Rainwater Harvesting Agriculture: An Integrated System for Water Management on Rainfed Land in China's Semiarid Areas

Cook, Seth; Geballe, Gordon T.; Burch, William R.

doi:10.1639/0044-7447(2000)029[0477:rhaais]2.0.co;2

Cited by 35 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Naturally, the majority of the agricultural production takes place in rural settings. Various studies report that supplemental irrigation with harvested rainwater during "crucial dry spells" can greatly improve rainfed cereal yields (Oweis et al 1999;Li et al 2001;Biazin et al 2012). Studies from China have further shown that if rainwater harvesting systems are combined with modern and efficient irrigation methods, significant agricultural irrigation can be achieved in crop fields, orchards and greenhouses of the arid and semi-arid regions.…”

Section: Rural Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By 2001, 1.97 million rural people had solved their drinking and household water needs. By 2007, large areas of crop fields, 10,829 ha of greenhouses, and 270,730 ha of orchards received irrigation from rainwater harvesting practices that integrated modern irrigation techniques, such as drip and sprinkler irrigation (Li et al 2001;Zhu 2008;Jiang et al 2013).…”

Section: Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also importantly, the widespread adoption of rainwater harvesting proved to be an effective climate adaptation tool by making farmers more resilient to dry spells and drought events during the water-stressed periods of crop production (Li et al 2001;Zhu 2008). Currently in China, other water-insecure arid and semi-arid provinces in the Shanxi, Ningxia, and Inner Mongolia regions have started implementing rainwater harvesting.…”

Section: Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Managing Water Resources under Climate Uncertainty

Shrestha¹,

Anal²,

Salam³

et al. 2015

Springer Water

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Section: Rural Settingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Chinamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Managing Water Resources under Climate Uncertainty

Shrestha¹,

Anal²,

Salam³

et al. 2015

Springer Water

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“…Most water harvesting practices in the arid and semi‐arid areas collect runoff water produced by rainfall from a catchment area and store it in soil profile for irrigation use (Tsakiris, 1991; Niemeijer, 1998; Rockström, 2002; Huang et al , 2004; Abdelkdair and Schultz, 2005). In some other practices, however, collected water is stored in tanks of various sizes, either open or underground and covered (Li et al , 2000; Anbumozhi et al , 2001; Huang et al , 2004; Li, 2007). WH in China is practiced mainly in the northwestern and northern parts of the country, especially in the loess plateau areas (Li et al , 1999; Li et al , 2000; Xiao and Wang, 2003; Yang et al , 2004; Sun et al , 2005; Huang et al , 2006; Lei and Jiang, 2008), where harvesting of runoff produced by rainfall for domestic and agricultural uses has a long history (Li and Gong, 2002; Huang et al , 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some other practices, however, collected water is stored in tanks of various sizes, either open or underground and covered (Li et al , 2000; Anbumozhi et al , 2001; Huang et al , 2004; Li, 2007). WH in China is practiced mainly in the northwestern and northern parts of the country, especially in the loess plateau areas (Li et al , 1999; Li et al , 2000; Xiao and Wang, 2003; Yang et al , 2004; Sun et al , 2005; Huang et al , 2006; Lei and Jiang, 2008), where harvesting of runoff produced by rainfall for domestic and agricultural uses has a long history (Li and Gong, 2002; Huang et al , 2004). Currently, WH is practiced in approximately 13 provinces and covers an area of 2 million km 2 in China (Wu, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harvesting of rainwater and brooklets water to increase mountain agricultural productivity: A case study from a dry valley of southwestern China

Yang

Huang

2009

Natural Resources Forum

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In semi‐arid valleys of southwestern China, seasonal shortage of water is the major contributing factor to low and unstable crop yield. Harvesting of both rainwater and brooklets water in the semi‐arid valleys of Ningnan county of Sichuan Province has brought about considerable economic and environmental change. Brooklet water is collected throughout the year but mainly during the rainy season in a series of ponds while rainwater is harvested in underground tanks constructed on road side or land boundaries with only a small opening above ground to save limited cropland. Increased water availability has promoted cultivation of sugarcane, tobacco, and mulberry, and increased per unit area yield of food crops. Sericulture, sugarcane and tobacco have become three important sources of farmers’ income. The water harvesting has contributed considerably to increased rural income, poverty reduction, reduced soil erosion and improvement in overall environment. Government has played a key role in planning and implementation of water harvesting programmes. Financial support of government and clear ownership of water harvesting facilities are critical for the success of the programme. Application of similar water harvesting techniques in other areas with similar biophysical conditions would contribute to enhancing the rural economy and alleviating poverty.

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Potential of rooftop rainwater harvesting to meet outdoor water demand in arid regions

2018

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The feasibility of rooftop rainwater harvesting (RRWH) as an alternative source of water to meet the outdoor water demand in nine states of the U.S. was evaluated using a system dynamics model developed in Systems Thinking, Experimental Learning Laboratory with Animation. The state of Arizona was selected to evaluate the effects of the selected model parameters on the efficacy of RRWH since among the nine states the arid region of Arizona showed the least potential of meeting the outdoor water demand with rain harvested water. The analyses were conducted on a monthly basis across a 10-year projected period from 2015 to 2024. The results showed that RRWH as a potential source of water was highly sensitive to certain model parameters such as the outdoor water demand, the use of desert landscaping, and the percentage of existing houses with RRWH. A significant difference (as high as 37.5%) in rainwater potential was observed between the projected wet and dry climate conditions in Arizona. The analysis of the dynamics of the storage tanks suggested that a 1.0-2.0 m 3 rainwater barrel, on an average, can store approximately 80% of the monthly rainwater generated from the rooftops in Arizona, even across the high seasonal variation. This interactive model can be used as a quick estimator of the amount of water that could be generated, stored, and utilized through RRWH systems in the U.S. under different climate conditions. The findings of such comprehensive analyses may help regional policymakers, especially in arid regions, to develop a sustainable water management infrastructure. Keywords: rooftop rainwater harvesting; rainwater storage tank dynamics; sustainability of outdoor water usage; sustainability of water in arid regions; best management practices in arid regions; variation of rainfall under various climate conditions

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Rainwater Harvesting Agriculture: An Integrated System for Water Management on Rainfed Land in China's Semiarid Areas

Cited by 35 publications

References 12 publications

Managing Water Resources under Climate Uncertainty

Managing Water Resources under Climate Uncertainty

Harvesting of rainwater and brooklets water to increase mountain agricultural productivity: A case study from a dry valley of southwestern China

Potential of rooftop rainwater harvesting to meet outdoor water demand in arid regions

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