Impacts of climate change on winter wheat water requirement in Haihe River Basin

Climate change and variability has the potential to impact crop growth by altering components of a region’s water balance. Evapotranspiration driven by higher temperatures can directly increase the demand of irrigation water, while indirectly decreasing the length of the annual crop growth period. The accompanying change in precipitation also affects the need to supply irrigation water. This study focuses on the spatial and temporal variation of historical and future irrigation water requirements of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Haihe River Basin, China. Irrigation water requirement is estimated using a simple water balance model. Climate change is incorporated by using predicted changes in daily precipitation and temperature. Changes in evapotranspiration and crop phenophase are then calculated for historical and future climate. Over the past 50 years, a decrease in total net irrigation water requirement (NIR) was observed mainly due to a reduction in the crop growth period length. The NIR is shown to decrease 2.8～6.9 mm with a 1-day reduction in growth period length. In the future, sowing period will come later and the heading period earlier in the year. The NIR in November, March and April is predicted to increase, especially in April. Increased NIR can result in increased water deficit, causing negative impacts on crop yield due to water stress. In the future, more attention should be paid to water resource management during the annual crop growth period of winter wheat in the Haihe River Basin.