ANALYSIS OF WATER FOOTPRINT OF RICE PRODUCTION IN THE MIDDLE AND LOWER REACHES OF THE YANGTZE RIVER

Water footprint (WF) is supposed to be a comprehensive environmental indicator to estimate fresh water consumption of a product and can evaluate the influence of human activities on both water volume and quality. Rice is a special crop whose water use intensity significantly differs from that of other crops and can bring assignable influence to water environment. This study analyzed the WF of rice production from 2004 to 2015 in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. a major rice producing area of China. The results showed that the annual total volume of WF of rice production in study region was 112.18 billion m(3), in which green WF accounts for 28.15%, blue WF 52.12%, and gray WF 19.74%. The WF of rice production in all provinces fluctuated and had a decreased trend over time except a sudden increase in 2013. ranging from 861.38 m(3) t(-1) to 1536.28 m(3) t(-1). The downward trend of blue WF and gray WF all contributed to the decrease of rice WF. Anhui and Zhejiang had much higher values of the WF than the other provinces. This study evaluated the fresh water resource appropriation by rice production and emphasized the spatial differences of rice WF within regions. Several recommendations were proposed to reduce the WF and achieve sustainable rice production, such as to improve the irrigation and fertilization efficiencies, policy orientation for regional crop cultivation variety and virtual water trade, and to improve the technical and management level in underdeveloped agricultural production areas.