Liu et al. (2026) Identifying eco-optimal nitrogen and irrigation management for wheat production in the North China Plain

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-31
• Authors: Junming Liu, Fangzhi Duan, Zhuanyun Si, Han Fu, Huijie Li, Xiulu Sun, Tao Zhou, Hongchen Li, Sunusi Amin Abubakar, Zhandong Liu, Bingcheng Si
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110736

Research Groups

• School of Hydraulic and Civil Engineering, Ludong University, Yantai, Shandong, PR China
• Institute of Farmland Irrigation, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Xinxiang, Henan, PR China
• State Key Laboratory of Black Soils Conservation and Utilization, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Harbin, China
• Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
• Department of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nigeria
• Department of Soil Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Short Summary

This study identified an eco-optimal nitrogen and irrigation management strategy for winter wheat under high–low seedbed cultivation (HLSC) in the North China Plain. It found that a moderate input strategy (240 kg N ha⁻¹ and 90 mm irrigation) achieved the best balance of productivity, profitability, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability.

Objective

• To quantify the effects of different water-nitrogen combinations on yield, economic benefit, and energy performance.
• To evaluate the environmental impacts and eco-efficiency of these combinations.
• To identify an eco-optimal management strategy (EOMS) that reconciles productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability for HLSC-cultivated winter wheat.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Field experiment conducted in Xinxiang County, Henan Province, China (35.15°N, 113.80°E), representative of the North China Plain.
• Temporal Scale: Four consecutive wheat growing seasons (2020–2021, 2021–2022, 2022–2023, and 2024–2025).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: SimaPro v8.3 for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), ReCiPe 2016 method for environmental impact characterization.
• Data sources: Four-season split-plot field experiment data, including detailed records of agricultural inputs (fertilizers, seeds, machinery, irrigation water, labour) and grain yield. Background inventory data for agricultural input production were obtained from the Ecoinvent LCA database. Field emissions were estimated using region-specific emission factors for the North China Plain.

Main Results

• The N3W2 treatment (240 kg N ha⁻¹ and 90 mm irrigation) provided the best overall balance across productivity, profitability, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
• Grain yield under N3W2 was statistically comparable to higher-input treatments (N1: 360 kg N ha⁻¹, N2: 300 kg N ha⁻¹).
• N3W2 achieved the highest net income (1370.89 $ ha⁻¹) and benefit–cost ratio (1.61).
• Reducing nitrogen application from N1 to N3 decreased total energy input by an average of 18.91% across irrigation levels, with N3W2 maintaining a high energy-use efficiency (9.53).
• Compared with the conventional high-input N1W1 treatment (360 kg N ha⁻¹ and 120 mm irrigation), N3W2 reduced the total normalized midpoint environmental burden by 25.9% and total endpoint environmental damage by 24.1%.
• Fertilizer (63.6%) and irrigation (27.7%) were the dominant contributors to the total normalized midpoint environmental burden, jointly accounting for 91.3%.
• N3W2 achieved the highest endpoint eco-efficiency (2.20 $ Pt⁻¹), demonstrating improved economic and environmental performance without a significant yield penalty.

Contributions

• This study provides a comprehensive, integrated assessment of economic, energy, and environmental sustainability for winter wheat production under High–low seedbed cultivation (HLSC) in the North China Plain, addressing a gap in previous research that primarily focused on agronomic indicators.
• It identifies a specific eco-optimal management strategy (240 kg N ha⁻¹ with 90 mm irrigation) for HLSC, offering a practical, quantitative benchmark for sustainable intensification.
• The research demonstrates that coordinated moderate reductions in nitrogen and irrigation inputs can significantly improve eco-efficiency by maintaining high yields and profitability while substantially reducing energy consumption and environmental burdens.
• It highlights fertilizer and irrigation as key leverage points for mitigation efforts in intensive wheat production systems.

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, reference code: 42507426)
• Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (ASTIP)
• Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (project reference code: ZR2025QC614)
• Key R&D Program of Shandong Province (reference code: 2023TZXD028)

Citation

@article{Liu2026Identifying,
  author = {Liu, Junming and Duan, Fangzhi and Si, Zhuanyun and Fu, Han and Li, Huijie and Sun, Xiulu and Zhou, Tao and Li, Hongchen and Abubakar, Sunusi Amin and Liu, Zhandong and Si, Bingcheng},
  title = {Identifying eco-optimal nitrogen and irrigation management for wheat production in the North China Plain},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110736},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110736}
}