The coupling of agricultural water footprint and socioeconomic development in ecological functional zones: A case study of Gansu Province, China

Water footprint accounting can evaluate the real occupancy of water resources by combining the consumption of blue water and green water. In this study, we calculated agricultural water footprint (AWF) including six patterns of crops water footprint (CWF) and three patterns of animal products water footprint (APWF) from 2000 to 2020 in Gansu Province, China, then the spatiotemporal matching pattern and its heterogeneity of AWF and socioeconomic factors were identified at the ecological functional zone level. The results show that: (1) The AWF showed a rising trend, increasing by 40%. (2) The spatial difference of AWF was obvious, the main contributor to the CWF changed from wheat to maize, and the main contributors to the APWF were always pork and beef. At the ecological zones level, the central and eastern Loess Plateau and Hexi inland areas together accounted for 60% of the total AWF of Gansu Province. (3) The center of gravity of AWF was always located in Lanzhou, the provincial capital, but tended to gradually move to the northwest. (4) The spatiotemporal matching degree between AWF and population and GDP was relatively good, but it was highly unbalanced between blue water footprint (BWF) and planting area. Considering both water-saving potential and feasibility, we suggest that Gansu Province should carry out sustainable agricultural management from three aspects, that is, optimizing the planting structure, emphasizing water conservation in animal husbandry, and improving the spatial matching degree between AWF and socioeconomic factors.