Wu et al. (2026) Deep soil water dynamics and water productivity indicate partial buffering of yield losses across land-use systems during drought

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-06-16
• Authors: Mengqi Wu, Christiane Roscher, Martin Schädler, Mika Tapio Tarkka, Doris Vetterlein, Steffen Schlüter
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110536

Research Groups

• Department of Soil System Science, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Halle, Germany
• Department Physiological Diversity, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany
• German Centre of Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
• Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Halle, Germany
• Department of Ecology of Agroecosystems, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Halle, Germany

Short Summary

This study investigated the role of deep soil water storage in buffering yield losses across different land-use systems during drought. The results showed that deep soil water storage and water productivity represent complementary but independent factors contributing to ecosystem resistance under drought conditions.

Objective

• Investigate how deep soil water storage contributes to stabilizing plant productivity across different agricultural land-use systems under realistic climatic variability.
• Examine the interaction between rooting strategies, climate scenarios, and soil water storage in regulating soil water availability and aboveground productivity under prolonged drought and heavy rainfall periods.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Field trial in Central Germany comprising five land-use types (two croplands: conventional and organic farming; three grasslands: intensive meadow, extensive meadow, and extensive pasture) over a 3-year period.
• Temporal Scale: Three years that included prolonged droughts and an extreme rainfall event.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Soil water balance equation (Zeleke and Wade, 2012)
• Data sources: Time domain reflectometry (TDR) probe measurements of soil volumetric water content, meteorological data from the German Meteorological Service (DWD), and harvested aboveground biomass records.

Main Results

• Deep soil water storage was affected by legacy effects of prolonged droughts and heavy rainfall periods.
• Croplands showed stronger depletion of deep soil water storage than grasslands.
• Water productivity increased with land-use intensity, reflecting shorter growing periods in croplands and higher mowing frequency in intensive grasslands.
• Neither deep soil water storage nor higher water productivity fully compensated for prolonged water limitations, leading to yield losses under severe drought.

Contributions

• This study highlights the importance of integrating deep soil water dynamics and land-use-specific management strategies into agricultural water management.
• The findings indicate that deep soil water storage and water productivity represent complementary but independent factors contributing to ecosystem resistance under drought conditions.

Funding

• This research was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) through the project "Global Change Experimental Facility" (GCEF).

Citation

@article{Wu2026Deep,
  author = {Wu, Mengqi and Roscher, Christiane and Schädler, Martin and Tarkka, Mika Tapio and Vetterlein, Doris and Schlüter, Steffen},
  title = {Deep soil water dynamics and water productivity indicate partial buffering of yield losses across land-use systems during drought},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110536},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110536}
}