| The theory of virtual water and water footprint provides a new research idea for agricultural water accounting.The water footprint of crop production includes not only the irrigation water used during crop growth,but also the amount of water consumed during crop growth during pesticide spraying,crop transpiration,and soil evaporation.The crop consumption water footprint is the amount of water produced by the consumption of crops in the lives of urban and rural residents.This paper quantifies the amount of agricultural water consumed by different crops during production and consumption in Liaoning Province based on the theory of virtual water and water footprint.Simultaneously,spatial and temporal distribution properties of virtual water per unit yield,production blue,green water footprint,and consumption water footprint are explored.In this way,we can further understand the impact of socio-economic development and agricultural industry development on the crop water footprint.In this paper,we analyze the drivers of the production and consumption water footprints using the log-average Didier decomposition index method.The following are the main conclusions of this paper.First,cities in Liaoning have significantly more virtual water per unit yield in the west than in the east,and more in the south than in the north.The overall spatial features are opposite to the total water resources.The total virtual water volume in eastern and southern Liaoning is basically kept below 1.5×109 m~3.TVW consumption trends generally show a decreasing trend followed by an increasing trend.Corn and rice are the major virtual water-consuming crops in each city.Corn VEVs are generally more than 50% consumed,while rice VEVs are generally more than 15%.Second,the blue-green water footprint of production in northwest Liaoning is higher than that in southeastern Liaoning.The average production blue water footprint in Liaoning Province is basically kept below 1.0×109 m~3.The average production green water footprint of each region is basically kept below 9×108 m~3.Corn and rice are the main blue-green water footprints for producing crops.The average consumption water footprint of each region in Liaoning Province showed a downward trend and the average consumption water footprint gradually maintained around 7×108-8×108 m~3.Wheat and rice are the major consumption water footprint crops,and population size is closely related to consumption water footprint.Third,the overall virtual water flow in Liaoning has changed from inflow to outflow.After 2001,Liaoning’s virtual waters gradually changed from an inflow state in 2000 to an outflow state in 2019.Benxi and Dalian are the main inflow areas for virtual water,and Tieling is the main outflow area for virtual water.Corn is the main virtual outflow crop and wheat is the main virtual inflow crop.Last,the level of regional development is a major positive driver for the water footprint of production and consumption in Liaoning.The maximum contribution reached 5.551×109and 4.197 × 109m3,respectively.The inhibitory effect of the level of agricultural development on the production water footprint of each region is relatively significant.The proportion of the impact of agricultural production efficiency on the production water footprint fluctuates,and the negative driving effect on the regional consumption water footprint is strengthened as the level of agricultural modernization in the region increases.The inhibitory effect of crop water consumption capacity on the regional production water footprint is significant,and the inhibitory effect on the consumption water footprint is gradually strengthened.Regional demand has a significant inhibitory effect on the consumption water footprint. |
