Intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) is a critical parameter that encapsulates the equilibrium between carbon assimilation and the concomitant water expenditure. Enhancing the WUEi of crops is not only instrumental in bolstering their resilience to drought but also enables higher carbon fixation efficiency under conditions of scarce water resources. Improving the WUEi of crop varieties has become

The filling stage of winter wheat is crucial for grain formation. Precise irrigation during this period can significantly enhance both grain yield and water productivity, especially in arid regions. This study introduces a method for precise irrigation decision-making of winter wheat at the filling stage based on UAV hyperspectral inversion of leaf water content (LWC). Through the relationship between

The rising frequency and severity of droughts due to global climate change have posed significant challenges to agriculture, particularly in the Ta-pieh Mountains of China, where the economy relies heavily on agriculture. Accurate drought prediction and understanding mechanisms are essential for reducing drought-related losses. This study proposes a framework that integrates machine learning with explainable

Saltwater intrusion (SWI) on low-lying coastal farms causes soil salinization, which may gradually render the land unsuitable for cultivation. Many studies on SWI focus on groundwater flow and salt transport, where the temporal dynamic of consequent soil salinization is understudied. To understand the effects of SWI on soil salinity, we gathered multi-scale field datasets on water level and salinity

The poor soil structure caused by salinization is a major factor affecting crop growth and soil structure will further affect hydrological function. Biochar is widely used to improve soil physical structure because of its special porous material. However, the mechanism of soil pore structure on hydrological function (e.g., soil saturated hydraulic conductivity, plant available water, least limiting

Commercial strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch.) production in Florida relies heavily on bare-root transplants, which typically have 3–5 leaves with partially desiccated roots. Successful establishment requires sprinkler irrigation during daylight hours for the first 10–14 days, leading to substantial water consumption. To address this issue, we evaluated the efficacy of intermittent sprinkler irrigation

Water scarcity in arid and semiarid areas highlights the importance of developing water-saving irrigation techniques. Soil extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs) and microbes are important for soil biochemical cycles and plant growth. However, little is understood about how soil EEAs, and microbial communities respond to water-saving irrigation systems and levels. Therefore, a field experiment was

Soil moisture estimation is critical for environmental and agricultural sustainability, with its spatial and temporal variation playing a key role in drought monitoring and understanding climate change. The region of Prince Edward Island (PEI), Atlantic Canada's largest potato producer, is facing irregular precipitation patterns that stress crop water supplies. This study aims to estimate field-scale

Soil erosion is amplified by the increased precipitation and rainfall erosivity caused by the changing climate, particularly for global mid-high latitude areas. Yet soil erosion processes and proper tillage practices are not well understood at the crop seedling stage, when the annual precipitation is usually concentrated in these regions. Simulated rainfall experiments were conducted at the rainfall

Straw return is commonly used to improve soil fertility and quality, thereby contributing to improved crop production; however, the influence of different straw management on soil moisture variation, its response to precipitation, and soil pore properties remains largely inadequate, let alone the relationships between these factors. To fill this knowledge gap, the temporal dynamics of soil moisture

Agricultural water conservation is crucial for sustainable development, particularly in water-scarce regions. This study examines the factors that influence water conservation behaviors among wheat farmers, comparing those in water-deficient areas to those in water-endowed regions. Utilizing a non-experimental causal-comparative approach, data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered

This study explores the patterns of sustainable use and management of competing water sectors in the Alanya Water Users Association (WUA) in Southern Türkiye, over eight years (2013–2020) before the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic, focusing on the impacts of the recorded huge growth of tourism. Performance indicators of collective irrigation services are used to identify performance patterns and trends over time

To fully understand the sprinkler irrigation-crop-soil continuum, prevent sprinkler erosion, and ensure good development of sprinkler technology, it is essential to characterize the spatiotemporal variability of physical parameters and the splash erosion potential of sprinkler water droplets. The influences of maize canopy and sprinkler characteristics on the spatiotemporal distribution patterns of

Global warming is projected to increase future droughts that will have a significant impact on maize cultivation in China. Therefore, we studied the changing climate patters and its impact during the maize growth period (MGP) using the downscaled outputs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) under two Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP245 and SSP585) for the future period in

The removal of nitrogen from farmland drainage is challenging due to the typically low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio. In this study, an algal-bacterial symbiosis system was developed to treat low C/N farmland drainage. The investigation focused on the nutrient removal rates, microbial growth characteristics, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content, and microbial community species composition

Agricultural non-point source (ANPS) pollution increasingly threatens China’s aquatic ecosystems. Intercropping grain crops (GC) and cash crops (CC) increases landscape fragmentation, making pollution control harder. As producers of ANPS pollution and beneficiaries of its governance, farmers’ participation is crucial for improving water environments. However, the impact of social networks, closely

To improve nitrogen uptake and grain quality in maize, this study explores the dynamic processes of nitrogen accumulation, distribution, and translocation under varying water and nitrogen supplies, aiming to optimize water-nitrogen management practices. Field trials were conducted in Karamay, Xinjiang, in 2022 and 2023, with different irrigation levels (75 % ETc, 100 % ETc, 125 % ETc) and nitrogen

Generally spoken that light and soil water conditions within patches often negatively correlate, significantly affecting the growth of clonal plants. But the role of clonal integration in modulating carbohydrate metabolism of paired ramets under heterogeneous environments remains unclear. Hence the initial research is performed focusing on water and carbohydrate sharing among ramets under heterogeneous

Blue water (BW) and green water (GW) are crucial components of the hydrological cycle, but their accurate simulation and interpretation remain challenging in data-scarce basins. We propose the SWAT-ELM-SHAP model, coupling the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), Ensemble Learning Model (ELM), and Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) method. This novel approach bridges the gap between a physically-based

Monitoring soil salinity is essential for understanding the behavior of coastal wetland ecosystems and implementing effective management strategies. Despite the advantages of the Multi-Spectral Instrument (MSI) data for large-scale, high-frequency soil salinity monitoring, challenges remain in data preprocessing and model construction. We combined fractional-order derivative (FOD) technology with stacked

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, known for its high spatial resolution and all-weather observation capabilities, holds immense promise in soil moisture monitoring. The Water Cloud Model (WCM) is widely applied in soil moisture inversion using SAR data. However, the optical vegetation indices employed in traditional WCM cannot synchronize with SAR data, and the polarimetric scattering information

The increasing frequency of drought and flooding events due to climate change exposes rice to intensified alternating drought and flooding stress during different growth stages. To elucidate the impacts of alternating drought and flooding stress on rice growth and carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism, five irrigation regimes were established: alternating cycle of light drought-flooding-light drought

Efficient water use and irrigation water conservation with yield optimization are crucial for attaining water security in sustainable agriculture to fulfill the growing food demand of the overwhelming population. Meta-analyses were employed to assess the irrigation scheduling impact on fruit yield (Y), quality, and water use efficiency (WUE) of apples, peaches, and sweet cherries. The irrigation scheduling

Different irrigation methods can impact the micro-ecological environment of paddy soil, affecting crop growth. This study focuses on County A, a key grain production area on China’s East Coast, where 20 plots each of intermittent and flood irrigation were selected and labeled as Group I and Group F, respectively. Soil's basic physicochemical properties and heavy metal content were measured in the laboratory

New superabsorbent hydrogels (SH) could be groundbreaking technologies for the adaptation of agriculture to climate change, but knowledge about their physio-chemical traits, their effects on soil hydrology, and their efficacy on tree crop physiology is very limited. In this work, two potassium polyacrylate SH (SH1 and SH2) and an organic material derived SH (SH3) were tested for their water holding

The increasing utilization of non-conventional water sources, particularly in arid regions, necessitates strategies for effectively harnessing these resources. This study examines the impacts of using marginal quality waters, including recycled wastewater (RW) and brackish groundwater (BW), compared to those using desalinated brackish water (DW) as a control, on alfalfa cultivation in Fuerteventura

Investigating processes causing water resource depletion risks is key to understanding past, present, and future excessive irrigation water withdrawal. Quantitative spatiotemporal analysis of the factors driving excessive irrigation water withdrawal is currently inadequate. Although multiple drivers typically contribute to this risk, we studied, for the first time, whether and how Actual Irrigation

Groundwater plays a key role in regulating the transition from meteorological droughts (MD) to agricultural droughts (AD), though its specific influence during crop growth remains unclear. In this study, daily effective root zone soil moisture and annual yield for winter wheat and summer maize were simulated using Aquacrop model under four scenarios: Scenario 1 (groundwater level at 1 m depth), Scenario

In coastal lands, soil salinity greatly impedes crops growth and severely affects the agricultural productivity. Returning the crop straw and residual to soil was considered an important land reclamation method; however, the approach of straw return varied, including mulching (SM), burial (SB), and incorporation (SI). This study aimed to determine which approach was most effective to ameliorate coastal

Flash drought has attracted worldwide attention in recent years because of its destructive effects on ecosystems. However, the research on ecosystem loss caused by flash drought is insufficient. In this study, a basis for further understanding of the impact of flash drought on grassland was developed, and a method was established for quantitatively assessing productivity and economic losses in various

Mulching is an agricultural practice that is extensively implemented worldwide to conserve water in soil to enhance agricultural production，and especially in the temperate continental monsoon climate regions. However, the mechanism controlling soil moisture evaporation, infiltration, and retention by mulching is unclear. We assess the impact of various mulching regimes on the soil–water equilibrium

The Brazilian Cerrado is a vital agricultural region, yet its expansion often overlooks the high climate risks posed by the prolonged dry season, particularly from June to September when water demand surges, causing low-flow conditions. Recent studies highlight significant water deficits between May and October, making irrigation water use (IWU) crucial for policymakers and managers. This study estimates

A greater understanding of Moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) transpiration (T) can assist in the development of accurate irrigation management tools. This study aimed at quantifying Moringa T by measuring and modelling the sap flow (SF) of intact stems using an improved heat balance technique. The study was conducted during two consecutive seasons (2021–2022 (Season 1) and 2022–2023 (Season 2)) at the

Promoting water-saving irrigation technology (WSIT) has long been recognized as an effective measure to reduce irrigation water use and alleviate regional water poverty. Neighbours are the groups with the most interaction, the most intensive contact and the most frequent communication in agricultural production. In this paper, based on a field survey of irrigator farmers of China, experiments were

In this study, a soil moisture-based wireless sensor network (SM-WSN) was transferred to support irrigation management at field scale. This smart irrigation service comes from a necessity and willingness to upgrade the regional weather-based decision support system of the Tuscany region (Italy). The sensor network was designed, hydrologically, and agronomically validated in a commercial pear orchard

Thus far, a series of field experiments have been conducted across the globe to investigate the effects of biochar on crop productivity. However, a comprehensive evaluation of the improvement potential of crop yield, water use, and relevant underlying drivers after adding biochar remains lacking. A synthesis based on global field experiments was conducted herein to investigate the efficacy of biochar

Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is a highly efficient and safe method for water reuse, particularly with biogas slurry. However, emitter clogging risks are high and it was hard to visualize the process. This study developed a high-precision numerical simulation method using 3D industrial computed tomography scanning, inverse modeling, and numerical simulation. We investigated the spatial distribution

Using thermal infrared remote sensing from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to obtain crop canopy temperature and calculate the crop water stress index (CWSI) is a promising method for monitoring field water conditions. However, such endeavors are often constrained to instantaneous scales due to the diurnal variability of thermal infrared data. To address this limitation, we developed a daily-scale

Accurately assessing root-zone soil moisture is crucial for precision irrigation, as it directly influences crop yield. The Temperature-Vegetation Index (Ts-VI) Feature Space, which combines land surface temperature (Ts) and vegetation index (VI), is widely used to evaluate root-zone soil moisture in vegetated areas. However, its effectiveness in estimating crop yield remains unclear. Therefore, the

Maize-soybean intercropping systems are widespread in North China. However, the combined effects of supplementary irrigation and different nitrogen (N) application rates on the productivity, water use efficiency (WUE), and N use efficiency (NUE) of such systems remain unclear. A field experiment was conducted in a semi-humid drought-prone region in Northwest China in 2022 and 2023 to assess the interaction

Soil moisture plays a crucial role in surface hydrological processes and land–atmosphere interactions. It can influence vegetation growth directly, serving as a significant indicator for monitoring agricultural drought. However, spatially continuous datasets of root zone soil moisture rely on model simulations, introducing numerous uncertainties associated with model parameters and input data. Currently

Drainage is important in controlling the level of groundwater water in improving the melioration of irrigated lands in agriculture. The right choice of drainage parameters during design will allow for minimization of salt fluxes between the crop root zone and groundwater, and between drained lands and receiving water bodies. In this study, bibliometric analysis was used to identify important trends

Groundwater irrigation (GWI) decreases soil temperature and increases crop growth duration and water consumption. Optimizing sowing dates offers a cost-effective solution to mitigate these effects. This study evaluated five sowing date treatments for spring maize: GWI on April 20 (GW420), April 25 (GW425), April 30 (GW430), May 5 (GW505), and May 10 (GW510), with surface water irrigation (SWI) on April

Accurate quantification of soil moisture is essential for understanding water and energy exchanges between the atmosphere and the Earth’s surface, as well as for agricultural applications. Predicting soil moisture content is vital for efficient water management, irrigation scheduling, and drought monitoring. Traditional forecasting methods, such as numerical regression models, often struggle due to

Groundwater extracted from coal seams may be a resource for irrigation of land in areas with low rainfall, but the effect of this water on soil properties needs to be established. A lysimeter study was conducted using intact soil cores (0.75 m diameter, 1.4 m deep) of four different soil types (Sodic Vertisol, Calcic Solonetz, Haplic Solonetz and Xanthic Lixisol) from southern Queensland, Australia

Replacing summer fallow period (July to September, SF) with annual short-season forages in the traditional fallow-winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system may maintain grain yield and improve productivity in the semi-arid environments. But the uneven and variability rainfall led to instable productivity of the annual forage–winter wheat cropping system. The aims of this study were to 1) quantifying

Characterizing the effects of previous water and salinity stresses is critical for the evaluation of plant water status, which, in turn, is essential for understanding soil-plant water relations and optimizing irrigation schemes. Recent research has found that hysteresis of plant response following water stress alone can be described by an exponential function of the stress degree on the previous day

To address the issues of both water resources allocation and sustainable management in agriculture areas with rising food demand, a simulation-optimization framework based on Flopy and Pymoo was proposed and developed for canal-well combined irrigation districts. The proposed framework first solved the many-objective water resources allocation problem which integrates groundwater simulation, crop production

Urban lawns comprise a significant portion of urban greenery and provide several ecosystem services. Nevertheless, maintaining lawns comes with significant water costs in semi-arid inland southern California, as they require consistent irrigation to stay healthy and productive. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a wide range of irrigation rates and frequencies applied autonomously

Water and salt transport among different use type land is important to irrigation management in arid area. In this study, a typical irrigation unit including cultivated land and wasteland in Hetao Irrigation District of China was selected to explore water and salt transport between cultivated land and wasteland system. Soil water-salt dynamics, groundwater depth and salinity were observed within the

Appropriate nitrogen (N) fertilization and planting density management are critical for efficient production of grain maize (Zea mays L.) and for environmental protection. However, the optimal N fertilization and planting density is still not established for forage maize that is cultivated to promote its vegetative growth and utilized for the above-ground vegetative mass. A two-year field experiment

In areas with shallow saline groundwater, soil salts inevitably accumulate in the root zone during the growth period due to irrigation and upward movement of salts from the groundwater. In Northern China, autumn irrigation (AIR) with large amounts of water is commonly employed post-harvest to mitigate soil salt stress on crop growth in the subsequent year. Optimizing the total irrigation depth during

A two-year field experiment was conducted to integrate soil moisture stress with the Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) for optimizing irrigation in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under varying irrigation regimes. The study took place at the Water Technology Centre (WTC-02) of ICAR-IARI, New Delhi, where the climate shows a blend of monsoon-influenced humid subtropical and semi-arid conditions. Using

The current scenario of water scarcity leads to a seek for new irrigation strategies that maintain agricultural productivity while reducing the pressure on freshwater resources, especially in the Mediterranean region, which has a structural deficit of water sources. In this study, the effects of irrigation with water from different origins were assessed over six consecutive years in soil salinity indicators

Subsurface drip irrigation in arid areas has the potential to replace traditional mulched drip irrigation to achieve green and sustainable cotton production. However, the suitable irrigation amount and frequency are still unclear, which seriously limits the ability of this model to improve water productivity and water-saving potential. Therefore, a field experiment was carried out from 2021 to 2023;

Water distribution uniformity is important for assessing the hydraulic performance of sprinkler nozzles and designing sprinkler irrigation systems. However, current studies rarely consider the redistribution abilities of sprinkler water in the soil and judge whether a sprinkler system is qualified based only on the coefficient of uniformity on the ground (CUg), which leads to a serious underestimation

Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is a critical factor in crop growth, and low yields are often associated with high VPD. The adverse effects of VPD on crop yield have been well-documented; however, whether and where yield sensitivity to VPD (SVPD) changes over time across global cropping areas remain elusive. Based on the observed maize yield and VPD at the grid scale, the SVPD calculated using least-squares

Flexible policies aimed at irrigated agriculture are essential to adapt to climate change. Despite the importance of this goal, little published work has conceptualized, formulated, developed, and applied an integrated optimization framework for irrigated agriculture to guide adaptation to climate-related water stress. This research addresses the question: how can water management plans for irrigated

Improvement of cultivated cotton adaptability to extreme climate events under climate change promotes sustainable cotton production. Extreme rainfall leads to a significant decrease in cotton yield, which may be related to changes in soil water consumption (SWC) and the vertical distribution of yield, but relevant research is still scarce. Here, a two-year cotton sowing date experiment was conducted