Twenty-Year Variability in Water Use Efficiency over the Farming–Pastoral Ecotone of Northern China: Driving Force and Resilience to Drought

Xiaonan Guo, Meng Wu, Zhijun Shen, Guofei Shang, Qingtao Ma, Hongyu Li, Lei He and Zhao-Liang Li ()
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Xiaonan Guo: State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Meng Wu: Hebei Province City Agriculture Technology Innovation Centers, Shijiazhuang Agricultural Information Engineering Technology Research Center, Shijiazhuang Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050000, China
Zhijun Shen: School of Land Science and Space Planning/Hebei International Joint Research Center for Remote Sensing of Agricultural Drought Monitoring, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
Guofei Shang: School of Land Science and Space Planning/Hebei International Joint Research Center for Remote Sensing of Agricultural Drought Monitoring, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
Qingtao Ma: School of Land Science and Space Planning/Hebei International Joint Research Center for Remote Sensing of Agricultural Drought Monitoring, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
Hongyu Li: School of Land Science and Space Planning/Hebei International Joint Research Center for Remote Sensing of Agricultural Drought Monitoring, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang 050031, China
Lei He: State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Zhao-Liang Li: State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arable Land in China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-26

Abstract: Water use efficiency (WUE), as an important metric for ecosystem resilience, has been identified to play a significant role in the coupling of carbon and water cycles. The farming–pastoral ecotone of Northern China (FPENC), which is highly susceptible to drought due to water scarcity, has long been recognized as an ecologically fragile zone. The ecological restoration projects in China have mitigated land degradation and maintain the sustainability of dryland. However, the process of greening in drylands has the potential to impact water availability. A comprehensive analysis of the WUE in the FPENC can help to understand the carbon absorption and water consumption. Using gross primary production (GPP) and evapotranspiration (ET) data from a MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), alongside biophysical variables data and land cover information, the spatio-temporal variations in WUE from 2003 to 2022 were examined. Additionally, its driving force and the ecosystem resilience were also revealed. Results indicated that the annual mean of WUE fluctuated between 0.52 and 2.60 gC kgH 2 O −1 , showing a non-significant decreasing trend across the FPENC. Notably, the annual averaged WUE underwent a significant decline before 2012 ( p < 0.05), and then showed a slight increased trend ( p = 0.14) during the year afterward (i.e., 2013–2022). In terms of climatic controls, temperature (Temp) and soil volumetric water content (VSWC) dominantly affected WUE from 2003 to 2012; VPD (vapor pressure deficit), VSWC, and Temp showed comprehensive controls from 2013 to 2022. The findings suggest that a wetter atmosphere and increased soil moisture contribute to the decline in WUE. In total, 59.2% of FPENC was shown to be non-resilient, as grassland occupy the majority of the area, located in Mu Us Sandy land and Horqin Sand Land. These results underscore the importance of climatic factors in the regulation WUE over FPENC and highlight the necessity for focused research on WUE responses to climate change, particularly extreme events like droughts, in the future.

Keywords: the farming—pastoral ecotone of Northern China; water use efficiency; vegetation types; ecosystem resilience; climatic controls; drought (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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