IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i15p8488-d604581.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of Water-Saving Irrigation on Hydrological Cycle in an Irrigation District of Northern China

Author

Listed:
  • Manfei Zhang

    (School of Water and Environment, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China
    Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China)

  • Xiao Wang

    (School of Water and Environment, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China
    Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China)

  • Weibo Zhou

    (School of Water and Environment, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China
    Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China)

Abstract

In an arid and semi-arid irrigation district, water-saving practices are essential for the sustainable use of water resources. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to simulate hydrological processes under three water-saving scenarios for the Jinghui Canal irrigation district (JCID) in Northwest China. Due to the lack of available hydrometric stations in the study area, the model was calibrated by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Global Evaporation (MOD16) from 2001 to 2010 on monthly scale. The simulation results showed that using MOD16 to calibrate the SWAT model was an alternative approach when hydro-meteorological data were lacking. It also revealed that the annual average surface runoff (SURQ) decreased by 4.13%, 8.37% and 12.08% and the percolation (PERC) increased by 3.67%, 7.59% and 11.19%, with the improvement of the water-saving degree (the effective utilization coefficient of irrigation water (EUCIW) increased by 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3). Compared with the above two components, the change in actual evapotranspiration (ET) was not obvious. From the perspective of the spatial scale, the changes in every component in the east regions were generally greater than those in the west regions. On a monthly scale, the change in every component was mainly during these two periods. The analysis results of water balance in the study area showed that the proportion of SURQ in water balance decreased (from 14.02% to 12.33%), while that of PERC increased (from 10.99% to 12.22%) after the application of the water-saving irrigation. The decrease in the variation in soil water content indicates that the improvement of the water-saving degree plays a positive role in maintaining the sustainable development of water resources in irrigated areas. This study demonstrates the potential to use remotely sensed evapotranspiration data for hydrological model calibration and validation in a sparsely gauged region with reasonable accuracy. The results of this study also provide a reference for the effect of water-saving irrigation in the irrigated area.

Suggested Citation

  • Manfei Zhang & Xiao Wang & Weibo Zhou, 2021. "Effects of Water-Saving Irrigation on Hydrological Cycle in an Irrigation District of Northern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:15:p:8488-:d:604581
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8488/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/15/8488/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xu, Xu & Huang, Guanhua & Qu, Zhongyi & Pereira, Luis S., 2010. "Assessing the groundwater dynamics and impacts of water saving in the Hetao Irrigation District, Yellow River basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 301-313, December.
    2. Prem B. Parajuli & Priyantha Jayakody & Ying Ouyang, 2018. "Evaluation of Using Remote Sensing Evapotranspiration Data in SWAT," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(3), pages 985-996, February.
    3. Steven Carroll & An Liu & Les Dawes & Megan Hargreaves & Ashantha Goonetilleke, 2013. "Role of Land Use and Seasonal Factors in Water Quality Degradations," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(9), pages 3433-3440, July.
    4. Belder, P. & Bouman, B. A. M. & Cabangon, R. & Guoan, Lu & Quilang, E. J. P. & Yuanhua, Li & Spiertz, J. H. J. & Tuong, T. P., 2004. "Effect of water-saving irrigation on rice yield and water use in typical lowland conditions in Asia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 193-210, March.
    5. Aijun Guo & Daiwei Jiang & Fanglei Zhong & Xiaojiang Ding & Xiaoyu Song & Qingping Cheng & Yongnian Zhang & Chunlin Huang, 2019. "Prediction of Technological Change under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways and Regional Differences: A Case Study of Irrigation Water Use Efficiency Changes in Chinese Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Goncalves, J.M. & Pereira, L.S. & Fang, S.X. & Dong, B., 2007. "Modelling and multicriteria analysis of water saving scenarios for an irrigation district in the upper Yellow River Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(1-3), pages 93-108, December.
    7. Shilong Piao & Philippe Ciais & Yao Huang & Zehao Shen & Shushi Peng & Junsheng Li & Liping Zhou & Hongyan Liu & Yuecun Ma & Yihui Ding & Pierre Friedlingstein & Chunzhen Liu & Kun Tan & Yongqiang Yu , 2010. "The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7311), pages 43-51, September.
    8. Ahmadzadeh, Hojat & Morid, Saeed & Delavar, Majid & Srinivasan, Raghavan, 2016. "Using the SWAT model to assess the impacts of changing irrigation from surface to pressurized systems on water productivity and water saving in the Zarrineh Rud catchment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 15-28.
    9. Gassman, Philip W. & Reyes, Manuel R. & Green, Colleen H. & Arnold, Jeffrey G., 2007. "The Soil and Water Assessment Tool: Historical Development, Applications, and Future Research Directions," ISU General Staff Papers 200701010800001027, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    10. Mermoud, A. & Tamini, T.D. & Yacouba, H., 2005. "Impacts of different irrigation schedules on the water balance components of an onion crop in a semi-arid zone," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 77(1-3), pages 282-295, August.
    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. Xue, Jingyuan & Guan, Huade & Huo, Zailin & Wang, Fengxin & Huang, Guanhua & Boll, Jan, 2017. "Water saving practices enhance regional efficiency of water consumption and water productivity in an arid agricultural area with shallow groundwater," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 78-89.
    2. Ding, Yimin & Wang, Weiguang & Song, Ruiming & Shao, Quanxi & Jiao, Xiyun & Xing, Wanqiu, 2017. "Modeling spatial and temporal variability of the impact of climate change on rice irrigation water requirements in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 89-101.
    3. Pedras, C.M.G. & Pereira, L.S. & Gonalves, J.M., 2009. "MIRRIG: A decision support system for design and evaluation of microirrigation systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(4), pages 691-701, April.
    4. Liu, Meihan & Paredes, Paula & Shi, Haibin & Ramos, Tiago B. & Dou, Xu & Dai, Liping & Pereira, Luis S., 2022. "Impacts of a shallow saline water table on maize evapotranspiration and groundwater contribution using static water table lysimeters and the dual Kc water balance model SIMDualKc," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    5. Tan, Lili & Feng, Puyu & Li, Baoguo & Huang, Feng & Liu, De Li & Ren, Pinpin & Liu, Haipeng & Srinivasan, Raghavan & Chen, Yong, 2022. "Climate change impacts on crop water productivity and net groundwater use under a double-cropping system with intensive irrigation in the Haihe River Basin, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    6. Luo, Wanqi & Chen, Mengting & Kang, Yinhong & Li, Wenping & Li, Dan & Cui, Yuanlai & Khan, Shahbaz & Luo, Yufeng, 2022. "Analysis of crop water requirements and irrigation demands for rice: Implications for increasing effective rainfall," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    7. Xiong, Lvyang & Jiang, Yao & Li, Xinyi & Ren, Dongyang & Huang, Guanhua, 2023. "Long-term regional groundwater responses and their ecological impacts under agricultural water saving in an arid irrigation district, upper Yellow River basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    8. Xu, Xu & Huang, Guanhua & Sun, Chen & Pereira, Luis S. & Ramos, Tiago B. & Huang, Quanzhong & Hao, Yuanyuan, 2013. "Assessing the effects of water table depth on water use, soil salinity and wheat yield: Searching for a target depth for irrigated areas in the upper Yellow River basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 46-60.
    9. Evelyn Corona-López & Alma D. Román-Gutiérrez & Elena M. Otazo-Sánchez & Fabiola A. Guzmán-Ortiz & Otilio A. Acevedo-Sandoval, 2021. "Water–Food Nexus Assessment in Agriculture: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-14, May.
    10. Liu, Yanqi & Lin, Yifan & Huo, Zailin & Zhang, Chenglong & Wang, Chaozi & Xue, Jingyuan & Huang, Guanhua, 2022. "Spatio-temporal variation of irrigation water requirements for wheat and maize in the Yellow River Basin, China, 1974–2017," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    11. Xu Xu & Guanhua Huang & Zhongyi Qu & Luis Pereira, 2011. "Using MODFLOW and GIS to Assess Changes in Groundwater Dynamics in Response to Water Saving Measures in Irrigation Districts of the Upper Yellow River Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(8), pages 2035-2059, June.
    12. Xiong, Lvyang & Xu, Xu & Engel, Bernard & Xiong, Yunwu & Huang, Quanzhong & Huang, Guanhua, 2021. "Predicting agroecosystem responses to identify appropriate water-saving management in arid irrigated regions with shallow groundwater: Realization on a regional scale," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    13. He, Liuyue & Xu, Zhenci & Wang, Sufen & Bao, Jianxia & Fan, Yunfei & Daccache, Andre, 2022. "Optimal crop planting pattern can be harmful to reach carbon neutrality: Evidence from food-energy-water-carbon nexus perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    14. Cao, Zhaodan & Zhu, Tingju & Cai, Ximing, 2023. "Hydro-agro-economic optimization for irrigated farming in an arid region: The Hetao Irrigation District, Inner Mongolia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    15. Wu, Zhangsheng & Li, Yue & Wang, Rong & Xu, Xu & Ren, Dongyang & Huang, Quanzhong & Xiong, Yunwu & Huang, Guanhua, 2023. "Evaluation of irrigation water saving and salinity control practices of maize and sunflower in the upper Yellow River basin with an agro-hydrological model based method," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    16. Bu, Lingduo & Chen, Xinping & Li, Shiqing & Liu, Jianliang & Zhu, Lin & Luo, Shasha & Lee Hill, Robert & Zhao, Ying, 2015. "The effect of adapting cultivars on the water use efficiency of dryland maize (Zea mays L.) in northwestern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 1-9.
    17. Wenfeng Chi & Yuanyuan Zhao & Wenhui Kuang & Tao Pan & Tu Ba & Jinshen Zhao & Liang Jin & Sisi Wang, 2021. "Impact of Cropland Evolution on Soil Wind Erosion in Inner Mongolia of China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, June.
    18. Rahmani, Javad & Danesh-Yazdi, Mohammad, 2022. "Quantifying the impacts of agricultural alteration and climate change on the water cycle dynamics in a headwater catchment of Lake Urmia Basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    19. Egbendewe-Mondzozo, Aklesso & Swinton, Scott M. & Bals, Bryan D. & Dale, Bruce E., 2011. "Can Dispersed Biomass Processing Protect the Environment and Cover the Bottom Line for Biofuel?," Staff Paper Series 119348, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    20. Andersson, Jafet C.M. & Zehnder, Alexander J.B. & Rockström, Johan & Yang, Hong, 2011. "Potential impacts of water harvesting and ecological sanitation on crop yield, evaporation and river flow regimes in the Thukela River basin, South Africa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(7), pages 1113-1124, May.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:15:p:8488-:d:604581. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.