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BACKGROUND: Drought affects the characteristics of water use during crop production and so quantitatively evaluating the impacts is important. However, it remains unclear how crop water use responds to drought. To address this gap, water footprint (WF) and standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) were calculated by remote sensing approaches to assess the effects of drought on crop water use. Rainfed maize is the most important crop in Jilin Province, and its growth and water use are more susceptible to drought. The present study explored not only the impact of growing season drought on the maize WF values in Jilin Province, but also the response of WF values to drought at different time scales. RESULTS: Spatially, 72.94% of the WFblue pixels showed a non‐significant increase, and the WFgreen in 68% pixels decreased significantly, being mainly concentrated in the middle region. Furthermore, the pixels affected by monthly time scale drought were mainly in the middle region, whereas the pixels affected by annual time scale drought were mainly in the western region. CONCLUSION: Drought not only affected on the source and structure of agricultural water consumption, but also had different effects on WF values at different time scale. These effects had obvious spatial differences. The present study systematically explored the effects of drought on the WF values for rainfed maize in different climate regions and a consideration of these effects could provide valuable information on rainfed maize growth and the agricultural water use response to a changing climate. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Rice is a special crop, and its production differs from that of other crops because it requires a thin layer of water coverage for a long period. The calculation of the water footprint of rice production should differ from that of other crops owing to the rice growing process. This study improved the calculation of blue and grey water footprints of rice production and analyzed the variations in the water footprints for rice production under different rainfall years in Jilin Province. RESULTS: In the drought year, the green water footprint was the lowest and the blue water footprint was the highest among the three years, while in the humid year, the green water footprint was the highest and the blue water footprint was not the lowest. The areas with higher water footprints were found in the east and west regions of Jilin Province, while the areas with lower water footprints were found in the middle east and middle regions of Jilin Province. CONCLUSION: Blue water was the primary water resource for rice production, although more precipitation provided the highest green water in the humid year; also, the spatial distributions of water footprints were not the same under different rainfall years. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Field-scale changes in the water footprint during crop growth play an important role in formulating sustainable water utilisation strategies. This study aimed to explore field-scale variation in the water footprint of growing sunflowers in the western Jilin Province, China, during a 3-year field experiment. The goals of this study were to (1) determine the components of the 'blue' and 'green' water footprints for sunflowers sown with water, and (2) analyse variations in water footprints and soil water balance under different combinations of temperature and precipitation. Specific actions could be adopted to maintain sustainable agricultural water utilisation in the semi-arid region based on this study. RESULTS The green, blue, and grey water footprints accounted for 93.7-94.7%, 0.4-0.5%, and 4.9-5.8%, respectively, of the water footprint of growing sunflowers. The green water footprint for effective precipitation during the growing season accounted for 58.8% in a normal drought year but 48.2% in an extreme drought year. When the effective precipitation during the growing season could not meet the green water use, a moisture deficit arose. This increase in the moisture deficit can have a significant impact on soil water balance. CONCLUSION Green water was the primary water source for sunflower growth in the study area, where a scarcity of irrigation water during sunflower growth damaged the soil water balance, particularly in years with continuous drought. The combination of temperature and precipitation effected the growing environment, leading to differences in yield and water footprint. The field experiments in this area may benefit from further water footprint studies at the global, national and regional scale. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Water footprint ( WF) methodology is essential for quantifying total water consumption of crop production and making efficient water management policies. This study calculated the green, blue, grey and total WFs of maize production in Northeast China from 1998 to 2012 and compared the values of the provinces. This study also analyzed the spatial variation and structure characteristics of the WFs at the prefecture level. RESULTS The annual average WF of maize production was 1029 m3 per ton, which was 51% green, 21% blue and 28% grey. The WF of maize production was highest in Liaoning Province, moderate in Heilongjiang Province and lowest in Jilin Province. The spatial differences of the WFs calculated for the 36 major maize production prefectures were significant in Northeast China. There was a moderate positive spatial autocorrelation among prefectures that had similar WFs. Local indicator of spatial autocorrelation index ( LISA) analysis identified prefectures with higher WFs in the southeast region of Liaoning Province and the southwest region of Heilongjiang Province and prefectures with lower WFs in the middle of Jilin Province. CONCLUSION Spatial differences in the WF of maize production were caused mainly by variations in climate conditions, soil quality, irrigation facilities and maize yield. The spatial distribution of WFs can help provide a scientific basis for optimizing maize production distribution and then formulate strategies to reduce the WF of maize production. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rain-fed crops are a major crop type, and their water use is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Studying the water requirement characteristics of rain-fed crops in different growth stages and associated climatic driving factors is of great significance for sustainable crop production. The water footprint (WF) of crops can comprehensively reflect the type and quantity of water consumption during the crop growth period. Previous studies have focused on quantifying the crop WF throughout the growth period, and less attention has been given to quantifying the crop WF in different growth stages. This study quantified the WFs of rain-fed maize and associated climatic driving factors in five growth stages from 1996 to 2018 in Northeast China. The results show that (1) the WF of rain-fed maize in each growth stage showed distinct differences. The highest WF occurred in the tasseling-milky growth stage, whereas the lowest WF occurred in the sowing-emergence growth stage. (2) The variation trends of maize WF in different growth stages were heterogeneous across Northeast China. The declining trends were mainly distributed in the southwest, while increasing trends were mainly distributed in the east in most growth stages. (3) Sunshine hours and temperature had a greater impact on the maize WF in most growth stages. The impacts of other climatic factors on the WF of rain-fed maize differed among different growth stages. Precipitation contributed much more to the variation in maize WF in early growth stages, relative humidity had the greatest impact on the WF of maize in the jointing-tasseling growth stage, and wind speed played a major role in the variation in the maize WF at the milky-mature growth stage. Management measures should be adjusted to alleviate the impact of climatic conditions on crop water consumption in different growth stages according to the results. • Water footprint (WF) of rain-fed maize in different growth stages was analyzed. • The highest WF was in tasseling-milky stage and the lowest in sowing-seeding stage. • Sunshine hours and temperatures had a greater impact on WF in most growth stages. • Feasible measures to reduce the impact of climatic factors on WF were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and freshwater scarcity are central environmental concerns that are closely linked to crop production. The carbon footprint (CF) and water footprint (WF) of a crop can reflect the effects of crop production on GHG emissions and water use (WU), respectively. Studying the CFs and WFs associated with crop production will be conducive to understanding the environmental changes caused by agricultural activities, and exploring the relationship between CFs and WFs can provide a basis for strategies that reduce environmental pressures. We estimated the CF and WF of maize production in Jilin Province from 2004 to 2017 and analyzed their spatiotemporal characteristics. The results showed that the average CF and WF were 0.177 kg CO2eq/kg and 0.806 m3/kg from 2004 to 2017, respectively; 69% of the GHG emissions were due to the manufacture; transportation and application of fertilizer; and 84% of the water use was attributed to the green WF. The relationship between the CF and WF of maize production was significantly positive and indicated the possibility of simultaneous mitigation. Potential practices such as the optimization of fertilization and of agricultural machinery use and the incorporation of no-till technologies with the straw return are recommended to mitigate both GHG emissions and water use and achieve triple-win agriculture with low carbon use and water and energy savings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water consumption ensures crop production and grain security, and is influenced by many factors. Analyzing the impact factors of water consumption during crop production will be beneficial to the full use of water resources and crop growth. Jilin Province is one of the major crop production areas in China and is facing water shortages. Using the water footprint as an indicator, this study evaluated the water consumption of crop production in Jilin Province during 2000–2016, explored the impacts of climatic and agricultural input factors on the water consumption of crop production, and identified the most influential factors in years under different levels of rainfall. The results indicate that the crop water footprint exhibited a decreasing trend during 2000–2016, and the most influential factors of the crop water footprint changed over the years with different levels of rainfall. Precipitation and the effective irrigation area were the most influential factors in the drought year, and accumulated temperature, machinery power, and chemical fertilizer consumption were the most influential factors in normal and humid years. The most influential factors of the crop water footprint differed in different regions with the differences in natural and human interfered conditions. Identifying the impacts of the most influential factors on the water consumption of crop production would be conducive to optimizing farmland management and achieving sustainable agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater resources are limited and uneven in their spatiotemporal distribution, and substantial increases in water demand from rapidly developing economies and concentrated populations place pressure on the available water. Research on the inequality of water footprint (WF) could provide countermeasures for the rational use and allocation of water resources. We evaluated the temporal and spatial inequality of WF using the Gini coefficient and imbalance index based on socioeconomic and environmental factors in Jilin Province. The results showed that from 2008 to 2015, the overall inequality of WF in Jilin Province was "relative equality", and the inequalities between the WF and population, cultivated area were "high equality"; between the WF and gross domestic product (GDP) was "relative equality"; and between the WF and natural water endowment was "high inequality". With respect to space, the differences of WF inequality were significant. In the west, the WF inequality changed greatly, from "relative equality" to "relative inequality" driven by population, GDP, cultivated area, and natural water endowment. In the middle, the WF inequality showed large internal differences with "high inequality" or "high equality" caused by GDP and natural water endowment. In the east, the WF inequality was relatively stable, at "high equality" or "neutral" affected by natural water endowment and population. The varied impact factors reflected the differences in natural resources and socioeconomic conditions in the various regions, and the results might provide a theoretical basis for guiding the rational allocation of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]