Agricultural Water Management最新文献

{"title":"SHAP-powered insights into short-term drought dynamics disturbed by diurnal temperature range across China","authors":"Yao Feng ,&nbsp;Fubao Sun ,&nbsp;Fa Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109579","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109579","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Short-term drought dynamics are critical for agricultural production and water resource management, yet the complex role of diurnal temperature range (DTR), as a key climate variable influencing surface energy and water cycles, remains poorly understood in drought processes. This study addresses this gap by integrating a high-resolution meteorological dataset (1961–2022) into a SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP)-based attribution framework, quantifying DTR’s impacts on short-term drought (the monthly-scale standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration index, SPEI-1) across China’s diverse climatic zones. A significant negative correlation between monthly DTR and SPEI-1 indicates that DTR directly intensifies short-term drought conditions, an effect that has strengthened significantly since 2000. DTR influences drought through dual pathways: direct exacerbation via enhanced evapotranspiration demand and indirect modulation through negative associations with precipitation and relative humidity (RH) and positive links with sunshine duration and wind speed. In arid regions, DTR interacts synergistically with precipitation and RH to exacerbate drought, whereas in humid regions, DTR’s positive association with sunshine duration partially mitigates drought severity. Importantly, DTR is identified as the primary driver of short-term drought, followed by RH and sunshine duration. A 1°C increase in DTR reduces SPEI-1 by −0.04 to −0.26 (worsening drought), while a 1°C decrease in DTR increases SPEI-1 by 0.03–0.28 (alleviating drought), which is particularly pronounced in semi-arid, arid, and hyper-arid regions. This study advances our understanding of DTR’s multifaceted role in short-term drought dynamics and highlights the urgent need for targeted adaptation strategies, such as adaptive irrigation scheduling and water resource allocation, to mitigate drought intensification, particularly in ecologically vulnerable regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109579"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Drought resistance cotton genotypes evaluation with multi-year & multi-site study","authors":"Jinglin Li ,&nbsp;Shaodong Liu ,&nbsp;Ruihua Liu ,&nbsp;Huijuan Ma ,&nbsp;Qian Shen ,&nbsp;Siping Zhang ,&nbsp;Changwei Ge ,&nbsp;Chaoyou Pang","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109523","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109523","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To determine the agronomic traits closely related to the drought resistance of cotton, and the universal genotypes for drought resistance in cotton. The experiment was conducted in Alaer, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous and Dunhuang, Gansu Province between 2020 and 2021. 199 cotton genotypes were selected, six agronomic traits: plant height (PH), boll number (BN), single boll weight (SBW), lint percentage (LP), first vegetative shoot length (FVSL), seed cotton yield (SCY) were measured and analyzed. Principal component analysis (PCA) and correlation analysis were conducted on the basis of drought resistance coefficient (DC) value of each agronomic trait. The comprehensive drought coefficient (CDC), drought resistance comprehensive evaluation values (D), and weight drought resistance coefficient (WDC) values were then calculated, and multiple regression analysis was performed with the DC value as the independent variable, the CDC, D, and WDC values serving as dependent variables. Cluster analysis was conducted on the basis of the CDC, D, and WDC values. The results from Alaer and Dunhuang indicated, drought stress significantly reduced the growth of all six agronomic traits. The degree of variation between the two sites varied greatly, indicating that environmental factors affected the response of agronomic traits to drought stress. Correlation analysis revealed that there were significant differences in each agronomic trait correlation between the two sites. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that PH, SBW and SCY were stable across both sites, but LP and FVSL were sensitive to environment. Multivariate analysis indicated that compared with CDC and WDC values, D value objectively reflects the contribution of different agronomic traits to drought resistance, with significant differences in the equation coefficients of the six agronomic traits between the two sites. Cluster analysis grouped the 199 cotton genotypes into four groups: high drought resistance, drought resistance, drought sensitive and high drought sensitive, with different allocations at the two sites. Most genotypes exhibited significant differences in drought resistance across the two sites, just seven genotypes: UC016, UC032, UC067, UC073, UC135, UC154 and UC173, presented consistent and universal drought resistance. Among these, UC067, UC154, and UC173 presented relatively high yields and could be used as high-yield and high-drought resistant genotypes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109523"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Centrifugation method for rapid measurement of total soil water-soluble salt","authors":"Zhengyang Jia ,&nbsp;Zi Chen ,&nbsp;Hai Yang ,&nbsp;Yun Li ,&nbsp;Quanping Zhou ,&nbsp;Yuehua Jiang ,&nbsp;Yuanyuan Chen ,&nbsp;Hong Zhang ,&nbsp;Qiuju Qi ,&nbsp;Lili Hou ,&nbsp;Shijia Mei ,&nbsp;Yang Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109556","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109556","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The gravimetric method is the most precise and intuitive technique for measuring the total soil water-soluble salt (TS). However, its application in intensive testing tasks is limited by the time-consuming suction filtration process. Therefore, this study aimed to improve the efficiency of the traditional gravimetric method by replacing the suction filtration process with the centrifugation technique. Soil samples of five salinity gradients were prepared and used for completely randomized and orthogonal design experiments, to obtain optimal parameters by assessing the degree of influence of four key parameters (centrifugation speed, centrifugation time, centrifugation cycle, and uptake volume of soil solution extracts) on the measured results. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed method were then validated through spike recovery and comparative experiments. The results demonstrated that the proposed centrifugation method enhanced the testing efficiency by more than 100%. For soils with TS <span><math><mo>≤</mo></math></span> 8 g/kg, the optimal parameters were 4000 r/min for 8 min in a single cycle, with an uptake volume of 20 mL of soil solution extracts. For soils with TS <span><math><mo>&gt;</mo></math></span> 8 g/kg, the best choice for optimal centrifugation parameters was 4000 r/min for 6 min in two cycles, with an uptake volume of 20 mL of soil solution extracts. Applying these parameters to the other three soil types, the spike recovery rates ranged from 98.9% to 105.3%, and the relative standard deviations ranged from 0.4% to 4.6%, meeting the laboratory quality control standards. This newly proposed method can provide an effective alternative solution for measuring TS during the reclamation of saline-alkali soils.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109556"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of irrigation modernization and high Aswan Dam inflow on Nile water system efficiency and water reuse in Egypt","authors":"Gaber Abdellatif ,&nbsp;Ibrahim Gaafar ,&nbsp;Marnix Van Der Vat ,&nbsp;Petra Hellegers ,&nbsp;Hosam El-Din El-Naggar ,&nbsp;Angel Di Miguel Garcia ,&nbsp;Chris Seijger","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109576","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109576","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Irrigation Modernization is promoted to save water in many countries, because of its proven achievement of higher efficiencies on the field level. However, the potential of irrigation modernization in achieving water savings on the basin level is contentious. Whether it also improves the Nile basin system efficiency is studied in this paper by simulating Egypt's Nile River water balance using the River Basin Simulation Model (RIBASIM-Delwaq) under regular, high, and low inflow conditions. In addition, the impacts of three irrigation modernization strategies (all canals lined, drip irrigation on all agricultural land, all canals lined and drip irrigation on all agricultural land) were investigated for the system efficiency, water reuse, and outflow to the Mediterranean. The results show that the Nile Basin system efficiency in Egypt is very high under the baseline conditions reaching up to 75.6 % due to formal and informal water reuse activities. This leaves little room for modern irrigation strategies to achieve higher system efficiencies; 75.6 %, 78.5 %, and 77.0 %, respectively. The paper concludes that modern irrigation will not increase system efficiency or the outflow to the Mediterranean significantly, however, it will reduce official and unofficial water reuse by allowing farmers to receive more water from canals instead of drains and shallow groundwater.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109576"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Variations in water uptake pattern and soil desiccation in response to vegetation types on the western Loess Plateau in China","authors":"Hongqian Yu ,&nbsp;Yixian Bi ,&nbsp;Zhanjun Wang ,&nbsp;Yingjun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109536","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109536","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding water uptake, soil water storage, and desiccation patterns of vegetation in northwest China’s semiarid and desert regions can manage the soil water cycle. However, the seasonal variations in plant water uptake across different vegetation types are not well understood. Here, we examined the sources of water for four vegetation types (artificial forest, alfalfa pasture, cropland, and natural grassland) using plant xylem and soil water isotopes (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) to assess the soil water storage (SWS) and desiccation within soil depths of 0–500 cm in a year. We found that artificial forest and cropland consistently absorbed water from soil depths of 100–200 cm throughout the year. The natural grassland changed from absorbing water from depths of 100–200 cm during the non-growing season to absorbing water from depths of 0–100 cm and 200–500 cm during the growing season. The alfalfa pasture absorbed water from depths of 100–200 cm during the non-growing season and from depths of 0–100 cm during the growing season. Furthermore, the alfalfa pasture had the lowest SWS of 82.61–102.64 mm within soil depths of 0–500 cm, which led to severely dry soil layers within the 100–200 cm depth interval. In contrast, the SWS values of the other three types of vegetation were all &gt; 118.97 mm, resulting in unrecovered dry soil layers during the growing season. These results enhance our understanding of how plant water uptake influences soil water dynamics and hydrological niche segregation across the seasons.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109536"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Observed field drainage and concentration dynamics reveal the importance of onsite mitigation of pesticide pollution in a rice growing area in eastern China","authors":"Zhonghua Jia ,&nbsp;Yawen Chen ,&nbsp;Cheng Chen ,&nbsp;Wenlong Liu ,&nbsp;Wan Luo","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109578","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109578","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pesticide application is an indispensable part of crop production, but its negative impact on the agricultural eco-systems should be carefully examined. In this study, we investigated field drainage discharge and pesticide losses in a rice growing area between 2018 and 2020 in the lower Yangtze River plain, Eastern China. As the local pest control protocol adopts a pre-irrigation practice to pond the application fields for enhanced killing effect, we examined the potential pesticide losses with field drainage under the increased hydraulic gradient. Based on the observed drainage flow and concentrations of a popular pesticide -chlorpyrifos (CPF), we analyzed the concentration distribution in the paddy environment, especially in field drainage ditches (FDs), and subsequently developed an event-based analytical model to calculate concentration changes along the drainage pathway. The monitoring results in 2018 and 2019 showed that CPF concentration spikes appeared in a FD under low flow condition, the observed higher concentrations as compared to paddy field water and groundwater indicate direct deposits from spray drifts or over-application in the FD. A large storm after pesticide application in 2020 caused high flow event, but no apparent concentration spikes were observed in the FD. Of the 3 monitoring events, the pesticide chemographs did not synchronize with the flow hydrographs, the average pesticide losses were as low as 0.16–0.2 % of the applied amounts. Prediction with the event-based analytical model showed that pesticide concentrations may be lowered by 2–3 orders from the FD to downstream waters for the low flow and high concentration events. Further analysis for onsite mitigation of pesticides showed that, controlled drainage can be adopted to reduce pesticides in the field ditches through the dilution and degradation effects. Findings from this research highlight the importance of water quality buffers and the onsite mitigation measures for pesticide pollution control in agricultural watersheds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109578"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144169349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dynamic control of upper limit for rainfall storing and effective use in rice paddies based on improved AquaCrop model","authors":"En Lin ,&nbsp;Rangjian Qiu ,&nbsp;Xinxin Li ,&nbsp;Mengting Chen ,&nbsp;Shizong Zheng ,&nbsp;Fei Ren ,&nbsp;Xiaoming Xiang ,&nbsp;Chenglong Ji ,&nbsp;Yuanlai Cui ,&nbsp;Yufeng Luo","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109569","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109569","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increasing the upper limit of rainfall storage to enhance rainfall utilization is an important approach for conserving irrigation water in rice production while also avoiding yield losses caused by excessive flooding depth and prolonged inundation. However, traditional static water level control methods, which apply fixed storage limits at different growth stages, often fail to align with the dynamic nature of rainfall and crop water demand, leading to inefficiencies and increased waterlogging risk. This study proposed a dynamic rainfall storage control strategy based on 1–7-day weather forecasts. To evaluate its effectiveness, the AquaCrop model was modified by incorporating a waterlogging stress coefficient, resulting in the ACOP-FRice model. The model accurately simulated rice yield under various waterlogging conditions and demonstrated strong stability across growth stages. During the validation period, the late tillering stage showed the best performance of yield simulation accuracy, with a normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) of 7.39 %, and both the coefficient of determination (R²) and nash-sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) coefficient values reaching 0.83. Although the heading–flowering stage was the most sensitive to flooding, the model still achieved reasonable accuracy, with an NRMSE of 11.61 % and R² and NSE values of 0.81, indicating its ability to capture yield variations under complex stress conditions. Compared to static control, the dynamic strategies HP1, HP2, and HP3 increased rainfall use efficiency by 10.90–17.84 % and reduced drainage by 3.90–19.30 % for early rice, 3.10–12.00 % for mid-season rice, and 21.91–25.44 % for late rice. Yield losses across all scenarios remained below 3.00 %, confirming the strategy’s potential to optimize water management while minimizing adverse impacts on yield.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109569"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144147339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of hydrological response to soil and water conservation measures in the Loess Plateau based on a novel modeling framework","authors":"Xixi Wu ,&nbsp;Xuehua Zhao ,&nbsp;Xuerui Gao ,&nbsp;Bowen Zhu ,&nbsp;Xueping Zhu ,&nbsp;Xining Zhao ,&nbsp;Pan Chen ,&nbsp;Xiaoqi Guo ,&nbsp;Marie Rose IRIBAGIZA","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109577","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109577","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Soil and water conservation (SWC) measures play a critical role in controlling soil erosion and protecting water resources on the Loess Plateau (LP). However, their impacts on hydrological processes remain insufficiently understood. This study develops a novel hydrological modeling framework that integrates both infiltration-excess and shallow saturation-excess runoff mechanisms. We applied the model to two pilot areas on the LP and systematically evaluated the hydrological response under various SWC measures based on qualified simulated rainfall-runoff events. The results showed that the berm measure had a high Manning roughness coefficient of 0.12, the artificial grassland measure showed a high stable infiltration rate of 0.79 mm/min, and the terracing measure demonstrated the highest initial infiltration rate of 2.23 mm/min. Compared to other measures, the berm measure was most effective in reducing surface runoff, with its runoff component was mainly in the form of interflow, accounting for 94.2 %. Additionally, terracing and artificial grassland measures showed relatively small percentages of shallow saturation-excess runoff, accounting for 0.7 % and 0.4 %, respectively. This study highlights that, when balancing hydrological benefits with socio-economic feasibility, the berm measure on steep slopes has greater potential for reducing runoff, while terracing and artificial grassland measures on gentle slopes offer a more ecologically sustainable watershed management approach.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109577"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144167632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing nitrogen application rate through critical nitrogen concentration dilution curves for sesame under different water conditions","authors":"Rujie Lv ,&nbsp;Qingyin Shang ,&nbsp;Fengjuan Lv ,&nbsp;Ruiqing Wang ,&nbsp;Junhai He ,&nbsp;Lingen Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109565","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109565","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sesame (<em>Sesamum indicum</em> L.), a crucial oilseed crop renowned for high oil and protein content of seed, faces yield and quality constraints in southern China's red soil regions due to seasonal drought and low soil fertility. To optimize nitrogen (N) management under varying precipitation regimes, we developed and validated critical nitrogen concentration (N_c) dilution curves using two sesame cultivars, Jinhuangma and Ganzhi 14, in different water conditions and locations. Compared with the wet year, drought stress triggered a 53.3 % yield loss for sesame in dry year. There was no statistical differences in the N_c dilution curve across two varieties in the same precipitation year. Therefore, we derived a unified N_c dynamics of sesame (the dry year: N_c = 3.05 DM^−0.24; the wet year: N_c = 2.60 DM^−0.29). Independent experiments verified that the N_c curves for different precipitation years effectively distinguish between N-limiting and non-N-limiting treatments. The nitrogen nutrition index (NNI) and accumulated nitrogen deficit (N_and) effectively reflected N status, identified that optimal N application rates were 135 kg ha⁻¹ in wet years and 90 kg ha⁻¹ in dry years. The strong correlations between NNI, N_and and yield across precipitation scenarios, indicates the predictive power of them in enhancing yield outcomes. This study underscores the applicability of N_c dilution curves in refining N management strategies, advocating for tailored nitrogen fertilization approaches to bolster sesame productivity and sustainability in drought-prone agricultural regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109565"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144147337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lowering cropland use intensity through crop-fallow rotation optimization fosters a resilient water future in the central farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China","authors":"Xin Chen ,&nbsp;Pingli An ,&nbsp;Yaoyao Li ,&nbsp;Guoliang Zhang ,&nbsp;Yuling Jin ,&nbsp;Yi Zhou ,&nbsp;Haile Zhao ,&nbsp;Luying Li ,&nbsp;Zhihua Pan","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109570","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109570","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The central farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China (CFPENC), a key food-producing region, faces significant water resource challenges due to intensified agricultural activities. To address this, China initiated a pilot crop-fallow rotation system, yet its practical application remains largely unexplored. In this context, we developed a sensitive and high-resolution evaluation indicator for cropland use intensity (<em>cLUI</em>), using Ulanqab as a case study to investigate its spatiotemporal dynamics and ecological impacts over the past decade. Our analysis revealed an overall increase in Ulanqab's <em>cLUI</em>, with 59.09% of townships showing upward trends while 40.91% demonstrated downward shifts. Notably, the proportion of cropland exhibiting decreased <em>cLUI</em> was marginally higher. From 2010–2014, <em>cLUI</em> levels in Houshan and Qianshan were comparable, but Houshan significantly exceeded Qianshan from 2015 to 2019. Irrigated fields had the highest <em>cLUI</em>, followed by center pivot irrigation (CPI) fields and rainfed fields, with the fields implementing the green depressing cropping system (GDCS) showing the lowest. Approximately one-fifth of croplands exhibit moderate <em>cLUI</em>. Rising <em>cLUI</em> levels may exacerbate surface water shrinkage and groundwater depletion. Finally, we proposed a crop-fallow rotation regulation strategy to promote sustainable water management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 109570"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144147338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}