Agricultural Water Management最新文献

{"title":"A multi-objective optimization for coordinating water-land resources considering crop suitability and drought effects","authors":"Kaihua Cao ,&nbsp;Xiao Liu ,&nbsp;Yijia Wang ,&nbsp;Zhaoqiang Zhou ,&nbsp;Mo Li","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110146","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110146","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study proposes a spatial multi-objective collaborative optimization method for land and water resources, integrating regional crop suitability and drought effects. The method optimizes the spatial distribution of resources, balancing economic benefits and blue water utilization while mitigating the adverse effects of drought on agricultural production. A multi-scale drought evaluation index (MSEDI) is developed to quantify the relationship between drought and crop yield reduction, and crop suitability evaluation is combined with a cellular automaton model to optimize the spatial distribution of land and water resources. A regional grid-based multi-objective planning model is employed to balance economic benefits and resource utilization efficiency. The application in the Sanjiang Plain shows that approximately 4.5 million 100 m× 100 m grid cells were optimized, leading to an increase in the water productivity of rice, maize, and soybeans by 18.3 %, 16.9 %, and 8.8 %, respectively, effectively coordinating land and water resource utilization with crop yield. Additionally, the irrigation strategy was optimized with a trend of \"low in the early stage, high in the mid-stage, and reduced in the late stage,\" which improved the water use structure, shifting the ratio of surface water and groundwater from 63 % and 37–72 % and 28 %, reducing groundwater over-extraction. In drought years, the model reduced economic risk due to drought-related yield loss by 14 % compared to traditional models, validating its applicability in drought conditions. This provides a scientific basis for sustainable agricultural resource management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110146"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145957121","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conversion from farmland to orchard reshapes moisture recycling: Mechanistic insights and implications for water management on the Loess Plateau","authors":"Jiaxin Wang ,&nbsp;Jiahui Ha ,&nbsp;Furong Zhang ,&nbsp;Xueyan Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhiming Han ,&nbsp;Bingbing Li ,&nbsp;Zhi Li","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110136","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110136","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Moisture recycling is fundamental for regulating water supply in semi-arid regions; however, how vegetation change influences this process remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify how the conversion from farmland to orchard alters land–atmosphere water cycling and provide implications for improving agricultural water management on the Loess Plateau. We combined stable isotope tracing and soil water balance partitioning to quantify moisture recycling rates for different vegetation types (farmland and orchards of varying ages) on the Changwu Loess Tableland in China. We used δ²H–δ¹ ⁸O signatures to partition the contributions of three vapor sources—advection, plant transpiration, and soil evaporation—to precipitation, and further decomposed soil water balance components to interpret the mechanism by which vegetation change influences moisture recycling. After converting farmland to orchards, the soil water stored in 6–20 m declined by 9–20 %, deep percolation decreased from 28 mm·yr⁻¹ to almost zero, and annual soil water deficits reached up to 36 mm; in particular, orchard actual evapotranspiration (ET_a) exceeded annual precipitation (105–106 %, compared with 95 % for farmland). The transpiration to actual evapotranspiration ratio (T/ET_a) increased from 82 % to 88 %. Consequently, the proportion of recycled moisture in precipitation (<em>f</em>_<em>re</em>) increased from 20 % to 25 %, which was driven by a decline in evaporation contribution (<em>f</em>_E) and a rise in transpiration contribution (<em>f</em>_T), with <em>f</em>_T accounting for about 80 % of <em>f</em>_<em>re</em>. The proposed Recycling Efficiency Index (REI) revealed that apple orchards are characterized by a high risk of soil water deficit and suboptimal recycling benefits. Collectively, these findings reveal a chain of the vertical water cycle: deep-rooted plants extract deep soil water but limit recharge, and subsequently enhance local moisture recycling by increasing transpiration. Recognizing this dual effect of soil water depletion and enhanced recycling offers insights for improving water use efficiency and guiding sustainable orchard water management on the Loess Plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110136"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145957120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of deficit irrigation on yield and nutritive value of alfalfa varieties in Northern Nevada’s semi-arid environment","authors":"Uriel Cholula,&nbsp;Manuel A. Andrade,&nbsp;Juan K.Q. Solomon","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110140","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110140","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increasing water demands and prolonged droughts are forcing many farmers in Nevada to grow alfalfa (<em>Medicago sativa</em> L.) under deficit irrigation (DI). While DI can increase crop water productivity (CWP), it can also lead to water stress conditions that reduce yield. This study assessed the effects of DI on yield, nutritive value, and CWP of two alfalfa varieties marketed as drought-tolerant (Ladak II) and highly productive (Stratica). An experiment was conducted at the Valley Road Field Lab in Reno, Nevada, over three growing seasons (2021–2023), in which the following three irrigation treatments were applied to both varieties: 100 % (full irrigation, FI), 80 % (mild DI), and 60 % (moderate DI) of replenishment of soil water depletion to field capacity. Irrigation amounts applied to each treatment were delivered by a surface drip irrigation system and calculated from volumetric water content measurements collected by soil moisture sensors based on time-domain reflectometry. Seasonal water use of each alfalfa variety and treatment was estimated using a soil water balance. Over the years, moderate DI decreased seasonal dry yield by 13.9 % and mild DI by 4.6 % compared to FI. The drought-tolerant variety produced similar yields to the highly productive variety when both received the same irrigation treatment. Irrigation treatment significantly affected (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) the seasonal mean CWP across years, which improved under DI. Seasonal mean CWP increased from 11.5 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹ in the 2021 season to 19.2 and 18.5 kg ha⁻¹ mm⁻¹ in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Across seasons, mean acid detergent fiber (ADF) was not affected by irrigation treatment, but neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.001) and relative feed value (RFV) (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.01) were significantly influenced by irrigation treatment. Forage nutritive value was not affected by alfalfa variety. These findings suggest that while DI could reduce alfalfa yield, it enhances CWP and can improve nutritive value, being a viable strategy under water-limited conditions. In northern Nevada’s semiarid conditions, a mild DI appears to be the best option for producers because it offers a balance between alfalfa yield, nutritive value, and potential water savings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110140"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145957119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Micro-ridge-furrow rain harvesting cultivation: An adaptive strategy for improving yield and water productivity of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) in seasonal arid regions of Southwest China","authors":"Hui Chen ,&nbsp;Yongyuan Huang ,&nbsp;Enhao Zhang ,&nbsp;Yaotian Tian ,&nbsp;Huijing Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110139","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110139","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Improving the utilization efficiency of agricultural water resources serves as a fundamental strategy for alleviating agricultural drought and water scarcity and ensuring food security. Micro-ridge-furrow rain harvesting cultivation (MRF) boosts crop yields by increasing soil water storage, but its effect on winter rapeseed production remains unclear in seasonal arid regions. A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of MRF height (10 and 20 cm, denoted as H10 and H20, respectively) on the yield and water productivity (WP_c) of winter rapeseed in seasonal arid regions of Southwest China, using conventional flat planting (CK) as the control. MRF had a greater soil water content (SWC) in the ridge furrow and better root and shoot growth than CK, increasing rapeseed yield by 15.09 % and WP_c by 15.96 % (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05). MRF slightly improved the seed quality compared with CK by increasing the oil, protein, and glucosinolate contents by 3.59 %, 3.28 %, and 1.83 %, respectively. SWC in the ridge furrow was slightly 3.30 % greater under H20 than under H10. The root dry weight density, root length density, root surface area density, and root volume density under H20 increased by 13.10 %, 16.57 %, 15.91 %, and 11.84 %, respectively, compared with H10. The plant height (3.77 %), SPAD (1.40 %), stem diameter (8.69 %), aboveground dry matter (16.68 %), and yield components were higher under H20 than under H10. The seed yield, WP_c, and economic benefits insignificantly increased by 6.78 %, 7.11 %, and 4.35 %, respectively, under H20 compared with H10. H20 partly improved the seed quality compared with H10, with the oil, protein, and glucosinolate contents increasing by 1.57 %, 1.91 %, and 0.85 %, respectively. Overall, a 20 cm MRF height is recommended for crop production to improve SWC, crop growth, seed yield, WP_c, and economic benefits of winter rapeseed. The results provide a theoretical basis and technical support for the improvement of water conservation and efficiency in winter rapeseed production in seasonal arid regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110139"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of short-term and long-term risk reduction measures on irrigator strategies and profitability","authors":"Qiuyun Cecilia Yu ,&nbsp;Qi Li ,&nbsp;Maria Elena Orduña Alegría ,&nbsp;Landon T. Marston","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110122","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110122","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Farmers face significant challenges in managing crop planting and water allocation decisions due to fluctuating precipitation and volatile crop market prices. Subsidized federal crop insurance programs stabilize short-term risks, reshaping farmers’ strategies. However, irrigation restrictions, critical for curbing groundwater depletion and promoting long-term sustainability, can limit farmers’ adaptability to short-term variability. In western Kansas, where irrigation relies heavily on the High Plains Aquifer, self-organized pumping restrictions aim to balance agricultural productivity with aquifer sustainability. This study develops the FARM-OPT (Farming Allocation and Resource Model with OPTimization) model to assess how short-term risk mitigation measures (e.g., crop insurance) and long-term strategies (e.g., groundwater pumping restrictions) shape optimal cropping decisions under variable precipitation and market conditions. FARM-OPT uniquely integrates financial and regulatory risk management instruments within a unified, farm-level decision-making framework, enabling policy-relevant analysis of trade-offs between profitability and groundwater use. Findings indicate that crop insurance helps farmers sustain profitability and cultivate high-value, water-intensive crops like corn, even amidst market and precipitation fluctuations. Under the most restrictive groundwater pumping limits, crop insurance mitigates losses by increasing median profitability by approximately 50 % compared to scenarios without insurance, while requiring around 70 % less water. While insurance reduces financial risks and may align with groundwater conservation goals, outcomes depend on how payouts are administered, as real-world practices introduce uncertainty and unproductive water use. This research underscores the importance of integrated risk mitigation strategies, revealing how crop insurance and irrigation policies can complement one another to enhance agricultural resilience while safeguarding groundwater resources. These insights inform the design of policies that balance short-term economic needs with long-term sustainability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110122"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing summer fallow management decreases oligotrophic bacterial abundance and enhances rain-fed wheat yield through water and fertilizer improvements","authors":"Bin Yang ,&nbsp;Hao-ying Wang ,&nbsp;Lian-li Zhang ,&nbsp;Li Li ,&nbsp;Ting-liang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110099","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110099","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water scarcity and low soil fertility represent significant limitations to productivity within the dryland farming systems of the Loess Plateau. Consequently, optimizing summer fallow management to improve soil water retention and fertility is critical for enhancing soil quality in this region. To assess the maximum efficiency of rainfall capture during the summer fallow period, elucidate its interactions with soil microbial communities, and clarify the mechanisms underlying yield enhancement, a two-year field experiment was conducted. This study evaluated several treatments applied during the summer fallow: organic fertilizer alone (OF); organic fertilizer combined with deep tillage (OD); organic fertilizer with deep tillage and furrow-ridging (ODR); organic fertilizer with deep tillage, furrow-ridging, and plastic film mulching (ODRP); and organic fertilizer with deep tillage, furrow-ridging, and biodegradable film mulching (ODRB). Compared to conventional farmer practice (FP), the optimized rainfall management (ODRP) implemented in early summer fallow increased winter wheat grain yield by an average of 26.3 %, with spike number identified as the primary yield determinant. Between 2022 and 2024, the average efficiency of summer fallow rainfall storage under the OF, OD, ODRP, and ODRB treatments exceeded that of the FP treatment by 4.5 %, 36.3 %, 48.1 %, and 27.0 %, respectively. Notably, the ODR treatment reduced rainfall storage efficiency by 25.1 % relative to OD. The application of organic fertilizer during early summer fallow enhanced soil organic carbon content in the 0–40 cm soil profile by 8.8–24.8 % in the 0–20 cm layer and by 17.8–46.7 % in the 20–40 cm layer. Improved water and nutrient availability during the summer fallow period led to a decrease in the relative abundance of oligotrophic bacteria (Acidobacteria) and an increase in copiotrophic bacteria (Firmicutes). Correlation analyses demonstrated significant positive associations among soil moisture, Firmicutes abundance, and winter wheat yield. Partial least squares path modelling, coupled with Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, identified soil moisture as the principal factor influencing yield formation via its effect on spike number, accounting for 63 % of the yield variability. Additionally, soil moisture and microbial metabolic activity contributed to organic carbon sequestration. In summary, maximizing rainfall-harvesting efficiency during the summer fallow period in conjunction with organic fertilizer application, constitutes a crucial strategy for promoting sustainable and high-quality agricultural development in the dryland wheat systems of the Loess Plateau.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110099"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A user-friendly decision support tool for irrigation scheduling in smallholder olive orchards","authors":"L. Bonet ,&nbsp;F. Thomas ,&nbsp;M.A. Martínez-Gimeno ,&nbsp;M. Tasa ,&nbsp;E. Badal ,&nbsp;J.G. Pérez-Pérez ,&nbsp;U. Werban","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110131","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110131","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water scarcity and climate variability threaten Mediterranean agriculture, particularly for smallholder growers who often lack the knowledge to use advanced irrigation technologies. This study presents the development and validation of a user-friendly decision support tool (DST) designed to optimise irrigation scheduling through a simplified, sensor-based balance model, the Soil-Atmosphere Adjusted Model (SAAM). The tool delivers weekly irrigation recommendations via a mobile application. The SAAM algorithm adjusts irrigation volumes based on weekly variations in reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) and relative soil water status (RWS) from capacitive soil moisture sensors. Field trials were conducted during 2022 and 2023 in a commercial olive orchard in eastern Spain with a dual objective: (<em>i</em>) to empirically define crop-specific physiological thresholds for RWS, and (<em>ii</em>) to validate the performance of the DST under real farming conditions. The drought cycles implemented enabled the identification of optimal RWS boundaries (RWS_LL = 0.63, RWS_UL = 0.73) based on stem water potential (Ψ_stem) and stomatal conductance (<em>g</em>_<em>s</em>) responses. In parallel, the SAAM demonstrated its capacity to reduce irrigation volumes by 11 % (11.9 mm) compared to a conventional technician-guided strategy (99.4 mm and 111.3 mm, respectively), while maintaining Ψ_stem and <em>g</em>_<em>s</em> within non-limiting physiological ranges. No significant differences were observed in olive or oil yields between treatments, resulting in improved irrigation water productivity under the DST approach. The modular DST architecture ensured robust, automated data acquisition, quality control, and real-time output via a user-friendly interface. These findings highlight the DST framework as a solution to promote smart irrigation and water use efficiency.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110131"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Solar irrigation for adapting to climate change in cocoa farming: A choice experiment approach identifying Ghanaian farmers’ preferences","authors":"Kekeli Kofi Gbodji ,&nbsp;William Quarmine ,&nbsp;Marie-Charlotte Buisson ,&nbsp;Archisman Mitra ,&nbsp;Petra Schmitter","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110118","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110118","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Future climate conditions will be characterized by substantial uncertainty in weather patterns. For cocoa production, adapting to climate change will require securing water application and soil moisture by investing in irrigation infrastructure. In Ghana, government and private sector organizations have introduced solar-powered groundwater irrigation solutions to address the challenges. However, high upfront costs, limited access to institutional finance, and hydro-geological uncertainties constrain demand. We employed a discrete choice experiment approach to examine cocoa farmers’ willingness to adopt solar-based irrigation, surveying 550 farmers across seven regions depending on type of ownership, incentivized loans, and cutbacks on drilling uncertainties. The study revealed that cocoa irrigation investment decision depends primarily on access to longer-term loans, followed by cost reduction through group ownership, with the last factor being the reduction of uncertainties associated with borehole drilling. However, there are differences in farmers’ stated preferences based on wealth resources, gender, farm access, cocoa farm size, and household size. These findings suggest that policymakers should prioritize initiatives that alleviate financial constraints through longer-term loans to promote climate-resilient and sustainable agriculture. In addition, it indicates that a one-size-fits-all approach to promoting solar irrigation investment is unlikely to be effective, due to substantial heterogeneity in preferences amongst farmers. Instead, targeted policies are needed to increase solar pump adoption among marginalized groups like women and resource-poor farmers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110118"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rainwater harvesting potential zone identification using GIS –Machine learning approach and comparison of their performance","authors":"Tade Mule Asrade ,&nbsp;Sintayehu Adefires Abebe ,&nbsp;Kassahun Birhanu Tadesse","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110134","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110134","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems play a vital role in sustainable water management, yet their adoption is often constrained by the difficulty of accurately assessing site suitability and economic feasibility. This study aims to develop a machine learning (ML)–based geospatial framework to map RWH suitability in the Choke Watershed, Ethiopia, using twelve biophysical and hydrological conditioning factors. All spatial datasets were standardized and processed at a 30-m resolution, and the final suitability maps were generated at the same spatial scale to ensure consistent spatial comparability. Three ML algorithms—Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting (GB), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost)—were trained and validated using 175 suitable and 75 non-suitable inventory points, with a 70/30 training–testing split. Prior to model development, continuous predictors were normalized using min–max scaling, and all datasets were checked for missing values; incomplete DEM-derived pixels were corrected using bilinear interpolation, and unresolved records in thematic layers were removed to avoid bias during training. Model performance was evaluated using confusion-matrix metrics and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC). The GB and XGBoost models showed the highest predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.97), followed by RF (AUC = 0.96). Spatial analysis revealed that highly suitable RWH zones are concentrated in flat terrain with loam and clay-loam soils and higher rainfall availability. This study represents the first application of GB and XGBoost models for RWH suitability mapping in the Choke Watershed and demonstrates the effectiveness of ML-driven geospatial modeling for identifying optimal RWH locations. The findings provide a valuable decision-support tool for planners and policymakers seeking to improve water resource management and climate-resilient agricultural development in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110134"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Subsoiling with straw return optimizes the maize root system and water productivity","authors":"Fengbin Li ,&nbsp;Tianping Gao ,&nbsp;Ying Shen ,&nbsp;Qian Yang ,&nbsp;Hongxiang Zhao ,&nbsp;Geng Li ,&nbsp;Zhen Liu ,&nbsp;Yakov Kuzyakov ,&nbsp;Tangyuan Ning","doi":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110127","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110127","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Long-term conventional tillage exacerbates subsoil compaction, restricting root penetration and water and nutrient uptake. Although subsoiling is known to mitigate plough pan formation, the interactive effects of tillage and straw return on root system architecture (RSA) and water productivity (WP) in maize remain poorly understood. Based on a long-term field experiment, this study evaluated three tillage methods (plough tillage, PT; subsoiling tillage, ST; and rotary tillage, RT) and two straw management practices (no return and all straw return). We investigated effects of tillage and straw management on soil hydro-physical properties, maize RSA, and their consequent impacts on grain yield and WP. ST significantly reduced soil bulk density by 5.4 % and increased porosity by 6.4 % in the 0–40 cm soil compared to PT. The integration of subsoiling with straw return (STA) was particularly effective, enhancing subsoil fertility and promoting a deeper, coarser root system. STA increased root length density by 33 %, root weight density by 28 %, and root diameter by 41 % in the subsoil (40–60 cm soil). This optimized RSA improved access to deep soil water and nutrients, resulting in a 4.7 % increase in grain yield and a 3.8 % increase in WP compared to plough tillage with straw return. Subsoiling tillage-straw synergy reshapes RSA by alleviating mechanical impedance and enhancing subsoil fertility, offering a scalable strategy to improve crop resilience and resource efficiency.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7634,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Water Management","volume":"324 ","pages":"Article 110127"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145941096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}