Water resources conservation and nitrogen pollution reduction under global food trade and agricultural intensification

The Science of the Total Environment
Wenfeng LiuRainer Schulin

Abstract

Global food trade entails virtual flows of agricultural resources and pollution across countries. Here we performed a global-scale assessment of impacts of international food trade on blue water use, total water use, and nitrogen (N) inputs and on N losses in maize, rice, and wheat production. We simulated baseline conditions for the year 2000 and explored the impacts of an agricultural intensification scenario, in which low-input countries increase N and irrigation inputs to a greater extent than high-input countries. We combined a crop model with the Global Trade Analysis Project model. Results show that food exports generally occurred from regions with lower water and N use intensities, defined here as water and N uses in relation to crop yields, to regions with higher resources use intensities. Globally, food trade thus conserved a large amount of water resources and N applications, and also substantially reduced N losses. The trade-related conservation in blue water use reached 85km3y-1, accounting for more than half of total blue water use for producing the three crops. Food exported from the USA contributed the largest proportion of global water and N conservation as well as N loss reduction, but also led to substantial ...Continue Reading

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Citations

Nov 30, 2020·The Science of the Total Environment·Felipe Dalzotto ArtuzoEdson Talamini
Nov 10, 2018·Environmental Science & Technology·Wenfeng LiuRainer Schulin
Nov 4, 2020·Environmental Science & Technology·Wenfeng LiuLei Cheng

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