Journal of Cleaner Production 156 (2017) 41e49

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Effects of irrigation on the ecological services in an intensive

agricultural region in China: A trade-off perspective
Ruihua Li a, b, Hua Lin c, *, Haipeng Niu a, Yuqi Chen b, Suxia Zhao a, Liangxin Fan a
a
School of Surveying & Land Information Engineering, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China
b
Key Laboratory of Land Use, Ministry of Land and Resources, China Land Surveying & Planning Institute, Beijing 100035, China
c
School of Architectural & Artistic Design, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo 454000, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The quantication of the effect of irrigation on crop yields and other non-marketed ecological services
Received 13 December 2016 (ESs) is crucial to maintain a steady increase in agricultural production while minimizing negative
Received in revised form environmental effects. We use the modied ES trade-off concept frame to analyze the interrelationships
5 April 2017
between crop yield income and nitrogen leaching, nitrous oxide emission, and soil organic carbon (SOC)
Accepted 5 April 2017
Available online 10 April 2017
sequestration by simulating crop output and other non-marketed ESs with a process-based denitri-
cationedecomposition model. Results show that positive trade-offs and synergies exist between crop
^ as de
Handling Editor: Cecilia Maria Villas Bo yield income and nitrogen leaching, nitrous oxide emission, and SOC sequestration at the loam site
Almeida before the irrigation index reaches 0.7. Similarly, a positive trade-off exists between crop yield income
and nitrogen leaching at the sandy soil site, and a positive synergy occurs between crop yield income and
Keywords: SOC sequestration at the loam site as the irrigation index increases from 0 to 1. The extended ES trade-off
Irrigation concept frame is a benecial approach for optimizing current agricultural irrigation management stra-
Ecological service trade-off tegies to maintain sustainable agricultural development.
Nitrogen leaching
2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Nitrous oxide emission
Soil organic carbon

1. Introduction environmental effects. However, the trade-offs and synergy effects

Intensive agricultural management is being rapidly developed
to address the food demand of the increasing population. With
insufcient water supply (Poch-Masseg et al., 2014), irrigation has
become an essential input to maintain intensive agricultural pro-
duction. Cropland equipped with irrigation facilities is predicted to
reach 277 million hectares worldwide by 2050 (Hannam et al.,
2016) and will contribute approximately two-thirds to food in-
crease in the future (Jamali et al., 2015). By contrast, irrigation is an
important interference to agro-ecosystems, and irrigation-related
environmental problems, such as nitrogen (N) leaching (Chilundo
et al., 2016), nitrous oxide (N2O) emission (Hou et al., 2016), and
soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration (Hannam et al., 2016), must
be prevented. The ecological service (ES) trade-off conceptual
frame provides a promising option to determine benecial agri-
cultural management strategies by quantifying the economic and
ecological effects of irrigation to avoid or mitigate negative
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: hpu_lh@126.com (H. Lin).
among ESs caused by irrigation remain unknown. Therefore, the
identication of trade-offs or synergies between crop yield income
and other ESs is essential to develop sustainable agricultural
management strategies (Balbi et al., 2015).
A steady increase in agricultural production is necessary to
address the food demands of the large population in China (Xuejun
and Fusuo, 2011). The decrease in rainfall and the high drought
frequency have rendered irrigation the basic support for agricul-
tural production (Zhang et al., 2015), particularly in the North China
Plain (NCP), where 73% of the cropland is equipped with irrigation
facilities (Li et al., 2014). However, irrigation has been considered
the main cause of N loss, groundwater contamination (Cui et al.,
2012), and greenhouse gas emission from cropland (Jia et al.,
2014; Qiu et al., 2011). Irrigation may deteriorate the negative ef-
fect of N fertilizer application; hence, exploring the effects of irri-
gation on N leaching, N2O emission, and SOC sequestration may
provide a promising direction to improve crop yield or farmer in-
come while minimizing negative environmental effects (Molina-
Herrera et al., 2016).
Numerous recent studies have examined the effect of combining
N application and irrigation on nitrate leaching and N2O emission

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.04.031
0959-6526/ 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
42 R. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 156 (2017) 41e49

given the importance of N application and irrigation in intensive pursue alternative agricultural management strategies instead of
agricultural production (Gholamhoseini et al., 2013; Hu et al., currently increasing N application to enhance agricultural yield
2008). The proposed countermeasures concentrate on three as- income while minimizing negative environmental effects. This
pects: (1) to reduce the amount of irrigation and N application study aims to identify the effects of irrigation on N leaching, N2O
(Jamali et al., 2015; Molina-Herrera et al., 2016), (2) to optimize the emission, and SOC dynamics, as well as to quantify trade-off or
combination of irrigation and N application (Gholamhoseini et al., synergy relationships between crop yield income and N leaching,
2013; Jia et al., 2014), and (3) to change the irrigation method N2O emission, and SOC sequestration. This study is expected to
(Poch-Masseg et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2016). Despite positive provide useful information for developing sustainable agricultural
results in several site-specic elds, crop yield and income can strategies.
remain insufcient when the proposed method is applied to other
elds (Chilundo et al., 2016). Therefore, solving the old question 2. Study area and methods
how much N and irrigation do I need to apply to my crop in a
broader eld by determining the specic combination of irrigation 2.1. Study area
and N application is difcult. Single irrigation optimization can
improve crop yield income (Woli et al., 2016); hence, the solution The study area is located in Xinzheng County, an intensive
may be more applicable if the old question is transformed into agricultural region in NCP (Fig. 1). This region features a semi-arid,
which irrigation strategies do my crops require (Liu et al., 2015). sub-humid, warm temperate, continental monsoon climate. The
However, few studies have focused on increasing crop yield or in- annual average temperature is 14.1
C, and the annual average
come while minimizing N leaching and N2O by improving irrigation precipitation is 713.8 mm (Soil census ofce of Xinzheng county,
management strategies. 1983). On the basis of basic principles, such as high input and
Irrigation induces two opposing SOC change processes in an output of energy and matter, monotonous crop systems, and the
agro-ecosystem. The rst process is increasing crop yield and res- objective of increasing intensive agriculture yield (Lares-Orozco
idue, which promotes SOC accumulation. The second process is et al., 2016), the study area is a typical intensive agricultural re-
increasing microbial activity, which accelerates the mineralization gion with an average N fertilizer rate of 265.5 kg N/ha$year, an
of carbon (C) compounds and consumes the SOC stock. These agricultural mechanical power of 17.13 kw/ha, and an irrigated land
processes can neutralize each other; therefore, SOC increase has a area accounting for 90% of the total cropland area. The study area
relatively low magnitude and is even negligible in irrigated crop- has two main types of soil (loam and sandy) and two general
land compared with that in rain-fed cropland (De Bona et al., 2008). cropping systems (winter wheatemaize and wheatepeanut). At
Nonetheless, Giubergia et al. (2013) discovered that SOC signi- present, N fertilizer and irrigation input are the primary approaches
cantly increased in irrigated cropland. The effects of irrigation on used to obtain high crop yield (Zhang et al., 2015).
SOC dynamics remain inadequately addressed (Li et al., 2016b), and
the inuence of irrigation on SOC sequestration requires further
validation.
A winewin strategy between agricultural income and environ-
mental protection must be identied to achieve sustainable agri-
cultural development. The ES trade-off and synergy conceptual
frame is a good approach to increase crop yield income while
achieving environmental protection (BenDor et al., 2017). When
irrigation promotes crop yield at the cost of environmental degra-
dation, such as global warming induced by the emission of green-
house gases and groundwater pollution caused by N leaching
(Chilundo et al., 2016), a negative trade-off relationship occurs. By
contrast, if crop yield improves environment quality, then a positive
synergy relationship exists (Wei et al., 2009). The ES trade-off and
synergy conceptual frame is benecial for synthetically under-
standing interrelationships among ESs, which is crucial for devel-
oping sustainable agricultural management strategies (Wei et al.,
2009). Therefore, the ES trade-off approach has been extensively
advocated and is regarded to be promising in developing sustain-
able agricultural management strategies (Antognelli and Vizzari,
2017). However, although the trade-off among ESs has been a
focal topic in ecology research (Lautenbach et al., 2017), the
simultaneous quantication of various ESs remains a challenge.
Denitricationedecomposition (DNDC) is a process-based model
that provides an opportunity to overcome the aforementioned
problem. Embedded with detailed N and C biochemical trans-
formation equations (Qiu et al., 2011), the DNDC model exhibits an
advantage to simulate the effects of farm management options on
the dynamics of N and C in agro-ecosystems (Li et al., 2014). After
extensive validation in numerous agricultural elds worldwide
(Qiu et al., 2011), the DNDC model is recognized as a useful tool that
provides N and C change information for efcient agricultural
management strategies (Cardenas et al., 2013).
On the basis of simulated ESs using the DNDC model in an
intensive agricultural region (i.e., NCP, China), we continuously Fig. 1. Location of the study area.
 R. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 156 (2017) 41e49
Nearly 90% of the cropland is equipped with motor-pumped
wells. Irrigation water is pumped from an aquifer at an under-
ground depth of 200 m, and the considerable consumption of
groundwater results in a decline in the groundwater table (Gao
et al., 2015). Inadequate irrigation is common due to insufcient
water resource and irrigation facilities. Although the cropland has
been irrigated for at least 30 years, the adverse effects of soil sali-
nization and depletion have not yet occurred. Irrigation facilities
belong to public utilities and are built by governmental sectors.
Therefore, public input is crucial to improving irrigation. Unlike
irrigation, fertilization input mostly depends on the knowledge,
experiences, and family income of farmers. Although the low ef-
ciency and negative effects, such as groundwater nitrate pollution
and greenhouse gas emission, of N fertilizer use have been
observed by the government and by researchers (Qiu et al., 2011;
Xuejun and Fusuo, 2011), most farmers still overuse N fertilizers
(Jia et al., 2014). Nevertheless, soil quality degradation has not yet
been observed in the study area.
Two sample sites in Guanliuzhuang and Elangdian were selected
to represent loam and sandy soil agro-ecosystems, respectively.
Guanliuzhuang is a land use change eld-monitoring point of the
Ministry of Land and Resources of China. This agro-ecosystem is a
representative of main winter wheatemaize rotation and minor
winter wheatepeanut rotation in loam soil. By contrast, Elangdian
is a representative of main winter wheatepeanut rotation and
minor winter wheatemaize rotation in sandy soil.
2.2. ES trade-off conceptual frame
With regard to market-oriented intensive agro-ecological sys-
tems (Amjath-Babu and Kaechele, 2015), ESs can be grouped into
marketed (e.g., agricultural yield income) and non-marketed (e.g.,
nutrient cycling and climate regulation) services. Certain agricul-
tural activities (e.g., overuse of N fertilizer) to maximize crop yield
result in the decline of non-marketed ESs (e.g., loss of SOC, N
leaching, and N2O emission increase), thereby causing a winelose
situation. By contrast, other agricultural activities (e.g., conserva-
tion till and organic fertilizer application) may increase non-
marketed ESs as crop yield income increases (Ouyang et al.,
2013). These agricultural activities may function as services to
the ecosystem and produce a winewin situation (Comberti et al.,
2015).
The concept frame of trade-offs and synergies should be clari-
ed using a quantitative model. Hicks et al. (2013) proposed
synergy and trade-off to describe the positive and negative
correlations among ESs, respectively. Kragt and Robertson (2014)
used production possibility frontiers (PPFs) to quantify the
winewin and winelose trade-offs between marketed and non-
marketed ESs according to the complementary and competitive
relationships among ESs. However, with regard to quantitative
relationship, the winewin situation or synergy may describe an
undesired situation. For example, crop yield increases with
increasing N leaching. Similarly, the winelose situation or trade-
offs may quantify a desired relationship. For example, crop yield
increases with decreasing N leaching. Therefore, the following four
interrelationships are classied to maintain consistency between
quantitative relationships and the actual situation:
(1) Positive trade-off (used to describe a desired inversely
changing relationship among ESs, e.g., crop yield increase
and N leaching decrease);
(2) Negative trade-off (used to describe an undesired inversely
changing relationship among ESs, e.g., crop yield increase
and SOC decrease);
43
(3) Positive synergy (used to describe a desired changing rela-
tionship in the same direction among ESs, e.g., crop yield
increase and SOC increase);
(4) Negative synergy (used to describe an undesired changing
relationship in the same direction among ESs, e.g., crop yield
increase and N leaching increase).
PPFs provide an effective approach to analyze trade-offs due to
the nonlinear relationships among ESs (Kragt and Robertson, 2014).
However, considering that the ordinary conventional shapes of
PPFs signicantly differ from those used to quantify winewin
relationships, we used the incomeeconsumption curve (ICC) to
describe a winewin relationship by regarding crop yield income
and the non-marketed ESs as two types of goods and agricultural
input as a set of income levels. Relationships among ESs were
identied by comparing them with the dened concept frame of
trade-offs and synergies.
The marginal growth rate (i.e., an increment in agro-ES/a unit
increment in the irrigation index) was adopted to quantify the
range of an ES that is changing with a unit increase in the irrigation
index. An ES increases when the marginal growth rate is above
zero, decreases when the rate is below zero, and is maximized
when the rate is equal to zero.
2.3. Simulation of ESs
2.3.1. DNDC model
The DNDC model was used to derive crop yield and other ES
indicators for trade-off or synergy analysis among ESs. The DNDC
model was originally developed to measure greenhouse gas emis-
sions (Li et al., 1992). With the input parameters of climate, soil,
crop, and agricultural management activities, the following six core
modules of the DNDC model interact and produce a biochemical
cycle environment when running a simulation: (1) soil climate
formation processes, (2) crop growth processes, (3) decomposition
processes of organic matter, (4) fermentation processes, (5) nitri-
cation processes, and (6) denitrication processes. In a parame-
terized biochemical environment, the DNDC model can simulate
the detailed transformation process and merge the dynamics of C
and N with the activities of predicted soil microbes. Therefore,
DNDC is a process-based biogeochemical model that can be used to
simultaneously simulate crop yield and C and N dynamics under a
set of agricultural management activities (Zhang et al., 2015).
The DNDC model has been validated well in NCP for its capa-
bility to simulate crop yield (Grogan et al., 2015), N leaching (Li
et al., 2014), N2O emission (Li et al., 2010, 2016a), and SOC dy-
namics (Li et al., 2016a; Qiu et al., 2009).
2.3.2. Parameters used in the DNDC model
The DNDC model is simulated based on the parameters of
climate, soil, crop, and agricultural activities (Miehle et al., 2006).
The meteorological database, which was collected from the China
Meteorological Information Sharing Service Center, was built based
on the data from the nearest Zhengzhou Meteorological Station.
Soil data were obtained from the second soil census of Xinzheng,
and the simulation period was from 1982 to 2014. Winter wheat is
planted in a year and then harvested the following year. Thus, we
excluded the rst year in the analysis because only one crop was
yielded during that year, whereas two crops were yielded in the
subsequent years during the simulation period. The latitudes of the
two sampling sites in Guanliuzhuang and Erlangdian were used as
latitude parameters. Soil type and texture, SOC, soil bulk density,
and soil pH value in the top soil (0 cme10 cm) of the soil proles of
the two sampling sites were used as the input parameters of DNDC
simulation. The mean, the varying range and the standard deviation
44 R. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 156 (2017) 41e49
of the parameters were determined from 180 to 49 sampling points
with loam and sandy soil, respectively, in the study area. The spe-
cic parameters are listed in Table 1. Crop type and related specic
crop parameters were determined through eld investigations, and
related literature was used as reference. The details of the crop
parameters are listed in Table 2. The tilling methods of plowing
with moldboard (20 cm depth) and plowing with disk or chisel
(10 cm depth) were selected for winter wheat and maize (or pea-
nut), respectively. The N fertilizer rate was 265.5 kg N/ha$year, and
the time of N fertilizer application was set on October 12 for winter
wheat and June 12 for maize (or peanut). The N application depth in
soil was 15 cm for winter wheat and 5 cm for maize (or peanut). The
crop residue retention was set at 50% for winter wheat and 0% for
maize (or peanut).
2.3.3. Quantifying ESs
We synthesized various agricultural outputs to form a
comprehensive indicator, namely, crop yield income with bench-
mark prices, to compare agricultural outputs. We selected the
annual average prices of agricultural commodities in 2000 as
benchmark prices given that crop yield and other non-marketed
ESs were simulated from 1982 to 2014. Other non-marketed ESs,
namely, N leaching, N2O emission, and SOC, were measured in kg N/
ha$year (N leaching and N2O emission) and kg C/ha$year (SOC).
3. Results
3.1. ESs changing with increasing irrigation index
An increase in irrigation exerts positive effects on crop yield
income, N leaching, N2O emission, and SOC sequestration in both
loam and sandy soil agro-ecosystems (Table 3). The annual average
crop yield income and SOC sequestration are maximized, whereas
N leaching is minimized, when the irrigation index is 0.7 in the
winter wheatemaize and winter wheatepeanut rotations at the
loam site. N2O emission is minimized when the irrigation index is
0.7 in the winter wheatemaize crop rotation and 0.8 in the winter
wheatepeanut crop rotation. The standard deviations of crop yield
income and N leaching decrease before the irrigation index reaches
0.7 and then reach their minimum values when the index is 0.6 in
the winter wheatemaize crop rotation for N2O emission. By
contrast the standard deviation of the annual SOC increases and is
maximized when the irrigation index is 0.7.
Meanwhile, crop yield income, SOC sequestration, and N2O
emission increase with increasing irrigation index in both crop
rotations at the sandy site. The maximum crop yield income and
N2O emission are achieved at an irrigation index of 1, whereas the
maximum SOC sequestration is achieved at the irrigation index of
0.7 (Table 3). N leaching decreases and reaches its minimum value
at an irrigation index of 1 in the winter wheatemaize rotation and
at 0.7 in the winter wheatepeanut rotation. However, crop yield
Table 1
Characteristics of the two sample sites.
Items Guanliuzhuang Meanc
a
Latitude 34.4 N e e
Soil typeb Cinnamon soil e e
Soil textureb Loam e e
SOC (kgC/kg)b 0.0065 0.0055 (0.0006e0.0075)
Soil bulk density (g/cm3)b 1.41 1.36 (1.30e1.45)
pHb 8.10 7.66 (7.30e8.20)
Stdev is standard deviations of parameters.
a
Refers to the parameters derived from the eld survey.
b
Refers to the parameters derived from Soil census ofce of Xinzheng county (1983).
c
Indicates the mean and the varying range of parameters in parentheses.
income and N leaching exhibit minor differences between the
irrigation indexes of 0.7 and 1. As the irrigation index increases,
standard deviation decreases for N leaching, increases for SOC
sequestration, and uctuates for crop yield income and N2O
emission.
Crop yield income is higher, whereas N leaching, N2O emission,
and SOC sequestration are lower at the loam site than at the sandy
soil site with the same crop rotation. The winter wheatepeanut
rotation has higher crop yield income, N leaching, N2O emission,
and SOC sequestration than the winter wheatemaize rotation.
3.2. Irrigation index-based marginal effect of ESs
Fig. 2 shows that the marginal growth rates of SOC sequestration
and crop yield income decrease to zero as the irrigation index
changes from 0.7 to 0.8 at the two sampling sites. That is, the
highest crop yield income and SOC occur when the irrigation index
reaches the interval between 0.7 and 0.8. By contrast, the marginal
growth rate of N leaching nearly increases to zero in the winter
wheatemaize rotation and uctuates to zero in the winter
wheatepeanut rotation as the irrigation index changes from 0.7 to
0.8 at the loam site (Fig. 2A and B). The marginal growth rate of N2O
emission uctuates below zero, except between 0.7 and 0.8 and
between 0.8 and 1. The range of 0.7e0.8 at the sandy soil site is also
the inection interval for N leaching (Fig. 2A0 and 2B0 ). However, the
marginal growth rate of N2O mostly uctuates over zero, except
between 0.6 and 0.7 and between 0.7 and 0.8 for the winter
wheatemaize and winter wheatepeanut rotations, respectively,
which is the most signicant difference from that at the loam site.
The 70%e80% crop water requirement is generally the optimum
irrigation amount to increase crop yield income and SOC seques-
tration and decrease the adverse effects of N leaching and N2O
emission, which improves direction for farmer irrigation decision.
3.3. Trade-offs and synergies among ESs
Crop yield income exhibits a positive trade-off with N leaching
and N2O emission and a positive synergy with SOC sequestration as
the irrigation index increases from 0 to 0.7 in both crop rotations at
the loam site (Fig. 3Ae3C). Subsequently, crop yield income pre-
sents a negative trade-off with N leaching and N2O emission and a
negative synergy with SOC sequestration as the irrigation index
continually increases from 0.7 to 1. Therefore, farmers should in-
crease irrigation amount before the irrigation index reaches 0.7 to
improve agricultural income and environments.
The interrelationships at the sandy soil site are more complex
than those at the loam site. A positive trade-off exists between crop
yield income and N leaching as the irrigation index increases from
0 to 1. By contrast, a negative synergy occurs between crop yield
income and N2O emission, but the marginal rate of N2O emission
increases after the irrigation index exceeds 0.7 in the winteremaize
Stdev Erlangdian Meanc Stdev
34.36 N e e
Sandy soil e e
Sand e e
0.0021 0.0027 0.0028 (0.0016e0.0037) 0.0015
0.10 1.34 1.32 (1.17e1.41) 0.07
0.22 7.50 7.60 (7.00e7.70) 0.21
 R. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 156 (2017) 41e49 45

Table 2
Crop physiological parameters in the DNDC model.

Parameters Winter wheat Maize Peanut

Maximum grain biomass(kg C/ha) 3400 3600 1312.5

Grain biomass fraction 0.3 0.5 0.35
Shoot fraction 0.35 0.45 0.47
Grain biomass C/N ratio 18 35 25
Shoot biomass C/N ratio 50 50 40
Root biomass C/N ratio 71 50 50
Accumulated temperature (
C) 2000 2550 2900
Water requirement (g C/g) 280 300 554
Source Xue et al., 2013 Xue et al., 2013 Li, 2007

Table 3
Effects of increasing irrigation index on ES indicators.

Irrigation index Crop yield income ( thousand N leaching (Thousand kg N2O emission (kg N/ha$y) SOC sequestration (Thousand
yuan/ha$y) N/ha$y) kg C/ha$y)

WM WP WM WP WM WP WM WP

Loam soil site

0 13.12 5.48 13.33 6.59 0.94 1.41 0.95 1.46 13.29 4.45 14.30 4.26 0.31 0.47 0.30 0.47
0.1 16.96 4.40 15.70 6.08 0.94 1.38 0.96 1.45 12.89 4.43 14.05 4.23 0.40 0.50 0.37 0.50
0.2 20.64 3.65 18.92 5.46 0.93 1.35 0.96 1.43 12.42 4.30 13.71 4.08 0.54 0.58 0.49 0.57
0.3 24.57 3.14 23.05 4.75 0.91 1.31 0.95 1.39 11.95 4.12 13.10 4.02 0.69 0.71 0.65 0.70
0.4 28.31 2.50 27.43 3.79 0.88 1.25 0.93 1.35 11.66 3.98 12.57 4.07 0.83 0.82 0.81 0.82
0.5 31.62 1.79 31.99 2.66 0.86 1.20 0.91 1.29 11.12 4.01 12.05 3.99 0.95 0.92 0.97 0.95
0.6 34.80 1.26 36.93 1.71 0.84 1.13 0.88 1.23 10.70 3.90 11.51 3.86 1.08 1.04 1.14 1.11
0.7 36.53 1.12 40.29 1.26 0.83 1.09 0.86 1.18 10.07 3.98 10.91 4.06 1.13 1.13 1.23 1.22
0.8 36.52 1.16 40.29 1.26 0.83 1.05 0.87 1.16 10.40 4.23 10.52 4.31 1.08 1.13 1.18 1.22
0.9 36.51 1.20 40.29 1.26 0.84 1.02 0.87 1.12 10.26 4.29 10.55 4.31 1.05 1.12 1.15 1.21
1 36.50 1.22 40.29 1.26 0.84 1.00 0.87 1.10 10.23 4.33 10.62 4.29 1.03 1.11 1.13 1.21
Sandy soil site
0 10.85 4.07 12.49 5.09 1.23 0.64 1.25 0.63 10.69 3.39 10.84 3.46 0.60 0.38 0.63 0.39
0.1 14.64 3.50 15.41 4.48 1.20 0.61 1.24 0.62 10.86 3.26 11.12 3.30 0.84 0.42 0.86 0.43
0.2 18.27 3.48 18.96 4.11 1.17 0.59 1.21 0.60 11.32 3.12 11.59 3.24 1.16 0.49 1.20 0.50
0.3 22.37 3.97 23.32 4.13 1.13 0.56 1.18 0.57 11.85 3.43 12.08 3.47 1.53 0.64 1.57 0.65
0.4 26.28 4.23 27.76 3.99 1.09 0.53 1.15 0.54 12.28 3.95 12.63 4.03 1.86 0.79 1.90 0.81
0.5 29.79 4.09 31.95 3.38 1.06 0.50 1.12 0.52 12.99 4.54 13.41 4.69 2.09 0.92 2.15 0.96
0.6 33.04 4.01 36.15 3.15 1.03 0.46 1.09 0.48 13.55 4.94 13.50 5.18 2.22 1.10 2.33 1.15
0.7 34.76 3.97 38.86 3.44 1.02 0.43 1.07 0.45 13.19 5.20 13.60 5.43 2.27 1.20 2.40 1.26
0.8 34.77 3.97 38.80 3.50 1.02 0.40 1.08 0.42 14.68 5.22 13.17 5.35 2.09 1.25 2.24 1.31
0.9 34.78 3.97 38.81 3.47 1.02 0.39 1.08 0.40 15.21 5.15 13.70 5.00 1.95 1.29 2.08 1.36
1 34.82 3.95 38.86 3.41 1.01 0.38 1.08 0.39 16.39 5.10 15.12 4.83 1.88 1.32 1.99 1.40

Note: Irrigation index means a fraction of the water delivered to the soil to meet the predicted water decit. WM denotes the winter wheatemaize rotation; WP denotes the
winter wheatepeanut rotation. Value is donated with mean Stdev.

rotation. In the winter wheatepeanut rotation, crop yield income
presents a similar relationship to N leaching and N2O emission in
the winter wheatemaize rotation before the irrigation index rea-
ches 0.7 (Fig. 3A0 e3C0 ). However, the negative synergy subse-
quently becomes the major relationship between these parameters
when the irrigation index continually increases from 0.7 to 1.
Similar to that at the loam site, an initial positive synergy exists
before the irrigation index reaches 0.7 and is subsequently followed
by a negative trade-off between crop yield income and SOC
sequestration. At both sampling sites, the irrigation index of 0.7 is a
crucial inection point between winewin and winelose irri-
gation decisions to increase crop yield income and protect agri-
cultural environments.
4. Discussion
Although the effects of irrigation (and N fertilizer application)
on crop yields, N leaching, N2O emission, and SOC sequestration
have been extensively studied, the interrelationships between crop
yield income and other non-marketed ESs under increasing irri-
gation remain unclear. This study classied trade-offs and syn-
ergies, as well as quantied positive (or negative) trade-offs and
synergies among ESs, based on the ES conceptual frame with PPF
and ICC theories. The results are essential for creating agricultural
management strategies to increase crop yield and protect agricul-
tural environments.
Long-term simulation of crop yields and other non-marketed
ESs favors the analysis of interrelationships between them with
increasing irrigation while avoiding other inter-annual effects of
accidental events, such as heavy rain or severe drought (Chilundo
et al., 2016). The irrigation index interval between 0.7 and 0.8 is
the inection region for the positive (or negative) trade-off of crop
yield income with N leaching and N2O emission. This result con-
rms the conclusions of eld irrigation experiments that N use
efciency is the highest with 75% irrigation level (Chilundo et al.,
2016). Similarly, Montoya et al. (2016) found that crops exhibited
the most efcient water use when 60%e80% of crop water
requirement was satised. This result can be attributed to water-
saving irrigation strategies that promote the root growth of crops
and the absorption of N from the soil (Sepaskhah and Tafteh, 2012),
thereby leading to reduced N leaching from soil. Sandy soil has a
lower water-holding capacity than loam soil because of its higher
porosity; therefore, the irrigation index threshold is higher in sandy
soil than in loam soil for crop yield increase and N leaching
46 R. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 156 (2017) 41e49

4.00 y) 4.00 y)
A y) B y)
3.50 3.50
N y) N y)
3.00 3.00 y)
y)
Marginal growth rate

Marginal growth rate

2.50 2.50
2.00 2.00
1.50 1.50
1.00 1.00
0.50 0.50
0.00 0.00
-0.50 -0.50
-1.00 -1.00

Range of irrigation index Range of irrigation index

5.00 y) 5.00 y)
A' y) B' y)
4.00 N y) 4.00 N y)
y) y)
Marginal growth rate

Marginal growth rate

3.00 3.00

2.00 2.00

1.00 1.00

0.00 0.00

-1.00 -1.00

Range of irrigation index Range of irrigaion index

Fig. 2. Marginal growth rates of ES indicators in the winter wheatemaize and winter wheatepeanut rotations at the loam soil (A and B) and sandy soil (A0 and B0 ) sites.

decrease. accumulation and decomposition, which neutralize each other

Although N2O emission is signicantly affected by soil moisture,
insufcient available C limits microbial denitrication and reduces
N2O emission when inadequate irrigation is applied (Cui et al.,
2012). Therefore, nitrication dominates N2O emission in upland
loam soil (Cui et al., 2012), N content decreases, and N2O emission
decreases with increasing irrigation in loam soil when crop absorbs
more N from soil (Uzoma et al., 2015). However, SOC sequestration
in sandy soil increases more rapidly than that in loam soil as the
irrigation index increases. Furthermore, nitrication and SOC
decomposition are faster in sandy soil than in loam soil because of
the higher porosity of the former (Qiu et al., 2011), thereby pro-
ducing an increasing N2O emission from nitrication and denitri-
cation reactions. Therefore, N2O emission is higher in sandy soil
than in loam soil and increases with increasing irrigation (Hu et al.,
2008).
At both soil sites, SOC signicantly increases before the irriga-
tion index reaches 0.7 and then rapidly decreases. Several studies
have determined that SOC increases when a cropland is irrigated
(Dong et al., 2015; Zhou et al., 2016). By contrast, some researchers
have found that SOC does not increase in irrigated soil (De Bona
et al., 2008; Nunes et al., 2007). These inconsistent conclusions
may be attributed to the SOC formation mechanism. An increase in
the irrigation index results in two inverse processes, namely,
(Giubergia et al., 2013). An increase in SOC mainly results from C
inputs of aboveground crop biomass (Tian et al., 2015). SOC loss is
largely ascribed to SOC decomposition (Giubergia et al., 2013) and
surface soil runoff (Li et al., 2016b). When the marginal growth rate
of aboveground crop yield approaches zero, the SOC marginal
growth rate also draws near zero; that is, aboveground crop yield
and SOC are maximized nearly simultaneously due to SOC input
mainly from crop biomass. Nevertheless, when the irrigation index
is between 0.7 and 1, SOC loss may be equal to or even less than the
new gain. Therefore, insufcient irrigation increases SOC, whereas
heavy irrigation may decrease it.
The optimization of irrigation strategies contributes to crop
yield income increase and agricultural environment improvement.
Li and Sun (2016) found that corn yield could be improved by 3%e
35% in aeolian sandy soil and 5%e35% in black soil with a single
irrigation compared with no irrigation. Sun et al. (2017) used
sensitivity analysis to illustrate that crop yield exhibited high
sensitivity to irrigation and less sensitivity to N fertilizer input. Liu
et al. (2015) proposed that the optimization of irrigation strategies
was a potential approach to improve grain yield and maximize the
economic productivity of farmers. Trost et al. (2016) suggested that
irrigation could contribute to crop yield increase without increasing
yield-related greenhouse gas emissions in sandy soil under the
 R. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 156 (2017) 41e49 47

980 A 15 B 1400 C
960
14 1200

SOC sequestration (kg C/ha y)

N2O emission (kg N/ha y)
940
N leaching (kg N/hay)

13 1000
920

900 12 800

880 11 600
860
10 400
840
9 200 wheat-maize
820 wheat-maize wheat-maize
wheat-peanut wheat-peanut wheat-peanut
800 8 0
0 20000 40000 60000 0 20000 40000 60000 0 20000 40000 60000
Crop yield income ( yuan/hay) Crop yield income ( yuan/ha y) Crop yield income ( yuan/ha y)

1300 A' 17 B' 3000 C'

1250 16

SOC sequestration (kg C/ha y)

2500
1200
N2O emission (kg N/ha y)

15
N leaching (kg N/ha y)

1150
14 2000
1100
13
1050 1500
12
1000
11 1000
950
900 10
500
850 wheat-maize 9 wheat-maize wheat-maize
wheat-peanut wheat-peanut wheat-peanut
800 8 0
0 20000 40000 60000 0 20000 40000 60000 0 20000 40000 60000
Crop yield income ( yuan/ha y) Crop yield income ( yuan/ha y) Crop yield income ( yuan/ha y)

Fig. 3. Trade-offs and synergies between crop yield income and N leaching, N2O emission, and SOC sequestration at the loam soil (A, B, and C) and sandy soil (A0 , B0 , and C0 ) sites.

climate conditions of northeast Germany. Similarly, this study and water use efciencies (Zhang et al., 2016). Nonetheless, agri-
identied the effects of irrigation on crop yield income, N leaching, culture in China is relatively independently operated by numerous
N2O emission, and SOC sequestration, as well as determined the smallholders, and irrigation facilities are mainly built by govern-
intervals of increasing irrigation in favor of crop yield income in- ment sectors. This agricultural management characteristic limits
crease while simultaneously minimizing negative environmental the replacement of popular ooding irrigation with advanced irri-
effects. The determined appropriate intervals of the irrigation index gation systems. Although the Chinese government has imple-
do not only promote positive trade-off or synergy between crop mented numerous water conservation projects and provided low-
yield income and N leaching, N2O emission, and SOC sequestration interest loans, the precision irrigation mode has been rarely
but also save irrigation water, which imply that the updating of adopted in agricultural production. Appropriate institutional re-
current ooding irrigation facilities with advanced quanticational forms and incentive regulations should be formulated to guide
control water-saving equipment can result in a winewin situa- monetary investment toward innovating current irrigation modes
tion between crop yield income increase and agricultural envi- (Tang et al., 2013).
ronment improvement, particularly in an area with water resource
shortage.
However, the specic effects of irrigation may vary under 5. Conclusion
different contexts due to the interaction effects of land ownership
(Banerjee et al., 2014), crop, soil, meteorological characteristics The identication of irrigation water amount in an intensive
(Hong et al., 2016), and chemical fertilizer and compost application agro-ecosystem is benecial to provide an alternative method for
(Antonis, 2008) on crop yield. The improvement of agricultural maintaining a steady increase in agricultural production while
irrigation level should be further researched to achieve sustainable minimizing negative environmental effects. The trade-off and
agricultural development. Hou et al. (2016) reported that water- synergy concept frame of ESs was modied to quantify the positive
saving irrigation methods exerted positive effects on N leaching (or negative) trade-offs and synergies between crop yield income
and N2O emission. The switching of the currently popular ooding and N leaching, N2O emission, and SOC sequestration based on the
irrigation mode to sprinkler or dripping irrigation can improve N simulated ESs with the DNDC model. Although soil type and crop
rotation inuence ESs, the appropriate intervals of the irrigation
48 R. Li et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 156 (2017) 41e49
index are between 0.7 and 0.8 in both loam soil and sandy soil agro-
ecosystems. An irrigation index reaching 0.7 improves crop yield
income and SOC sequestration while decreasing N leaching and
N2O emission. The modied ES trade-off and synergy concept frame
is a promising approach to optimizing irrigation input and creating
incentive strategies for innovating current irrigation facilities in
intensive agricultural regions.
Acknowledgments
Our research is sponsored by National Natural Science Foun-
dation of China (Granted No. U1504401 and 41201567), the open
fund project of Land Use Key Laboratory of Ministry of Land and
Resources, China (KLLU201506) and Fundamental Research Funds
of Social Science for Henan Polytechnic University (13159935).We
are grateful for the detail comments of two anonymous referees.
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