Hydro-economic model framework for achieving groundwater, food, and economy trade-offs by optimizing crop patterns.

When allocating water resources, stakeholders (such as water departments, agricultural sector actors, and farmers) aim to maximize their benefits. This leads to conflicts between water savings, food security, and profit growth, causing major challenges for water managers. A hydro-economic model was developed to alleviate groundwater sustainability, food security, and economic growth (GFE) conflicts through crop pattern optimization.

GRACE, GLDAS and measured groundwater data products show water storage loss in Western Jilin, China.

Water storage depletion is a worsening hydrological problem that limits agricultural production in especially arid/semi-arid regions across the globe. Quantifying water storage dynamics is critical for developing water resources management strategies that are sustainable and protective of the environment. This study uses GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment), GLDAS (Global Land Data Assimilation System) and measured groundwater data products to quantify water storage in Western Jilin (a proxy for semi-arid wetland ecosystems) for the period from January 2002 to December 2009.