ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Crop and Product Physiology
This article is part of the Research TopicRegulatory Effects of Irrigation and Fertilization on Aboveground and Underground Parts of CropsView all 9 articles
Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Crop Water Use and Groundwater Depletion under the Winter Wheat–Summer Maize Rotation System in Henan Province, China
Provisionally accepted
- Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, China
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Henan Province plays a pivotal role in ensuring China's food security through its extensive winter wheat–summer maize rotation system. However, excessive groundwater extraction has become a critical constraint on sustainable agricultural development. This study quantitatively analysed the spatiotemporal dynamics of crop water use and groundwater depletion across Henan from 1961 to 2020 using a water balance framework that integrates crop evapotranspiration (ETc), effective precipitation (Re), irrigation water requirement (Iwr), and net groundwater consumption (NGWC). Results showed distinct and opposite trends in ETc between the two crops: winter wheat exhibited increasing ETc under climate warming, while summer maize experienced a decline driven by improved water-use efficiency. Effective precipitation decreased during key growth stages, leading to increased irrigation demand for winter wheat but a reduction for summer maize. Winter wheat remained the dominant driver of groundwater depletion, consuming three to four times more groundwater annually than maize. However, since 2010, maize groundwater use has risen sharply, intensifying water stress in the central–northern plains. To alleviate overexploitation, a dual strategy combining winter wheat fallowing and summer maize water conservation is proposed. These findings provide a scientific foundation for optimising cropping patterns and improving water resource sustainability in major grain-producing regions of North China.
Keywords: Double-cropping system, Groundwater depletion, Irrigation water requirement, sustainable agriculture, water balance framework
Received: 20 Oct 2025; Accepted: 28 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Wang, Ning and Ti. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jinsong Ti
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