Cropping Pattern Modifications Change Water Resource Demands in the Beijing Metropolitan Area
Adequate freshwater supply has become an issue of increasing local and international concern. Reducing water use in agriculture, which is the largest water using sector of the economy, is both important and urgent. The aim of this paper was to quantify how recent cropping pattern changes have influe...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2012-11-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Integrative Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209531191260197X |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1839597286933397504 |
|---|---|
| author | Jing HUANG Bradley G Ridoutt Chang-chun XU Hai-lin ZHANG Fu CHEN |
| author_facet | Jing HUANG Bradley G Ridoutt Chang-chun XU Hai-lin ZHANG Fu CHEN |
| author_sort | Jing HUANG |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Adequate freshwater supply has become an issue of increasing local and international concern. Reducing water use in agriculture, which is the largest water using sector of the economy, is both important and urgent. The aim of this paper was to quantify how recent cropping pattern changes have influenced water resources in the great Beijing metropolitan area, an expanding megacity which also includes rural counties. Crop production affects blue water use through water consumption and water pollution, the latter assessed here using a critical dilution method. From 1990 to 2010, the total blue water used by crop production declined due to a decrease in overall cropped area, initially in response to local government policies favouring urban development. However, the average blue water use per hectare increased from 2 112 m3 ha−1 yr−1 in 1990 to 2 764 m3 ha−1 yr−1 in 2003, largely as the result of a transition from cereal to vegetable crops, and in particular an increase in intensively managed plastic and glass covered vegetable production systems. Current policies aim to conserve agricultural land, in the interests of food security, and to stimulate cereal production systems with higher ecosystem services provision. As such, in 2010 the average blue water use was 2 425 m3 ha−1 yr−1. These results demonstrate that cropping pattern changes in peri-urban regions and rural communities surrounding the Beijing metropolitan area can have a substantial impact on water resources. They also highlight the tradeoffs between food production and urban and industrial water supply and the need for integrated policy development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c8f7bad60e0f45ac9bbff309d1cb6d56 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2095-3119 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-11-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Integrative Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-c8f7bad60e0f45ac9bbff309d1cb6d562025-08-02T19:16:45ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Journal of Integrative Agriculture2095-31192012-11-01111119141923Cropping Pattern Modifications Change Water Resource Demands in the Beijing Metropolitan AreaJing HUANG0Bradley G Ridoutt1Chang-chun XU2Hai-lin ZHANG3Fu CHEN4College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, P.R. China; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Sustainable Agriculture Flagship, Victoria 3169, AustraliaCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Sustainable Agriculture Flagship, Victoria 3169, AustraliaCollege of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, P.R. ChinaCollege of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, P.R. ChinaCollege of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, P.R. China; Correspondence CHEN Fu, Tel: +86-10-62733316Adequate freshwater supply has become an issue of increasing local and international concern. Reducing water use in agriculture, which is the largest water using sector of the economy, is both important and urgent. The aim of this paper was to quantify how recent cropping pattern changes have influenced water resources in the great Beijing metropolitan area, an expanding megacity which also includes rural counties. Crop production affects blue water use through water consumption and water pollution, the latter assessed here using a critical dilution method. From 1990 to 2010, the total blue water used by crop production declined due to a decrease in overall cropped area, initially in response to local government policies favouring urban development. However, the average blue water use per hectare increased from 2 112 m3 ha−1 yr−1 in 1990 to 2 764 m3 ha−1 yr−1 in 2003, largely as the result of a transition from cereal to vegetable crops, and in particular an increase in intensively managed plastic and glass covered vegetable production systems. Current policies aim to conserve agricultural land, in the interests of food security, and to stimulate cereal production systems with higher ecosystem services provision. As such, in 2010 the average blue water use was 2 425 m3 ha−1 yr−1. These results demonstrate that cropping pattern changes in peri-urban regions and rural communities surrounding the Beijing metropolitan area can have a substantial impact on water resources. They also highlight the tradeoffs between food production and urban and industrial water supply and the need for integrated policy development.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209531191260197Xblue water usewater consumptionwater pollutioncropping pattern adjustmentperi-urban food production |
| spellingShingle | Jing HUANG Bradley G Ridoutt Chang-chun XU Hai-lin ZHANG Fu CHEN Cropping Pattern Modifications Change Water Resource Demands in the Beijing Metropolitan Area Journal of Integrative Agriculture blue water use water consumption water pollution cropping pattern adjustment peri-urban food production |
| title | Cropping Pattern Modifications Change Water Resource Demands in the Beijing Metropolitan Area |
| title_full | Cropping Pattern Modifications Change Water Resource Demands in the Beijing Metropolitan Area |
| title_fullStr | Cropping Pattern Modifications Change Water Resource Demands in the Beijing Metropolitan Area |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cropping Pattern Modifications Change Water Resource Demands in the Beijing Metropolitan Area |
| title_short | Cropping Pattern Modifications Change Water Resource Demands in the Beijing Metropolitan Area |
| title_sort | cropping pattern modifications change water resource demands in the beijing metropolitan area |
| topic | blue water use water consumption water pollution cropping pattern adjustment peri-urban food production |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S209531191260197X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jinghuang croppingpatternmodificationschangewaterresourcedemandsinthebeijingmetropolitanarea AT bradleygridoutt croppingpatternmodificationschangewaterresourcedemandsinthebeijingmetropolitanarea AT changchunxu croppingpatternmodificationschangewaterresourcedemandsinthebeijingmetropolitanarea AT hailinzhang croppingpatternmodificationschangewaterresourcedemandsinthebeijingmetropolitanarea AT fuchen croppingpatternmodificationschangewaterresourcedemandsinthebeijingmetropolitanarea |