Recently, the team of Optimal Allocation and Regulation Technique of Agriculture Water Resources from Institute of Irrigation(IFI), Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has analyzed the agricultural water resources carrying capacity of Henan Province and revealed its spatial and temporal characteristics by enriching the evaluation indicators and improving the indicator weighting evaluation method. The relevant research was published in the  Journal of Cleaner Production .

The agricultural water resources carrying capacity is an important indicator for scientific adjustment of agricultural policies to ensure food security. However, the traditional evaluation method was limited by the inadequacy of the indicator system and the randomness of the weighting of the indicators, which restricted the reasonability of the agricultural water resources carrying capacity evaluation results.

Researchers added ecological and meteorological data to solve this problem. Twenty indicators related to agricultural water resources carrying capacity were selected to improve the indicator system, and CRITIC was introduced to solve the subjectivity and randomness of weight determination in the traditional hierarchical analysis method (AHP). The study found that three indicators, the proportion of water-saving irrigation on cropland, per capita agricultural water consumption and vegetation net primary productivity, have greater influence on the agricultural water resources evaluation system.

The study concluded that although the agricultural water resources in Henan Province were overloaded overall from 2010 to 2020, the carrying capacity of water resources gradually increased. The carrying capacity was strongest in the central region, weaker in the southwest and continued to increase in the east. The study also applied sensitivity and correlation analysis of the evaluation indicators to provide improvement recommendations for four categories of cities in Henan Province with different carrying capacities. The study provides a basis for decision making to optimise the rational allocation and efficient use of agricultural water resources in Henan Province.

The study was funded by the National Key Research and Development Programme, the Central Public Welfare Research Institute Basic Research Funds, Henan Province Key R&D and Promotion Special Project and the Science and Technology Innovation Program of CAAS.

Link:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136869

By: Zhang Youming (zhangyouming@caas.cn)