Publication Abstracts
Yao et al. 2025
Yao, Y., W. Thiery, A. Ducharne, , A. Ding, S.J. De Hertog, P. Sieber, K.S. Aas, P.F. Arboleda-Obando, J. Colin, M. Costantini, B. Decharme, D.M. Lawrence, P. Lawrence, L.R. Leung, M.-H. Lo, N. Devaraju, R.-J. Wu, T. Zhou, , S.S. McDermid, Y. Pokhrel, Y. Satoh, T. Yokohata, L. Gudmundsson, and S.I. Seneviratne, 2025: Irrigation-induced land water depletion aggravated by climate change. Nat. Water, 3, no. 12, 1424-1435, doi:10.1038/s44221-025-00529-1.
Agricultural irrigation has experienced rapid expansion, and its growing freshwater consumption is potentially exacerbating water scarcity issues. Previous studies predominantly relied on observations or land-only simulations, often neglecting land-atmosphere interactions or failing to capture long-term evolution. We therefore analyse the effects of historical irrigation expansion on water fluxes and resources using seven Earth system models. Here we show that irrigation expansion in many regions substantially decreases the net water influx from the atmosphere to land, further aggravating the existing drying trends caused by climate change. For example, irrigation expansion changed the trend of this net influx from -0.664 (±0.283) to -1.461 (±0.261) mm/yr2 in South Asia after 1960. Consequently, the local terrestrial water storage depletion rate is substantially enlarged by irrigation expansion (for example, from -2.559 (±0.094) to -16.008 (±0.557) mm/yr). Our results attribute the land water loss to irrigation expansion and climate change, calling for immediate solutions to tackle the negative trends.
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BibTeX Citation
@article{ya05300j,
author={Yao, Y. and Thiery, W. and Ducharne, A. and Cook, B. I. and Ding, A. and De Hertog, S. J. and Sieber, P. and Aas, K. S. and Arboleda-Obando, P. F. and Colin, J. and Costantini, M. and Decharme, B. and Lawrence, D. M. and Lawrence, P. and Leung, L. R. and Lo, M.-H. and Devaraju, N. and Wu, R.-J. and Zhou, T. and Jägermeyr, J. and McDermid, S. S. and Pokhrel, Y. and Satoh, Y. and Yokohata, T. and Gudmundsson, L. and Seneviratne, S. I.},
title={Irrigation-induced land water depletion aggravated by climate change},
year={2025},
journal={Nat. Water},
volume={3},
number={12},
pages={1424--1435},
doi={10.1038/s44221-025-00529-1},
}
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RIS Citation
TY - JOUR ID - ya05300j AU - Yao, Y. AU - Thiery, W. AU - Ducharne, A. AU - Cook, B. I. AU - Ding, A. AU - De Hertog, S. J. AU - Sieber, P. AU - Aas, K. S. AU - Arboleda-Obando, P. F. AU - Colin, J. AU - Costantini, M. AU - Decharme, B. AU - Lawrence, D. M. AU - Lawrence, P. AU - Leung, L. R. AU - Lo, M.-H. AU - Devaraju, N. AU - Wu, R.-J. AU - Zhou, T. AU - Jägermeyr, J. AU - McDermid, S. S. AU - Pokhrel, Y. AU - Satoh, Y. AU - Yokohata, T. AU - Gudmundsson, L. AU - Seneviratne, S. I. PY - 2025 TI - Irrigation-induced land water depletion aggravated by climate change JA - Nat. Water VL - 3 IS - 12 SP - 1424 EP - 1435 DO - 10.1038/s44221-025-00529-1 ER -
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