally, emissions of agricultural pollutants decreased by 1.95 %, reaching 4.52 %. Meanwhile, carbon sequestration increased by 0.01 %, reaching 0.59 %. The efficiency of crop water resource utilization improved by 2.05 %, reaching 4.08 %. Ecological connectivity rose by 11.6 %, reaching 20.3 %. Furthermore, land-use conversion costs ranged from 58.82 million to 207.97 million yuan, consistent with the expected landscape structure. The model established in this study provides an approach to the multidimensional optimization of the coupling between water and land resources.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Yingbin & Wang, Haiqing & Sun, Jiaxin & Qi, Peng & Zhang, Wenguang & Zhang, Guangxin, 2025. "Spatially optimized allocation of water and land resources based on multi-dimensional coupling of water quantity, quality, efficiency, carbon, food, and ecology," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:309:y:2025:i:c:s037837742500054x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109340
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S037837742500054X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109340?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li, Lu & Zhou, Yan & Li, Mo & Cao, Kaihua & Tao, Yanhuai & Liu, Yangdachuan, 2022. "Integrated modelling for cropping pattern optimization and planning considering the synergy of water resources-society-economy-ecology-environment system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    2. He, Juan & Shi, Xueyi & Fu, Yangjun & Yuan, Ye, 2020. "Evaluation and simulation of the impact of land use change on ecosystem services trade-offs in ecological restoration areas, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Chaoran Chen & Diego Restuccia & Raul Santaeulalia-Llopis, 2022. "The Effects of Land Markets on Resource Allocation and Agricultural Productivity," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 45, pages 41-54, July.
    4. Turral, Hugh & Svendsen, Mark & Faures, Jean Marc, 2010. "Investing in irrigation: Reviewing the past and looking to the future," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 551-560, April.
    5. de Fraiture, Charlotte & Wichelns, Dennis, 2010. "Satisfying future water demands for agriculture," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 502-511, April.
    6. Tian, Junfeng & Wang, Binyan & Zhang, Chuanrong & Li, Weidong & Wang, Shijun, 2020. "Mechanism of regional land use transition in underdeveloped areas of China: A case study of northeast China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    7. Haokun Wang & Biao Gao & Baiyuan Ding, 2022. "Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Food Security Production and Total Water Resources in Western Jilin: Based on Center of the Gravity Model," Mathematical Problems in Engineering, Hindawi, vol. 2022, pages 1-10, September.
    8. Zhang, Zepeng & Wang, Qingzheng & Guan, Qingyu & Xiao, Xiong & Mi, Jimin & Lv, Songjian, 2023. "Research on the optimal allocation of agricultural water and soil resources in the Heihe River Basin based on SWAT and intelligent optimization," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    9. He, Pingru & Yu, Shuang’en & Ding, Jihui & Ma, Tao & Li, Jin’gang & Dai, Yan & Chen, Kaiwen & Peng, Suhan & Zeng, Guangquan & Guo, Shuaishuai, 2024. "Multi-objective optimization of farmland water level and nitrogen fertilization management for winter wheat cultivation under waterlogging conditions based on TOPSIS-Entropy," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    10. Sun, Jiaxin & Yang, Yanli & Qi, Peng & Zhang, Guangxin & Wu, Yao, 2024. "Development and application of a new water-carbon-economy coupling model (WCECM) for optimal allocation of agricultural water and land resources," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    11. Li, Mo & Sun, Hao & Liu, Dong & Singh, Vijay P. & Fu, Qiang, 2021. "Multi-scale modeling for irrigation water and cropland resources allocation considering uncertainties in water supply and demand," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    12. Hassan, Rashid M. & Faki, Hamid & Byerlee, D., 2000. "The trade-off between economic efficiency and food self-sufficiency in using Sudan's irrigated land resources," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 35-54, February.
    13. Thirunavukkarasu, M. & Sawle, Yashwant & Lala, Himadri, 2023. "A comprehensive review on optimization of hybrid renewable energy systems using various optimization techniques," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    14. Khan, Shahbaz & Hanjra, Munir A. & Mu, Jianxin, 2009. "Water management and crop production for food security in China: A review," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 349-360, March.
    15. Hu, Zhineng & Chen, Yazhen & Yao, Liming & Wei, Changting & Li, Chaozhi, 2016. "Optimal allocation of regional water resources: From a perspective of equity–efficiency tradeoff," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 102-113.
    16. Babí Almenar, Javier & Elliot, Thomas & Rugani, Benedetto & Philippe, Bodénan & Navarrete Gutierrez, Tomas & Sonnemann, Guido & Geneletti, Davide, 2021. "Nexus between nature-based solutions, ecosystem services and urban challenges," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    17. Li, Mo & Fu, Qiang & Singh, Vijay P. & Liu, Dong & Li, Tianxiao & Zhou, Yan, 2020. "Managing agricultural water and land resources with tradeoff between economic, environmental, and social considerations: A multi-objective non-linear optimization model under uncertainty," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    18. R. González Perea & E. Camacho Poyato & P. Montesinos & J. A. Rodríguez Díaz, 2016. "Optimization of Irrigation Scheduling Using Soil Water Balance and Genetic Algorithms," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(8), pages 2815-2830, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Lankford, B. & Makin, Ian & Matthews, N. & McCornick, Peter G. & Noble, A. & Shah, Tushaar, "undated". "A compact to revitalise large-scale irrigation systems using a leadership-partnership-ownership 'Theory of Change'," Papers published in Journals (Open Access) H047459, International Water Management Institute.
    2. Hanjra, Munir A. & Qureshi, M. Ejaz, 2010. "Global water crisis and future food security in an era of climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 365-377, October.
    3. Eric Njuki & Boris E. Bravo-Ureta, 2019. "Examining irrigation productivity in U.S. agriculture using a single-factor approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 125-136, June.
    4. Ren, Hourui & Liu, Bin & Zhang, Zirui & Li, Fuxin & Pan, Ke & Zhou, Zhongli & Xu, Xiaoshuang, 2022. "A water-energy-food-carbon nexus optimization model for sustainable agricultural development in the Yellow River Basin under uncertainty," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    5. Palazzo,Amanda & Valin,Hugo Jean Pierre & Batka,Miroslav & Havlík,Petr, 2019. "Investment Needs for Irrigation Infrastructure along Different Socioeconomic Pathways," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8744, The World Bank.
    6. de Fraiture, Charlotte & Molden, David & Wichelns, Dennis, 2010. "Investing in water for food, ecosystems, and livelihoods: An overview of the comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 495-501, April.
    7. Tang, Xiaoyu & Huang, Yue & Pan, Xiaohui & Liu, Tie & Ling, Yunan & Peng, Jiabin, 2024. "Managing the water-agriculture-environment-energy nexus: Trade-offs and synergies in an arid area of Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    8. Dennis Wichelns, 2015. "Achieving Water and Food Security in 2050: Outlook, Policies, and Investments," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-33, April.
    9. Facon, T. & Mukherji, Aditi, 2010. "Small-scale irrigation: is this the future?," Conference Papers h043372, International Water Management Institute.
    10. Yao, Liming & Su, Zerui & Lu, Hao-Jun, 2025. "Accurate preference-based method to obtain the deterministically optimal and satisfactory fairness-efficiency trade-off," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    11. Olutobi Adeyemi & Ivan Grove & Sven Peets & Tomas Norton, 2017. "Advanced Monitoring and Management Systems for Improving Sustainability in Precision Irrigation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-29, February.
    12. Gaowei Yan & Luguang Jiang & Ye Liu, 2025. "Remote Sensing Identification of Major Crops and Trade-Off of Water and Land Utilization of Oasis in Altay Prefecture," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-28, July.
    13. María J. López-Serrano & Juan F. Velasco-Muñoz & José A. Aznar-Sánchez & Isabel M. Román-Sánchez, 2020. "Sustainable Use of Wastewater in Agriculture: A Bibliometric Analysis of Worldwide Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-20, October.
    14. Madan K. Jha & Richard C. Peralta & Sasmita Sahoo, 2020. "Simulation-Optimization for Conjunctive Water Resources Management and Optimal Crop Planning in Kushabhadra-Bhargavi River Delta of Eastern India," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-20, May.
    15. Remme, Roy P. & Meacham, Megan & Pellowe, Kara E. & Andersson, Erik & Guerry, Anne D. & Janke, Benjamin & Liu, Lingling & Lonsdorf, Eric & Li, Meng & Mao, Yuanyuan & Nootenboom, Christopher & Wu, Tong, 2024. "Aligning nature-based solutions with ecosystem services in the urban century," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    16. Al Zayed, Islam Sabry & Elagib, Nadir Ahmed & Ribbe, Lars & Heinrich, Jürgen, 2016. "Satellite-based evapotranspiration over Gezira Irrigation Scheme, Sudan: A comparative study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 66-76.
    17. Julián Arteaga & Nicolás de Roux & Margarita Gáfaro & Ana María Ibáñez & Heitor S. Pellegrina, 2025. "Farm Size Distribution, Weather Shocks, and Agricultural Productivity," Borradores de Economia 1305, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.
    18. Aragón, Fernando M. & Restuccia, Diego & Rud, Juan Pablo, 2022. "Are small farms really more productive than large farms?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    19. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_023 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Xu, Guangyu & Chen, Huang, 2025. "Inclusive growth dilemma: Weighing the pros and cons of land market reform," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    21. Ayala-Cantu, Luciano & Morando, Bruno, 2020. "Rental markets, gender, and land certificates: Evidence from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:309:y:2025:i:c:s037837742500054x. 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.