Agricultural Water Management最新文献

{"title":"Does water-saving irrigation truly conserve water? Yes and No","authors":"Nan Zhao ,&nbsp;Xinjun Zheng ,&nbsp;Bin Zhang ,&nbsp;Shengchuan Tian ,&nbsp;Lan Du ,&nbsp;Yan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109399","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109399","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Irrigation is by far the largest consumer of freshwater, and is thus widely acknowledged as a major contributor to water scarcity. Consequently, water-saving technologies (WST) are considered to be effective in reducing irrigation water use and alleviating water scarcity. However, growing evidence indicates that looking at the larger spatial scale, these technologies may exacerbate water scarcity, particularly in arid regions. This study evaluated the water-saving effect at the field and regional scales based on a water accounting framework for an arid oasis region in Northwest China. The results showed that, with the application of WST, irrigation volume decreased by 1012.95 m³/ha over 20 years, with reduced soil evaporation for 80.4 % of the cropland. However, the perceived water saving gives the misleading impression that overall water use is declining, encouraging farmers to expand irrigated areas in pursuit of higher profits. Our results confirmed that the expansion leads to more water consumption at a regional scale. More importantly, this study highlighted that not all water losses are wasteful. Drainage plays a crucial ecological role in salt leaching and nourishing adjacent desert vegetation. Its significant reduction has occurred alongside noticeable drops in groundwater levels in the oasis-desert ecotone, which has subsequently led to vegetation degradation. These findings provide valuable insights for implementing water-saving measures in arid regions worldwide and serve as a warning that the overuse of WST in such areas could exacerbate water scarcity and ecological crises.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109399"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143512741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of different data quality control on evapotranspiration of winter wheat with Bowen ratio method","authors":"Yingnan Wu,&nbsp;Qiaozhen Li,&nbsp;Xiuli Zhong,&nbsp;Daozhi Gong,&nbsp;Xiaoying Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109379","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109379","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Bowen ratio energy balance (BREB) method is widely used to study surface evapotranspiration, but its major drawback is the uncertainty when Bowen ratio (β)→ −1. Various approaches have been employed to address this issue, but their performances were less evaluated via long-term field observations. Using data from three growing cycles, this study investigated the effect of five screening methods (Mth1 to Mth5 for −1 − |ε₁| &lt; β &lt; −1 + |ε₁|, −1.05 &lt; β &lt; −0.95, β &lt; −0.75, −1.3 &lt; β &lt; −0.75 and β &lt; −0.7 or β &gt; 10 or Δe ≤ 0, Δe denotes the measured vapor pressure gradient, and ε₁ is a coefficient depending on sensor resolution and Δe) on winter wheat evapotranspiration in northern China. On diurnal, daily and seasonal basis, the effect was in the order of Mth5 &gt; Mth3 &gt; Mth1 &gt; Mth2 &gt; Mth4, and the seasonal mean daily value of the gap-filled was 0.38, 0.22, 0.11, 0.01, and 0.01 mm d⁻¹ higher than the unfilled ones, yielding a seasonal total of 96.0, 53.5, 26.0, −0.9, and 0.4 mm, or 18.9 %, 11.4 %, 6.5 %, −0.2 %, and 0.1 % higher than the unfilled ones, respectively. These values resulted from the large difference in data rejection ranking as Mth5 &gt; Mth3 &gt; Mth1 &gt; Mth4 &gt; Mth2, seasonal mean daily 10-min rejection rate ranging from 15.4–73.2 %, 10.3–48.9 %, 5.3–44.9 %, 1.6–10.4 %, and 0.5–7.3 %, respectively (averaging 42.4 %, 30.5 %, 23.2 %, 5.7 %, and 2.6 %, respectively). The corresponding daily rejected hours ranged from 6.83–8.88, 3.60–6.11, 1.85–3.49, 0.10–0.39, and 0.07–0.33 h/day, respectively (averaging 7.53, 4.77, 2.90, 0.28, and 0.24 h/day, respectively), resulting in large data gaps for Mth5 (58.8 %), Mth3 (38.2 %), and Mth1 (17.5 %). Nighttime deletion dominated for Mth2 to Mth4, accounting for 61.1 %, 64.4 %, 68.3 %, and 63.2 % of the total deletion, whereas daytime deletion dominated for Mth1, accounting for 58.1 %. A large portion of invalid rejections of Mth1 (40.4 %–77.6 %), Mth3 (54.3 %–90.9 %) and Mth5 (61.8 %–92.7 %) was observed at the selected period, which was probably a consequence of the sensor’s error cancellation effect, questioning the traditional a priori assumption that small vapor gradients within instrumental error should be discarded. Overall, large differences were observed and the simple Mth4 performed better than the more restrictive ones. These findings are expected to guide the selection of post-data processing in the application of BREB method.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109379"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Irrigation technology, irrigation dose, and crop genetic impacts on alfalfa yield and quality","authors":"Bradley S. Crookston ,&nbsp;Dakota Boren ,&nbsp;Matt Yost ,&nbsp;Tina Sullivan ,&nbsp;Earl Creech ,&nbsp;Burdette Barker ,&nbsp;Cheyenne Reid","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109366","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109366","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In water limited environments, alfalfa (<em>Medicago sativa)</em> is often criticized for its high water use, prompting interest in optimizing irrigation technologies, deficit irrigation, and drought-tolerant genetics. However, potential cumulative benefits from combining water-saving strategies have not been previously identified. This study evaluated the independent and combined effects of five irrigation technologies (low-elevation Nelson advantage, low-elevation precision application, low-elevation spray application, mid-elevation spray application, and mobile drip irrigation), four irrigation doses (growers’ typical full dose, a 25 % reduction, and two 50 % reductions, uniform and growth stated-targeted), and two alfalfa varieties (growers’ conventional and drought-tolerant) across three Utah sites from 2020 to 2022. No interaction effects were found among these factors, indicating that stacking multiple water-saving strategies did not enhance yield or forage quality. Low-elevation sprinkler technologies generally outperformed mid-elevation and mobile drip irrigation, though results varied by environment. Deficit irrigation at 25 % reduction often maintained yields similar to growers’ Full irrigation dose, while 50 % reductions consistently decreased yield by 22–54 %. However, deficit irrigation improved forage quality and water use efficiency. Decision tree models revealed that maximizing relative feed value-adjusted water use efficiency primarily depended on matching irrigation dose and technology to site-specific climate demand rather than applying Full irrigation. These findings suggest that moderate deficit irrigation and low-elevation sprinkler technologies can improve forage quality and water resource efficiency without substantial yield loss that occurs with 50 % deficit irrigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109366"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143487222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparing evapotranspiration estimations using crop model-data fusion and satellite data-based models with lysimetric observations: Implications for irrigation scheduling","authors":"Claudio O. Stöckle ,&nbsp;Mingliang Liu ,&nbsp;Sunil A. Kadam ,&nbsp;Steven R. Evett ,&nbsp;Gary W. Marek ,&nbsp;Paul D. Colaizzi","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109372","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109372","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Irrigation scheduling relies on accurately estimating actual evapotranspiration (ET_a). However, achieving this goal remains challenging, with current trends attempting to integrate sensor data into biophysically-sound models. In this study, we used ET_a models that integrate satellite-derived data. Model outputs were compared with weighing lysimeter measurements collected at Bushland, Texas, focusing on the uncertainties associated with model estimations and lysimetric observations of ET_a. The data were for maize (<em>Zea mays</em> L) during the seasons 2013, 2016, and 2018, irrigated using a linear-move system applying 100 % and 75 % of ET_a, and a subsurface drip irrigation system applying 100 % ET_a. The models were CropSyst-W, a crop model integrating the normalized difference vegetation index to derive green canopy cover, and two remote sensing data-based energy balance models: EEFlux and OpenET. The average Willmott index of agreement (d, 0 = no agreement, 1 = perfect agreement) of 3 years and four lysimeters were 0.93 and 0.77 for CropSyst-W and EEFlux, respectively. OpenET estimates were only available in 2016 and 2018, with an average d of 0.89. The average normalized root mean square deviation was 0.31 and 0.47 for CropSyst-W and EEFlux and 0.32 for OpenET. Uncertainty factors affecting modeled and observed ET_a highlight the difficulty in defining model accuracy for adaptive irrigation scheduling, which is also affected by the spatial variability of ET_a and irrigation uniformity. Research on pathways for model improvement should continue, searching for practical solutions that integrate models and sensors and account for the limitations discussed here.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109372"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143474742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Additive intercropping green manure enhances maize water productivity through water competition and compensation under reduced nitrogen fertilizer application","authors":"Hanting Li ,&nbsp;Guocui Wang ,&nbsp;Falong Hu ,&nbsp;Zhilong Fan ,&nbsp;Wen Yin ,&nbsp;Weidong Cao ,&nbsp;Qiang Chai ,&nbsp;Tuo Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109388","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109388","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Excessive reliance on chemical nitrogen fertilizers and low crop water productivity (WP) in monoculture maize necessitate innovative cropping adjustments. Additive intercropping green manure crop into maize systems, while maintaining maize plant density and reducing chemical nitrogen inputs, promises to achieve stable yields and improve WP. A field experiment conducted from 2019 to 2021 in a northwestern China oasis irrigation area used a split-plot design with three replications. Main plots included maize intercropped with common vetch (IM1), maize intercropped with rape (IM2), and sole maize (SM). Subplots consisted of a 25 % reduced nitrogen amount (N1: 270 kg N ha⁻¹) and local conventional nitrogen amount (N2: 360 kg N ha⁻¹). Results indicated that intercropping reduced total evapotranspiration (ET) compared to sole maize. Nitrogen reduction amplified the decrease in total ET within the intercropping system. In sole maize, N1 decreased WP by 5.5 %-15.2 % compared to N2. However, both IM1 and IM2 mitigated WP declines caused by N1. IM1N1 exhibited higher WP than IM2N1 (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). The differences in soil water content between the inter-strips revealed competition above the 30 cm soil layer during green manure growth, followed by compensation across entire soil layers after clipping. Water movement potential was used to evaluate intercropping water dynamics, showing that IM1N1 minimized water competition during the green manure growth period and maximized water compensation after green manure clipping. In conclusion, intercropping with green manure, particularly common vetch, presents a sustainable and effective strategy for enhancing maize water productivity under reduced nitrogen input in arid regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109388"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143480288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating the influence of different straw mulch-autumn irrigation patterns on soil water, heat, and salt in seasonally frozen regions with distributed SHAW model","authors":"Jing Xue,&nbsp;Chong Fu,&nbsp;Junfeng Chen,&nbsp;Lihong Cui","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109377","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109377","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water scarcity and soil salinization are significant challenges to agricultural production in the Hetao Irrigation District (HID). Autumn irrigation is a crucial strategy for water conservation and salt leaching, and straw mulch is an effective method for alleviating soil salinization. This study used the distributed SHAW model to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of soil water-heat-salt during the freeze-thaw period (FTP) and spring sowing period (SSP) under various straw mulch-autumn irrigation (SMAI) patterns in the HID from 2000 to 2017. Suitable SMAI modes were recommended and quantitatively evaluated. Results showed that straw mulch thickness influenced soil water, heat, and salt dynamics and the effect of autumn watering was not obvious. Compared with no mulch, under different straw mulch patterns, the 0–40 cm soil water content (SWC) increased by 12.9∼13.1 % on average, the soil temperature (ST) rose by 31.6∼33.6 %, and the soil salt content (SSC) decreased by 38∼49.5 %. Aiming at \"low soil salt\", \"suitable soil moisture and temperature\", \"water saving\", and \"straw mulch cost saving\", an autumn irrigation quota of 90 mm and straw mulch of 0.9 kg/m² were recommended for Dengkou County (DK) and Hangqinhouqi (HH); Linhe District (LH) and Wuyuan County (WY) were advised to adopt an autumn irrigation quota of 90 mm and straw mulch of 0.6 kg/m²; Wulateqianqi (WQQ) was recommended to adopt an autumn irrigation quota of 90 mm with no mulch. Compared with traditional autumn irrigation, under the recommended SMAI mode, the average annual increase in SWC was 0.1∼6.6 %, ST varied from −6.6–6.2 %, and SSC changed from −34.6–20.8 %. Implementing the recommended mode could save approximately 494 million m³ of Yellow River water annually, despite an average annual cost of about 13.77 million RMB (1.97 million US $) for straw mulch. The results offer useful references for optimizing SMAI modes and conserving water resources in the HID.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109377"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143474741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cover crop termination method has a limited effect on spring soil moisture and temperature in humid mid-Atlantic U.S.","authors":"Cara M. Peterson ,&nbsp;Harry H. Schomberg ,&nbsp;Alondra I. Thompson ,&nbsp;Steven B. Mirsky ,&nbsp;Kate L. Tully","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109342","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109342","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Winter cover crop termination is commonly achieved by applying broad-spectrum herbicides, which vary in mode of action and time required to kill the cover crop. Many growers also use roller-crimpers to mechanically kill cover crops or to create a uniform horizontal mulch for planting cash crops. The influence of mechanical termination methods on soil moisture and temperature has been previously evaluated, but not paired with chemical termination as frequently is the case in farming operations. To address this question, soil moisture and temperature were measured continuously in central Maryland, USA, across five weeks under a cereal rye (<em>Secale cereale</em> L.) cover crop terminated via roller-crimper and the application of glyphosate and paraquat. Over two years, there were minimal to no differences in cumulative infiltration or evapotranspiration among termination treatments at two fields with contrasting soil textures. In all four site-years, daily temperature fluctuation was higher in roller-crimped residue (17.3 °C) compared to standing (15.0 °C). In this study, we delayed cover crop termination until anthesis to facilitate successful roller-crimping, resulting in a thick cover crop mulch layer after termination and reduced soil moisture loss via evaporation. In humid regions such as the mid-Atlantic United States, growers may not observe differences in soil moisture or temperature between mechanical or chemical termination methods. However, soil moisture and thermal dynamics might shift depending on termination strategy in arid regions or years with lower-than-average precipitation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109342"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143480286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trigger thresholds and propagation mechanism of meteorological drought to agricultural drought in an inland river basin","authors":"Lin Wang ,&nbsp;Wei Wei ,&nbsp;Lixin Wang ,&nbsp;Shengnan Chen ,&nbsp;Weili Duan ,&nbsp;Qiang Zhang ,&nbsp;Bing Tong ,&nbsp;Zhiming Han ,&nbsp;Zhi Li ,&nbsp;Liding Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109378","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109378","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Quantifying the thresholds and processes of drought propagation is of great significance for early drought warning and ecosystem management. Our understanding of their spatial patterns and driving mechanism remains unclear. In this study, based on Copula functions, we quantified the thresholds and process of meteorological drought to agricultural drought in an alpine-oasis-desert inland river basin of China for the period of 1980–2020. Furthermore, the main factors driving drought propagation were identified using the Random Forest model. The results showed that: (1) significant spatial heterogeneity exists in the propagation of meteorological to agricultural drought, with longer propagation time and higher propagation risk in the upstream; (2) from upstream to downstream, the percentile-based average cumulative precipitation deficit threshold for triggering agricultural drought ranged from 18.5 % to 45.0 % under moderate probability conditions (greater than 0.6); (3) the response of agricultural drought to meteorological drought was characterized by intensity amplification and duration attenuation in the upstream, while the opposite occurred downstream. This response is mainly driven by the interactions of actual evapotranspiration (<span><math><msub><mrow><mi>ET</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>a</mi></mrow></msub></math></span>) and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Specifically, <span><math><msub><mrow><mi>ET</mi></mrow><mrow><mi>a</mi></mrow></msub></math></span> and VPD contributed 15.7 %–54.8 % and 8.7 %–39.5 %, respectively. Additionally, irrigation also plays an important role in drought propagation, contributing 6.5 %–9.6 %. This study provides important implications and valuable insights for understanding the mechanisms of agricultural drought formation. Furthermore, the results can provide scientific guidance for watershed water allocation, drought preparedness and risk management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109378"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143471350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolution of chemical characteristics and irrigation suitability of groundwater in arid and semi-arid regions","authors":"Yan Yan ,&nbsp;Haibin Shi ,&nbsp;Qingfeng Miao ,&nbsp;Yi Zhao ,&nbsp;Xin Nie ,&nbsp;Zhengzhong Li ,&nbsp;Meiling Pan ,&nbsp;Weiying Feng ,&nbsp;José Manuel Gonçalves ,&nbsp;Isabel Maria Duarte","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109361","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109361","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Groundwater is a vital resource in arid and semi-arid regions, playing a key role in sustaining ecosystems, supporting agricultural irrigation, and ensuring human survival. This study evaluates the irrigation suitability of groundwater in the Jiefang Sluice Irrigation District, part of the Hetao Irrigation District—the largest single-system irrigation district in Asia. A total of 126 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed to assess chemical environmental changes, classify water quality, and identify the environmental factors influencing the formation of groundwater components during typical irrigation periods. The findings reveal that groundwater in the region primarily falls into two chemical types: Cl-Na and Cl-SO₄-Ca-Mg. Analyses of the Water Quality Index (WQI) and irrigation suitability indicate that groundwater quality is poor, with 84.12 % of samples deemed unsuitable for irrigation. This unsuitability is primarily attributed to elevated concentrations of Na⁺, K⁺, and Cl⁻. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Gibbs geochemical model suggest that evaporation-induced crystallization and rock salt dissolution are the principal factors contributing to groundwater salinization, whereas processes like silicate hydrolysis and cation exchange are of secondary importance. To ensure the sustainable use of groundwater for irrigation, stricter control measures must be implemented. Key recommendations include optimizing irrigation techniques and promoting ecological restoration to enhance groundwater quality. This study underscores the critical importance of sustainable water resource management in addressing salinity issues and safeguarding groundwater resources, which are indispensable for agricultural sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109361"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143471352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cutting nitrogen leaching in greenhouse soil by water-nitrogen partially decoupled drip fertigation","authors":"Jing He ,&nbsp;Mingfen Niu ,&nbsp;Jian Ma ,&nbsp;Zhi Quan ,&nbsp;Guangyu Chi ,&nbsp;Caiyan Lu ,&nbsp;Bin Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109382","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109382","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>It is challenging by popular water-nitrogen coupled drip fertigation (CF) to control dissolved nitrogen (DN) leaching in greenhouse soils planted with cucumber-represented vegetables that often need sufficient and frequent irrigation to ensure yields. This study proposed water-nitrogen partially decoupled drip fertigation (DF) as a substitute for CF to cut DN leaching from cucumber-planted greenhouse soil without cutting water and N input. DF performance in comparison with CF in soil DN leaching control was evaluated both theoretically based on presumed criteria and experimentally in a greenhouse loam soil without and with cucumbers. DF had a good potential in reducing DN leaching under moderate water leaching (15 %-25 %) when the ratio of irrigation and the ratio of N fertilization in water-more-dissolved nitrogen-less (WM) and water-less-dissolved nitrogen-more (WL) subzone soil specially formed under DF were respectively set at 2.0–3.0 and 0.6–0.8. Experimental results showed that the reduction effect of DF was limited on water leaching (&lt;10 %) but significant on DN leaching, especially with cucumbers. The cumulative leaching loss of DN dominated by nitrate N (&gt;75 %) from seven leaching events during the water demand-high fruiting period under moderate water leaching (averagely around 15 %) was 41.7 % lower (p &lt; 0.05) under DF than under CF, predominantly (78.3 %) via lowering its availability in leachate. Moreover, DF increased the cucumber yield somewhat with retention of significantly more nitrate N mainly in WL subzone soil. The presence of cucumber improved DF performance mainly by absorbing more water from WM subzone soil than from WL subzone soil to weaken lateral diffusion of water and nitrate-dominated DN between WM and WL subzone soil, lowering DN level in leachate mainly derived from WM subzone soil while enhancing its level mainly in WL subzone soil. Hence, DF may replace CF to cut N leaching without cutting irrigation in greenhouse soils cultivated with cucumber-represented vegetables needing sufficient and frequent irrigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 109382"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143471351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}