EGU22-2022, updated on 27 Mar 2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-2022
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Historical simulation of crop water and land footprints

Oleksandr Mialyk, Joep F. Schyns, and Martijn J. Booij
Oleksandr Mialyk et al.
  • University of Twente, Multidisciplinary Water Management, Enschede, Netherlands (o.mialyk@utwente.nl)

Crop production puts substantial pressure on planetary water and land resources. One way to decrease it is to reduce crop water (WF, m3 t-1) and land footprints (LF, m2 t-1), i.e. have more crop per drop and hectare.  In this study, we simulate WFs and LFs of major crops with a process-based global gridded crop model ACEA during 1990-2019 at 5 x 5 arc minute resolution. Our results reveal regional differences and historical changes in both footprints. Most regions have successfully managed to reduce their WFs and LFs, which drives the global averages down for many crops since 1990. Despite this good news, the total water and land appropriation for crop production have increased worldwide due to the greater crop demand needed to sustain the growing human population. As this may endanger ecosystems and human livelihoods in some regions, it is vital to assess the potential ways of further WF and LF reductions in the future.

How to cite: Mialyk, O., Schyns, J. F., and Booij, M. J.: Historical simulation of crop water and land footprints, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-2022, 2022.

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