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Emergy evaluation of the contribution of irrigation water, and its utilization, in three agricultural systems in China

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Abstract

Emergy theory and method are used to evaluate the contribution of irrigation water, and the process of its utilization, in three agricultural systems. The agricultural systems evaluated in this study were rice, wheat, and oilseed rape productions in an irrigation pumping district of China. A corresponding framework for emergy evaluation and sensitivity analysis methods was proposed. Two new indices, the fraction of irrigation water (FIW), and the irrigation intensity of agriculture (IIA), were developed to depict the contribution of irrigation water. The calculated FIW indicated that irrigation water used for the rice production system (34.7%) contributed more than irrigation water used for wheat (5.3%) and oilseed rape (11.2%) production systems in a typical dry year. The wheat production with an IIA of 19.0 had the highest net benefit from irrigation compared to the rice (2.9) and oilseed rape (8.9) productions. The transformities of the systems’ products represented different energy efficiencies for rice (2.50E + 05 sej·J−1), wheat (1.66E + 05 sej·J−1) and oilseed rape (2.14E + 05 sej·J−1) production systems. According to several emergy indices, of the three systems evaluated, the rice system had the greatest level of sustainability. However, all of them were less sustainable than the ecological agricultural systems. A sensitivity analysis showed that the emergy inputs of irrigation water and nitrogenous fertilizer were the highest sensitivity factors influencing the emergy ratios. Best Management Practices, and other agroecological strategies, could be implemented to make further improvements in the sustainability of the three systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Efficient Irrigation-Drainage and Agricultural Soil-Water Environment in Southern China (Ministry of Education), College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Dan Chen & Jing Chen

  2. Department of Resource Management and Geography, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, 3010, Australia

    Dan Chen & Michael Webber

  3. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Zhaohui Luo

  4. College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Weiguang Wang

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  1. Dan Chen
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  2. Zhaohui Luo
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  3. Michael Webber
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  4. Jing Chen
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  5. Weiguang Wang
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Correspondence to Zhaohui Luo.

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Chen, D., Luo, Z., Webber, M. et al. Emergy evaluation of the contribution of irrigation water, and its utilization, in three agricultural systems in China. Front. Earth Sci. 8, 325–337 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-013-0394-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-013-0394-7

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