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Crop evapotranspiration-based irrigation management during the growing season in the arid region of northwestern China

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Abstract

In arid northwestern China, water shortages have triggered recent regulations affecting irrigation water use in desert–oasis agricultural systems. In order to determine the actual water demand of various crops and to develop standards for the rational use of water resources, we analyzed meteorological data from the Fukang desert ecosystem observation and experiment station (FKD), the Cele desert–grassland ecosystem observation and research station (CLD), and the Linze Inland River Basin Comprehensive Research Station (LZD), which all belong to the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network. We researched crop evapotranspiration (E Tc) using the water balance method, the FAO-56 Penman–Monteith method, the Priestley–Taylor method, and the Hargreaves method, during the growing seasons of 2005 through 2009. Results indicate substantial differences in E Tc, depending on the method used. At the CLD, the E Tc from the soil water balance, FAO-56 Penman–Monteith, Priestley–Taylor, and Hargreaves methods were 1150.3 ± 380.8, 783.7 ± 33.6, 1018.3 ± 22.1, and 611.2 ± 23.3 mm, respectively; at the FKD, the corresponding results were 861.0 ± 67.0, 834.2 ± 83.9, 1453.5 ± 47.1, and 1061.0 ± 38.2 mm, respectively; and at the LZD, 823.4 ± 110.4, 726.0 ± 0.4, 722.3 ± 29.4, and 1208.6 ± 79.1 mm, respectively. The FAO-56 Penman–Monteith method provided a fairly good estimation of E Tc compared with the Priestley–Taylor and Hargreaves methods.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (project 40771079, 91425302, and 4112500). We thank our colleagues at CLD, FKD, and LZD for the support they gave us in our work. We also thank the journal’s anonymous reviewers for their critical reviews and comments on this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Linze Inland River Basin Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Linze, China

    Xuexiang Chang & Wenzhi Zhao

  2. Key Laboratory of Ecohydrology of Inland River Basin, Cold & Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China

    Xuexiang Chang & Wenzhi Zhao

  3. Cele Desert-Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Cele, China

    Fanjiang Zeng

  4. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China

    Fanjiang Zeng

  5. Cold & Arid Regions Environmental And Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 260, Dong-Gang West Road, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Xuexiang Chang

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  1. Xuexiang Chang
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Correspondence to Xuexiang Chang.

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Chang, X., Zhao, W. & Zeng, F. Crop evapotranspiration-based irrigation management during the growing season in the arid region of northwestern China. Environ Monit Assess 187, 699 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4920-9

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