Assessing the Variation in Maize Water Footprint Under Different Tillage Practices: A Case Study from Jilin Province, China

Bo Li, Lijie Qin (), Mingzhu Lv, Yongcai Dang and Hang Qi
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Bo Li: Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China
Lijie Qin: Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China
Mingzhu Lv: Key Laboratory of Geographical Processes and Ecological Security in Changbai Mountains, School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Ministry of Education, Changchun 130024, China
Yongcai Dang: School of Geography and Tourism, Qilu Normal University, Jinan 250200, China
Hang Qi: NO.5 Geological Team of Shandong Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Taian 271000, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: Studying the impact of different tillage practices on crop water consumption can help us identify optimal tillage practice choices. The traditional tillage (TT) and conservation tillage (CT) methods are the dominant practices in Jilin Province, China. Few studies have explored the differences in crop water consumption between TT and CT. To address this knowledge gap, this study utilized maize as its research object and employed the water footprint (WF) as the indicator to assess crop water consumption under TT and CT. This study aimed to investigate when differences in water consumption between TT and CT appear and whether the differences are significant. The results of this study demonstrated that the total WF under CT (339.65 m 3 t −1 ) was less than that under TT (378.19 m 3 t −1 ), and the spatial difference was distinct. The total WF exhibited a clear change under different CT durations. At the initial stage of CT implementation, the total WF decreased slightly compared to that under TT. With an increase in CT duration, the total WF was significantly reduced. The findings of this study demonstrate that CT is an effective measure to ensure sustainable crop production and that it could lead policymakers to choose CT to reduce water consumption.

Keywords: water footprint; conservation tillage; traditional tillage; conservation tillage duration (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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