Impact of the methods of groundwater access on irrigation and crop yield in the North China Plain

Purpose The purpose of this paper is: to track the methods by which farmers access groundwater for irrigation in the North China Plain (NCP); to explore whether climate factors influence farmers’ decisions on the methods of groundwater access for irrigation; and to examine whether the amount of groundwater use for irrigation and crop yield systematically differ across groups of farmers using various methods of groundwater access, and how climate factors affect them. Design/methodology/approach Descriptive statistical analysis and econometric models are used on household survey data collected over several years and county-level climate data. Findings Over the past few decades, a significant share of farmers have switched the methods of groundwater access from collective tubewells to own tubewells or groundwater markets. Farmers who bought water from groundwater markets applied less water to wheat plots than those who had their own tubewells. However, wheat yield was not negatively affected. Both average climate conditions and long-term variations were found to be related to farmers’ choice of methods of groundwater access for irrigation. More frequent droughts and increasingly volatile temperatures both increased the likelihood of farmers gaining groundwater irrigation from markets. Originality/value The analysis results suggest farmers are using groundwater markets to help them adapt to climate change. Applying empirical analysis to identify the impact of the methods by which farmers access groundwater for irrigation on the amount of groundwater use and crop yield will help policy makers design reasonable adaptation policies for the NCP.

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Potential Evapotranspiration Reduction and Its Influence on Crop Yield in the North China Plain in 1961–2014

Advances in Meteorology ◽

10.1155/2020/3691421 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wanlin Dong ◽

Chao Li ◽

Qi Hu ◽

Feifei Pan ◽

Jyoti Bhandari ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wind Speed ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Crop Yield ◽

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Potential Evapotranspiration ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

Sunshine Hours ◽

Humidity Index

Climate change has caused uneven changes in hydrological processes (precipitation and evapotranspiration) on a space-temporal scale, which would influence climate types, eventually impact agricultural production. Based on data from 61 meteorological stations from 1961 to 2014 in the North China Plain (NCP), the spatiotemporal characteristics of climate variables, such as humidity index, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration (ET0), were analyzed. The sensitivity coefficients and contribution rates were applied to ET0. The NCP has experienced a semiarid to humid climate from north to south due to the significant decline of ET0 (−13.8 mm decade−1). In the study region, 71.0% of the sites showed a “pan evaporation paradox” phenomenon. Relative humidity had the most negative influence on ET0, while wind speed, sunshine hours, and air temperature had a positive effect on ET0. Wind speed and sunshine hours contributed the most to the spatiotemporal variation of ET0, followed by relative humidity and air temperature. Overall, the key climate factor impacting ET0 was wind speed decline in the NCP, particularly in Beijing and Tianjin. The crop yield in Shandong and Henan provinces was higher than that in the other regions with a higher humidity index. The lower the humidity index in Hebei province, the lower the crop yield. Therefore, potential water shortages and water conflict should be considered in the future because of spatiotemporal humidity variations in the NCP.

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Impact of crop field burning and mountains on heavy haze in the North China Plain: A case study

10.5194/acp-2016-80 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

X. Long ◽

X. X. Tie ◽

J. J. Cao ◽

R. J. Huang ◽

T. Feng ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Wind Condition ◽

Beijing City ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

Crop Field ◽

The Impact ◽

Field Burning

Abstract. Crop field burning (CFB) has important effects on air pollution in China, but it is seldom quantified and reported in a regional scale, which is of great importance for the control strategies of CFB in China, especially in the North China Plain (NCP). With the provincial statistical data and open crop fires captured by satellite (MODIS), we extracted a detailed emission inventory of CFB during a heavy haze event from 6th to 12th October 2014. A regional dynamical and chemical model (WRF-Chem) was applied to investigate the impact of CFB on air pollution in NCP. The model simulations were compared with the in situ measurements of PM2.5 (particular matter with radius less than 2.5 μm) concentrations. The model evaluation shows that the correlation coefficients (R) between measured and calculated values exceeds 0.80 and absolute normalized mean bias (NMB) is no more than 14 %. In addition, the simulated meteorological parameters such as winds and planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) are also in good agreement with observations. The model was intensive used to study (1) the impacts of CFB and (2) the effect of mountains on regional air quality. The results show that the CFB occurred in southern NCP (SNCP) had significant effect on PM2.5 concentrations locally, causing a maximum of 35 % PM2.5 increase in SNCP. Because of south wind condition, the CFB pollution plume is subjective a long transport to northern NCP (NNCP-with several mega cities, including Beijing of the capital city in China), where there are no significant CFB occurrences, causing a maximum of 32 % PM2.5 increase in NNCP. As a result, the heavy haze in Beijing is enhanced by the CFB occurred in SNCP. Further more, there are two major mountains located in the western and northern NCP. Under the south wind condition, these mountains play important roles in enhancing the PM2.5 pollution in NNCP through the blocking and guiding effects. This study suggests that the PM2.5 emissions in SNCP region should be significantly limited in order to reduce the occurrences of heavy haze events in NNCP region, including the Beijing City.

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Aerosol chemical compositions in the North China Plain and the impact on the visibility in Beijing and Tianjin

Atmospheric Research ◽

10.1016/j.atmosres.2017.09.014 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 201 ◽

pp. 235-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Jianan Zou ◽

Zirui Liu ◽

Bo Hu ◽

Xiaojuan Huang ◽

Tianxue Wen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Chemical Compositions ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

The Impact

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Prediction of crop yield, water consumption and water use efficiency with a SVAT-crop growth model using remotely sensed data on the North China Plain

Ecological Modelling ◽

10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2004.07.032 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 183 (2-3) ◽

pp. 301-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 180

Author(s):

X. Mo ◽

S. Liu ◽

Z. Lin ◽

Y. Xu ◽

Y. Xiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Crop Yield ◽

Water Consumption ◽

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Remotely Sensed Data ◽

Crop Growth Model ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

Use Efficiency

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Impact of alternative cropping systems on groundwater use and grain yields in the North China Plain Region

Agricultural Systems ◽

10.1016/j.agsy.2017.01.018 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 153 ◽

pp. 109-117 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Dengpan Xiao ◽

Yanjun Shen ◽

Yongqing Qi ◽

Juana P. Moiwo ◽

Leilei Min ◽

...

Keyword(s):

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Groundwater Use ◽

Grain Yields ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

Plain Region

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Carbonaceous components in particulate matter during a haze episode at a typical industrial area in the North China Plain

World Journal of Engineering ◽

10.1108/wje-05-2020-0157 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Hongya Niu ◽

Zhaoce Liu ◽

Wei Hu ◽

Wenjing Cheng ◽

Mengren Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Large Fraction ◽

Industrial Emissions ◽

Content Type ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

The Mean

Purpose Severe airborne particulate pollution frequently occurs over the North China Plain (NCP) region in recent years. To better understand the characteristics of carbonaceous components in particulate matter (PM) over the NCP region. Design/methodology/approach PM samples were collected at a typical area affected by industrial emissions in Handan, in January 2016. The concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM of different size ranges (i.e. PM2.5, PM10 and TSP) were measured. The concentrations of secondary organic carbon (SOC) were estimated by the EC tracer method. Findings The results show that the concentration of OC ranged from 14.9 μg m−3 to 108.4 μg m−3, and that of EC ranged from 4.0 μg m−3 to 19.4μg m−3, when PM2.5 changed from 58.0μg m−3 to 251.1μg m−3 during haze days, and the carbonaceous aerosols most distributed in PM2.5 rather than large fraction. The concentrations of OC and EC PM2.5 correlated better (r = 0.7) than in PM2.5−10 and PM>10, implying that primary emissions were dominant sources of OC and EC in PM2.5. The mean ratios of OC/EC in PM2.5, PM2.5–10 and PM>10 were 4.4 ± 2.1, 3.6 ± 0.9 and 1.9 ± 0.7, respectively. Based on estimation, SOC accounted for 16.3%, 22.0% and 9.1% in PM2.5, PM2.5–10 and PM>10 respectively. Originality/value The ratio of SOC/OC (48.2%) in PM2.5 was higher in Handan than those (28%–32%) in other megacities, e.g. Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang in the NCP, suggesting that the formation of SOC contributed significantly to OC. The mean mass absorption efficiencies of EC (MACEC) in PM10 and TSP were 3.4 m2 g−1 (1.9–6.6 m2 g−1) and 2.9 m2 g−1 (1.6–5.6 m2 g−1), respectively, both of which had similar variation patterns to those of OC/EC and SOC/OC.

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Study on the Change Characteristics of and Population Exposure to Heatwave Events on the North China Plain

Advances in Meteorology ◽

10.1155/2019/7069195 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Long-Fei Zhan ◽

Yanjun Wang ◽

Hemin Sun ◽

Jianqing Zhai ◽

Mingjin Zhan

Keyword(s):

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Population Exposure ◽

Central Position ◽

Daily Maximum ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

The Impact

In accordance with the China Meteorological Administration definition, this study considered a weather process with a maximum surface temperature of ≥35°C for more than three consecutive days as a heatwave event. Based on a dataset of daily maximum temperatures from meteorological stations on the North China Plain, including ordinary and national basic/reference surface stations, the intensity-area-duration method was used to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of heatwave events on the North China Plain (1961–2017). Moreover, based on demographic data from the Statistical Yearbook and Greenhouse Gas Initiative (GGI) Population Scenario Database of the Austrian Institute for International Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), population exposure to heatwave events was also studied. The results showed that the frequency, intensity, and area of impact of heatwave events on the North China Plain initially decreased (becoming weaker and less extensive) and then increased (becoming stronger and more extensive). Similarly, the trend of population exposure to heatwave events initially decreased and then increased, and the central position of exposure initially moved southward and then returned northward. Population exposure in the eastern Taihang Mountains was found significantly higher than in the western Taihang Mountains. In relation to the change of population exposure to heatwave events on the North China Plain, the influence of climatic factors was found dominant with an absolute contribution rate of >75%. Except for 2011–2017, increase in population also increased the exposure to heatwaves, particularly in the first half of the study period. Interaction between climatic and population factors generally had less impact on population exposure than either climatic factors or population factors alone. This study demonstrated a method for assessing the impact of heatwave events on population exposure, which could form a scientific basis for the development of government policy regarding adaption to climate change.

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Observation of atmospheric peroxides during Wangdu Campaign 2014 at a rural site in the North China Plain

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-10985-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (17) ◽

pp. 10985-11000 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Yin Wang ◽

Zhongming Chen ◽

Qinqin Wu ◽

Hao Liang ◽

Liubin Huang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

North China Plain ◽

North China ◽

Chemical Mechanism ◽

Rural Site ◽

Direct Production ◽

The North ◽

The North China Plain ◽

The Impact ◽

Haze Days

Abstract. Measurements of atmospheric peroxides were made during Wangdu Campaign 2014 at Wangdu, a rural site in the North China Plain (NCP) in summer 2014. The predominant peroxides were detected to be hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), methyl hydroperoxide (MHP) and peroxyacetic acid (PAA). The observed H2O2 reached up to 11.3 ppbv, which was the highest value compared with previous observations in China at summer time. A box model simulation based on the Master Chemical Mechanism and constrained by the simultaneous observations of physical parameters and chemical species was performed to explore the chemical budget of atmospheric peroxides. Photochemical oxidation of alkenes was found to be the major secondary formation pathway of atmospheric peroxides, while contributions from alkanes and aromatics were of minor importance. The comparison of modeled and measured peroxide concentrations revealed an underestimation during biomass burning events and an overestimation on haze days, which were ascribed to the direct production of peroxides from biomass burning and the heterogeneous uptake of peroxides by aerosols, respectively. The strengths of the primary emissions from biomass burning were on the same order of the known secondary production rates of atmospheric peroxides during the biomass burning events. The heterogeneous process on aerosol particles was suggested to be the predominant sink for atmospheric peroxides. The atmospheric lifetime of peroxides on haze days in summer in the NCP was about 2–3 h, which is in good agreement with the laboratory studies. Further comprehensive investigations are necessary to better understand the impact of biomass burning and heterogeneous uptake on the concentration of peroxides in the atmosphere.

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