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Agriculture intensifies soil moisture decline in Northern China

Yaling Liu, Zhihua Pan, Qianlai Zhuang, Diego Miralles (UGent) , Adriaan J Teuling, Tonglin Zhang, Pingli An, Zhiqiang Dong, Jingting Zhang, Di He, et al.
(2015) SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 5.
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Abstract
Northern China is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Agricultural activities have intensified since the 1980s to provide food security to the country. However, this intensification has likely contributed to an increasing scarcity in water resources, which may in turn be endangering food security. Based on in-situ measurements of soil moisture collected in agricultural plots during 1983–2012, we find that topsoil (0–50cm) volumetric water content during the growing season has declined significantly (p < 0.01), with a trend of −0.011 to −0.015 m3 m−3 per decade. Observed discharge declines for the three large river basins are consistent with the effects of agricultural intensification, although other factors (e.g. dam constructions) likely have contributed to these trends. Practices like fertilizer application have favoured biomass growth and increased transpiration rates, thus reducing available soil water. In addition, the rapid proliferation of water-expensive crops (e.g., maize) and the expansion of the area dedicated to food production have also contributed to soil drying. Adoption of alternative agricultural practices that can meet the immediate food demand without compromising future water resources seem critical for the sustainability of the food production system.
Keywords
WATER AVAILABILITY, CLIMATE-CHANGE, LOESS PLATEAU, LAND-USE, FERTILIZER, MANAGEMENT, DROUGHT, WHEAT, CROP, IMPACTS

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MLA
Liu, Yaling, et al. “Agriculture Intensifies Soil Moisture Decline in Northern China.” SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, vol. 5, 2015, doi:10.1038/srep11261.
APA
Liu, Y., Pan, Z., Zhuang, Q., Miralles, D., Teuling, A. J., Zhang, T., … Niyogi, D. (2015). Agriculture intensifies soil moisture decline in Northern China. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep11261
Chicago author-date
Liu, Yaling, Zhihua Pan, Qianlai Zhuang, Diego Miralles, Adriaan J Teuling, Tonglin Zhang, Pingli An, et al. 2015. “Agriculture Intensifies Soil Moisture Decline in Northern China.” SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep11261.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Liu, Yaling, Zhihua Pan, Qianlai Zhuang, Diego Miralles, Adriaan J Teuling, Tonglin Zhang, Pingli An, Zhiqiang Dong, Jingting Zhang, Di He, Liwei Wang, Xuebiao Pan, Wei Bai, and Dev Niyogi. 2015. “Agriculture Intensifies Soil Moisture Decline in Northern China.” SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 5. doi:10.1038/srep11261.
Vancouver
1.
Liu Y, Pan Z, Zhuang Q, Miralles D, Teuling AJ, Zhang T, et al. Agriculture intensifies soil moisture decline in Northern China. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 2015;5.
IEEE
[1]
Y. Liu et al., “Agriculture intensifies soil moisture decline in Northern China,” SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, vol. 5, 2015.
@article{6873853,
  abstract     = {{Northern China is one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Agricultural activities have intensified since the 1980s to provide food security to the country. However, this intensification has likely contributed to an increasing scarcity in water resources, which may in turn be endangering food security. Based on in-situ measurements of soil moisture collected in agricultural plots during 1983–2012, we find that topsoil (0–50cm) volumetric water content during the growing season has declined significantly (p < 0.01), with a trend of −0.011 to −0.015 m3 m−3 per decade. Observed discharge declines for the three large river basins are consistent with the effects of agricultural intensification, although other factors (e.g. dam constructions) likely have contributed to these trends. Practices like fertilizer application have favoured biomass growth and increased transpiration rates, thus reducing available soil water. In addition, the rapid proliferation of water-expensive crops (e.g., maize) and the expansion of the area dedicated to food production have also contributed to soil drying. Adoption of alternative agricultural practices that can meet the immediate food demand without compromising future water resources seem critical for the sustainability of the food production system.}},
  articleno    = {{11261}},
  author       = {{Liu, Yaling and Pan, Zhihua and Zhuang, Qianlai and Miralles, Diego and Teuling, Adriaan J and Zhang, Tonglin and An, Pingli and Dong, Zhiqiang and Zhang, Jingting and He, Di and Wang, Liwei and Pan, Xuebiao and Bai, Wei and Niyogi, Dev}},
  issn         = {{2045-2322}},
  journal      = {{SCIENTIFIC REPORTS}},
  keywords     = {{WATER AVAILABILITY,CLIMATE-CHANGE,LOESS PLATEAU,LAND-USE,FERTILIZER,MANAGEMENT,DROUGHT,WHEAT,CROP,IMPACTS}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{9}},
  title        = {{Agriculture intensifies soil moisture decline in Northern China}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1038/srep11261}},
  volume       = {{5}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}
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