Evaluation of Agricultural Water Resources Carrying Capacity and Its Influencing Factors: A Case Study of Townships in the Arid Region of Northwest China

Agriculture

Xiaoyu Song¹  Bao Wang¹  Qinhua Wang¹  Penglong Wang¹  Yao Wei²  Fanglei Zhong³ 

[1] Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China;School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China;School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China;

关键词: agriculture in arid regions;    water resources carrying capacity;    township scale;    water stress index;   

DOI  :  10.3390/agriculture12050700

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The water resources carrying capacity (WRCC) strongly determines the agricultural development in arid areas. Evaluation of WRCC is important in balancing the availability of water resources with society’s economic and environmental demands. Given the demand for sustainable utilization of agricultural water resources, we combine the water stress index and comprehensive index of WRCC and use multi-source data to evaluate agricultural WRCC and its influencing factors at the township scale. It makes up for the deficiencies of current research, such as the existence of single-index evaluation systems, limited calibration data, and a lack of a sub-watershed (i.e., township) scale. By applying multi-source data, this study expands the spatial scale of WRCC assessment and establishes a multidimensional evaluation framework for the water resources in dryland agriculture. The results indicate water stress index ranges from 0.52 to 1.67, and the comprehensive index of WRCC ranges from 0.25 to 0.70, which are significantly different in different types of irrigation areas and townships. Water quantity and water management are key factors influencing WRCC, the water ecosystem is an area requiring improvement, and the water environment is not a current constraint. Different irrigation areas and different types of townships should implement targeted measures to improve WRCC.

【 授权许可】

Unknown