Agronomy 13 02990 v3

agronomy
Article
Evaluation of Water Balance and Water Use Efficiency with the
Development of Water-Saving Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin
Irrigation District of China
Huan Cheng 1 , Dengfeng Liu 1, * , Guanghui Ming 2, *, Fiaz Hussain 3 , Lan Ma 1 , Qiang Huang 1
and Xianmeng Meng 4
1 State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, School of Water Resources and
Hydropower, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China; 2210421287@stu.xaut.edu.cn (H.C.);
malan@sehemodel.club (L.M.); wresh@mail.xaut.edu.cn (Q.H.)
2 Key Laboratory of Water Management and Water Security for Yellow River Basin, Ministry of Water
Resources, Yellow River Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou 450003, China
3 Department of Land and Water Conservation Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and
Technology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi 46300, Pakistan;
engr.fiaz@uaar.edu.pk
4 School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China;
mengxianmeng2000@163.com
* Correspondence: liudf@xaut.edu.cn (D.L.); minggh@yrec.cn (G.M.)
Abstract: Irrigation water is the main type of water consumption in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district
of Xinjiang, which is an oasis-type irrigation district in the arid region of Northwest China. With
the continuous expansion of cultivated areas, there is an increasing demand for irrigation water,
resulting in an irrigation efficiency paradox and the phenomenon of “the more water-saving, the
more water-scarce”. In this study, the water balance method and the improved IWMI (International
Water Management Institute) water balance method were used with remote sensing and statistical
data from 1980 to 2020 to analyze the changes in the irrigation water supply, consumption, and loss
for improvement in irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) in the Yanqi Basin. The results showed
Citation: Cheng, H.; Liu, D.; Ming, that there was an upward trend in the cultivated land area in the irrigation district of Yanqi Basin,
G.; Hussain, F.; Ma, L.; Huang, Q.;
as monitored with remote sensing from 1980 to 2020, and the values from the remote sensing data
Meng, X. Evaluation of Water Balance
were higher than those from the yearbooks. According to the remote sensing data, the arable land
and Water Use Efficiency with the
area in the irrigation district increased from 1672 km2 in 1980 to 2494 km2 in 2020, thus showing a
Development of Water-Saving
trend of expansion. The traditional water use efficiency in the irrigation district showed an increasing
Irrigation in the Yanqi Basin
Irrigation District of China. Agronomy
trend. The lowest value for the field water-use coefficient was 0.70 in 1998, and it exceeded to 0.81
2023, 13, 2990. https://doi.org/ from 2009 to 2020. The canal water-use coefficient was as low as 0.50 in 1998 and increased from
10.3390/agronomy13122990 0.54 in 2009 to 0.82 in 2020. The irrigation water-use coefficient increased from 0.35 in 1998 to 0.68
in 2020, with a general upward trend. In this study, the water consumption ratio indicator DFg
Academic Editor: Wei Wu
(depleted fraction), determined using the improved water balance method, increased from 0.8390 in
Received: 9 November 2023 1980 to 0.8562 in 2020, although it showed an overall decreasing trend, and the average was 0.8436.
Revised: 24 November 2023 Cultivated land’s actual irrigation water consumption per unit area reached the highest value of
Accepted: 28 November 2023 8.41 × 106 m3 /hm2 /a in 2011 and the minimum value of 4.01 × 106 m3 /hm2 /a in 2020, and from
Published: 5 December 2023
1980 to 2020 it showed a decreasing trend, while the total water diversion showed an increasing trend
due to the continuous expansion of arable land. From 1980 to 2020, water diversion into the irrigation
district changed from 1.214 km3 to 1.000 km3 , and it reached a maximum of 1.593 km3 in 2000; water
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. diversion into the irrigation district showed an overall upward trend. The positive impact of the
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. post-2000 water conservation phase with the adaptation of water-saving irrigation technology was
This article is an open access article clear, as the findings showed an increase in IWUE in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district. These results
distributed under the terms and provide a theoretical basis for breaking the paradox of irrigation efficiency, which can be used in the
conditions of the Creative Commons water resource management of irrigation districts.
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122990 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy

Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 2 of 25
Keywords: Yanqi Basin irrigation district; water-saving irrigation; irrigation efficiency paradox;
water balance; water use efficiency
1. Introduction
Agricultural development is a cornerstone of economic growth and social stability,
having played a crucial role in China’s economic transformation [1]. The prudent and
sustainable use of water resources plays a vital role in supporting such development. Agri-
cultural water is the main consumer (60%) of water resources, and improving sustainable
agricultural water management is a key nationwide water challenge that can be addressed
via changes in irrigation water use efficiency [2]. Water is indeed a crucial element in food
production and human life [3,4], and there is a need to produce more grain for the increas-
ing population; however, in China, the proportion of agricultural water use is decreasing
due to inter-sector competition for water [2]. Sustainable water management in agricultural
development is a key water challenge, and water conservation adaptation measures such
as water-saving infrastructures, technologies, and agronomic practices, have contributed to
easing the pressure of current agricultural water demand [5].
Using the water balance approach, it is possible to calculate each of the water balance
items. Long Aihua, Deng Mingjiang, et al. investigated the water balance in Lake Balkhash
and discussed the impacts of water inflow from the Ili Delta, human activities, and climate
change on the water balance of Lake Balkhash through the change in water volume, so as to
provide a reference basis for decision-making regarding ecological protection [6]. Ecological
water demand calculations are also possible using the water balance approach [7], and it
has been argued that, only by identifying hydrological and ecological interactions on the
basis of the hydrological cycle and water balance can we reasonably estimate ecological
water demand [8] and provide a more effective scientific basis. A study of simulated
projected crop water demand under different scenarios was conducted for the counties
and cities contained in the Yanqi Basin [9], in which the impact of global warming on crop
water demand in the Yanqi Basin region was analyzed and predicted. In Northwest China,
where there is a lack of monitoring information, it is difficult to evaluate the consumption
of water resources, and the application of remote sensing [10] and modeling [11] is more
economical, applicable, and efficient. Quantitative assessment of the soil–atmosphere
transformation processes using remotely sensed data provides a better understanding of the
relationship between crop growth and water resource management [12]. The effectiveness
of spatiotemporal engineering of land surface evapotranspiration and irrigation water
consumption in the Yanqi Basin at the farmland scale was evaluated using MODIS remote
sensing data and HTEM (hybrid dual-source scheme and trapezoid framework-based
evapotranspiration model) [13] modeling of this region [14]. In that study, remote sensing
was used to identify the area of arable land [15], compensating for the limitations of
statistical data that can only be counted at the county and city levels, as well as the problem
of data accuracy, making the results more rapid and accurate.
According to the findings of Kang et al. [16], irrigation water use accounts for more
than 90% of agricultural water use. Therefore, it is necessary to improve irrigation water
use efficiency (IWUE) via irrigation water-saving technologies on a priority basis. The
IWUE is about 0.5 in China, while it exceeds 0.7 in other parts of the developed world [2,17].
The improvement in irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) is the main driving factor
of sustainable social and economic development [18], and many countries (including
China) consider it to be a core issue. Researchers and scientists around the world have
conducted various studies on the issue of water use efficiency; to name a few, a global-
scale analysis was performed by Wallace [19] on how to increase agricultural water use
efficiency to meet future food production demands, Wang et al. [20] examined the water
use efficiency of irrigated crops in North China, Lilienfeld, and Asmild [21] determined
the impacts of irrigation systems on irrigation water use efficiency in the western United
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 3 of 25
States. Similarly, irrigation water use efficiency was evaluated by Andre et al. [22] in
Spain, Varghese et al. [23] in India, and Drew and Crase [24] highlighted the importance
of more crop per drop and water use efficiency in the National Water Policy of Pakistan.
Based upon the literature concerning water use efficiency in China and elsewhere, this
study has been performed in the Yanqi basin, an oasis-type irrigated area, located in
Xinjiang, China. Irrigation water utilization efficiency indicators [25] comprehensively
reflect the condition of irrigation projects, the level of water use management and the level of
irrigation technology at different scales, etc., and are important indicators for the evaluation
of the efficiency of water-saving irrigation projects. Irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE)
indicators refer to all indicators related to the efficiency and effectiveness of irrigation water
use, including irrigation efficiency, water productivity, water consumption ratio, and the
proportion of beneficial water consumption [26]. Conventional irrigation efficiency metrics
lead to differences at the field scale versus the irrigation system scale [27], and it is clear
from field efficiency analyses in the Nile Basin in Egypt that there is little to be gained from
improving field irrigation efficiency to achieve increased efficiency in system-wide water
savings. To overcome the shortcomings of traditional irrigation efficiency indicators, some
scholars [28] have proposed the use of “proportionality” as an alternative to field irrigation
efficiency indicators, as well as the use of effective efficiency [29] to differentiate between
the concepts of water use efficiency at any scale. The International Water Management
Institute (IWMI) [30] proposes a complete water balance calculation framework, related
terminology, and evaluation indexes using the concept of water balance [31,32]. Traditional
water use efficiency evaluation at the irrigation district scale involves mainly application
of the canal water use coefficient, field water use coefficient, and irrigation water use
coefficient, with an emphasis on the effects of regression water reuse and changes in
the cropping structure on the amount of water consumed [33]. The efficiency indicators
proposed by the improved IWMI take into account the effects of regression water reuse, but
the scale effects of water quality are not considered in this framework, and data acquisition
is more difficult. In this study, the water consumption proportion indicator (depleted
fraction) of the improved IWMI water balance method was used for water use efficiency
evaluation. The depleted fraction is the ratio of water consumption to gross inflow, also
known as the water depletion coefficient, which interconnects the water balance parameters
of an irrigation district and facilitates managers to obtain the relevant rate of change in
water storage; a water depletion fraction index scale value of greater than 0.6 indicates that
the area has less water storage [34,35] and consumes more water. From the data for the
Yanqi Basin irrigation districts, it is easier to obtain the sum of actual water consumption,
irrigation diversion, and effective precipitation, and in the in the process of water balance
analysis, the water consumption ratio index is easier to calculate than the water beneficial
consumption index and water productivity.
Xinjiang is an important economic crop production region under arid and semi-arid
climate located in the northwest of China, contributing about 17% of total country area
and 42% of desert area of China [36], and this irrigation district is the main area for
agricultural development with cotton and grain production in the arid zone being a central
pillar in national food security [37]. More than 80% of the total water here is used for
irrigation, typically known as “desert oasis, irrigation agriculture”. With the increase in
socio-economic water demand, the problem of water shortages in the northwest arid zone
of China is becoming acute, which is the main restriction in the agricultural development
in these irrigated areas. Abundant land resources with water resource shortages have led
scientists toward the imperative development of water-saving irrigation in the Xinjiang
region [38]. High-efficiency water-saving irrigation technology has paved the way to
ease the agricultural water demand in Xinjiang to a certain extent, but the dual role of
safeguarding food security and providing economic benefits of farmers has created the
continuous expansion of irrigated areas in the region [39,40]. This difficult situation has led
to to the phenomena of more water-saving, more water scarcity, and more water shortages,
which is termed here as the irrigation efficiency paradox [41,42].
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 4 of 25
With the objective of breaking the paradox of irrigation efficiency, the Yanqi Basin
irrigation district of Xinjiang was selected to analyze the water balance and water use
efficiency before and after different water-saving irrigation stages. The water balance and
improved IWMI water balance methods were used with the help of statistical and remote
sensing data analysis to study the changes in the cultivated area and the water balance
items such as the trends in irrigation water consumption, and to identify the influencing
factors of these changes in the irrigation area. Traditional water use efficiency and water
consumption ratio indicators are selected for trend analysis to analyze the changes in water
use efficiency.
Irrigation districts are the basic units of irrigated agriculture, and this study focuses on
the evaluation of water balance and irrigation water efficiency at the irrigation district scale
and explores the impact of the development of water-saving technologies on water balance
and water use efficiency. This is achieved through monitoring the area of cultivated land in
irrigation districts through remote sensing, collecting statistical data on each water balance
item in irrigation districts by using statistical annual reports, yearbooks and literature, and
studying changes in the area of cultivated land and each water balance item in irrigation
districts. The income and expenditure related to the water balance items were obtained to
calculate the water consumption of the irrigation district using the water balance method
for the irrigation district and to analyze the trends in the changes in each item and study the
factors influencing the changes in water consumption in the irrigation district. Traditional
water use efficiency and water consumption ratio indicators were selected for trend analysis,
and the change in water use efficiency in irrigation districts was analyzed. Evaluating the
development trend of water use efficiency in the irrigation districts along with water-saving
technologies provides a reliable basis for the use of water resources in irrigation districts
in arid and semi-arid regions and the implementation of high-efficiency water-saving
irrigation projects, which can fully reflect the strategic importance of “hiding grain in the
ground and grain in technology” [43].
2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Study Area
Yanqi Basin irrigation district (Kaidu River irrigation district) is located in the Bayingol
Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in the southern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region, in the plains of the Kaidu River Basin; the irrigation district is located in the
Yanqi Basin, and the specific geographic location is shown in Figure 1. It includes Hejing
County, Yanqi County, Bohu County, and part of Heshuo County in Bayingolin, Bayingolin
Zhiulastai Farm and Qingshuihe Farm, as well as the 6 regiments of the Second Agricultural
Division, as shown in Figure 2.
The Yanqi Basin is a semi-enclosed basin terrain that is high in the north and low in
the south in addition to being tilted from the northwest to southeast, with the lowest point
being Bosten Lake [44], the lake surface elevation of which is about 1045 m. The main types
of landforms in the basin are: dorsal sloping hills, thin soil layer floodplain alluvial plains,
Kaidu River delta plains, and Bosten Lake wetlands.
The plain area of Yanqi Basin, where the irrigation district is located, has flat ground
and good vegetation, and is a densely populated agricultural and pastoral area. Yanqi Basin
irrigation district is the main grain, cotton, oil, melon, and aquatic base in Xinjiang. The
irrigated area of Yanqi Basin irrigation district is about 183 hm2 as of 2020. The main cash
crops planted in the area are wheat, maize, cotton, industrial chili, and industrial tomatoes.
The GDP of the Basin will reach CNY 22,300 million by 2020, and the total sown area of the
grain crops will be 37.613 hm2 .The vegetation is mainly composed of reeds, hyacinth, etc.
Yanqi Basin irrigation district is located in the middle of the Eurasian continent where
the ocean climate influence is very weak, and it is arid, has less rain and strong evaporation,
and is characterized by a warm temperate continental desert climate; it is hot in summer,
cold and with less snow in winter, has sunny days all year round, large amounts of sunshine
and solar radiation energy, and a large difference between day and night temperatures [45].
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 5 of 25
The gales in the area are mostly concentrated in late spring and early summer, and there
are 3~4 d of dry and hot winds every year. High winds and sand, floating dust, and dry
Agronomy 2023, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW and hot winds in spring and summer are very harmful to agricultural production
5 of 25 and
the people.
Agronomy 2023, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 25
1. Location map of the irrigation district in Yanqi Basin.

FigureFigure
1. Location map of the irrigation district in Yanqi Basin.
The Yanqi Basin is a semi-enclosed basin terrain that is high in the north and low in
the south in addition to being tilted from the northwest to southeast, with the lowest point
being Bosten Lake [44], the lake surface elevation of which is about 1045 m. The main
types of landforms in the basin are: dorsal sloping hills, thin soil layer floodplain alluvial
plains, Kaidu River delta plains, and Bosten Lake wetlands.
The plain area of Yanqi Basin, where the irrigation district is located, has flat ground
and good vegetation, and is a densely populated agricultural and pastoral area. Yanqi Ba-
sin irrigation district is the main grain, cotton, oil, melon, and aquatic base in Xinjiang.
The irrigated area of Yanqi Basin irrigation district is about 183 hm 2 as of 2020. The main
cash crops planted in the area are wheat, maize, cotton, industrial chili, and industrial
tomatoes. The GDP of the Basin will reach CNY 22,300 million by 2020, and the total sown
area of the grain crops will be 37.613 hm2.The vegetation is mainly composed of reeds,
hyacinth, etc.
Yanqi Basin irrigation district is located in the middle of the Eurasian continent where
the ocean climate influence is very weak, and it is arid, has less rain and strong evapora-
tion, and is characterized by a warm temperate continental desert climate; it is hot in sum-
mer, cold and with less snow in winter, has sunny days all year round, large amounts of
sunshine and solar radiation energy, and a large difference between day and night tem-
peratures [45]. The gales in the area are mostly concentrated in late spring and early sum-
mer, and there are 3~4 d of dry and hot winds every year. High winds and sand, floating
dust, and dry and hot winds in spring and summer are very harmful to agricultural pro-
duction and2.
Figure
Figure 2.the people.
Location
Location of
of the
the counties
countiesand
andwater
watersystems
systemsthrough
throughwhich
whichthe Yanqi
the YanqiBasin irrigation
Basin district
irrigation dis-
The Yanqi
operates. Basin
trict operates. is also known as the “Bosten Lake depression” [46], and during de-
velopment, it inherited its position in the South Tianmen oblique fold belt in the late Her-
The Yanqi
cynian depression;
Inside thedue Basin
basin, is also
to the
the alpineknown as
movement,
Quaternary theand
“Bosten
alluvial, Lake
regarding
swamp, depression”
andthe deposits[46],
formation
lake ofare and during
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widely dis-
development,
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tributed, basement, it inherited
and the the its
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lithological position in
basement
structure the South
is mainly
of the Tianmen oblique fold
of a Late Palaeozoic
strata gradually becomes finer belt infrom
the late
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especially regarding
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and thesand,
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sand,deep basement,
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andloam,
sandy depression
fracture,
and which basement
sub-clay. is influences
controls and mainly of the a Late Palaeozoic
evolution
stratigraphy,
The main confluent tributaries of the Kaidu River irrigation district[47]front
of the basin. especially regarding the existence and distribution of the mountain are belt
the
Huangshuigou and Wulastai Rivers, which belong to the Kaidu River system, and the
DEM map of the Kaidu–Kongqi River basin is shown in Error! Reference source not
found.. The runoff of the Kaidu River during the abundant water period from April to
September accounts for 73.8% of the annual runoff, and the runoff during the dry water
period from October to March accounts for 26.2% of the annual runoff. The upper reaches
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 6 of 25
and the depression inside the deep and large fracture, which controls and influences the
evolution of the basin.
Inside the basin, the Quaternary alluvial, swamp, and lake deposits are widely dis-
tributed, and the lithological structure of the strata gradually becomes finer from the
north-west to the south-east, mainly dominated by sand and gravel, medium-coarse sand,
medium-fine sand, sandy loam, and sub-clay.
The main confluent tributaries of the Kaidu River irrigation district [47] are the Huang-
shuigou and Wulastai Rivers, which belong to the Kaidu River system, and the DEM map
of the Kaidu–Kongqi River basin is shown in Figure 3. The runoff of the Kaidu River during
the abundant water period from April to September accounts for 73.8% of the annual runoff,
and the runoff during the dry water period from October to March accounts for 26.2% of
the annual runoff. The upper reaches of the river are well vegetated, with little pollution,
low sand content, and good water quality; a multi-stage gradient power station is planned
for the middle reaches of the river. The downstream is mainly an area of human activities,
with high water consumption [47,48]. The topography of the Kaidu River system shows a
fan-shaped distribution from the north-west to the southeast, and the plane form of the
main stream is mainly subject to the constraints of the mountainous terrain conditions,
from the source of the river to the small Yuledus Valley river from east to west to Bayinbruk,
from which the south folds all the way to the east through more than thirty tributaries into
the large Yuledus Valley below, where thirty gorges converge into the Kaidu River.
Figure 3. Map of the Kaidu–Kongqi River Basin.
The water system of Yanqi Basin mainly originates in the west and north, and the
main rivers are the Kaidu River and Huangshuigou, of which the Kaidu River is the largest
river in the basin; the Qingshui River, Wulastai River and Huangshuigou can flow into
Bosten Lake only in the flooding period, and the Peacock River is the only river outflow of
Bosten Lake. The main source of water diversion in Yanqi Basin irrigation district is the
Kaidu River, and in the water supply system of the Kaidu River irrigation district, there
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 7 of 25
are three important diversion hubs, namely, the first diversion hub of the Kaidu River
(Dashankou–first diversion hub: 46 km), the second diversion hub of the Kaidu River (the
first diversion hub–second diversion hub: 10 km), and the third diversion hub of the Kaidu
River (i.e., Baolangsumu Diversion Gate, the second diversion hub–third diversion hub:
9.61 km).
Before 1980, the Yanqi Basin underwent a process of great exploitation of its soil and
water resources, with large amounts of surface water being introduced for agricultural
irrigation, and the main method of irrigation in agriculture being flood irrigation, which
had a great impact on agriculture and the ecological environment. By 2000, this pattern
developed into the stage of conventional water-saving irrigation technology, which utilizes
a combination of wells and canals for saving irrigation water and reducing losses of water
in the field and in the canal delivery process. In the present phase, the scale of water-saving
irrigation in the basin is expanding, and the proportion of well irrigation in irrigation
technology is increasing, the area of arable land under surface water diffuse irrigation is
decreasing, and efficient water-saving irrigation technology is developing rapidly.
2.2. Data
The spatiotemporal data were collected from different sources, as given in Table 1.
The data include remote sensing data, observed station data, and irrigation area statistics.
Remote sensing monitoring data of China’s 1 km land use status were downloaded from
China Science Resource and Environment Science Data Centre (CSRESDC) to extract the
change in cultivated land area of the irrigation district. There is one meteorological station
located at Yanqi and climatological data (average temperature, maximum temperature, min-
imum temperature, relative humidity, average wind speed, wind direction, precipitation,
evaporation, atmospheric pressure) were downloaded from the National Meteorological
Center (NMC). The consumption of water resources data by various sector in the study
region were collected from Bayingolin Statistical Yearbook and Bayingolin Water Resources
Bulletin. Data from the literature were used to obtain the field water utilization coefficients,
canal water utilization coefficients, and irrigation water utilization coefficients for the
irrigation area.
Table 1. Data used in the study.
Data Type Data Sources

Data Centre for Resource and
Remote sensing monitoring data Environmental Sciences, Chinese
Remote sensing data on the current status of 1 km land Academy of Sciences
use in China (1990–2020) (https://www.resdc.cn (accessed
on 17 March 2023))
National Meteorological Center
Yanqi meteorological station
Station data (NMC) (https://data.cma.cn
(1951–2021)
(accessed on 28 June 2023))
Irrigation diversion, irrigated
area, water use efficiency Bayingolin Statistical Yearbook,
Statistical data coefficients, surface water supply, Bayingolin Water Resources
groundwater supply, water Bulletin, documentation, etc.
consumption by industry, etc.
2.3. Water Balance Analysis

The water balance method [48] is the water cycle balance of inputs and outputs [49],
here used to analyze the inflows, transformation, and consumption at different scales to
break the paradox of irrigation efficiency [50]. The irrigation district scale mainly considers
the processes of water supply, consumption, and drainage, such as canal transmission, field
irrigation, and farmland drainage, and combines the farmland scale model and the basin
hydrological model are combined to study the elements of water balance [51].
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 8 of 25
To study the water balance parameters (canal transmission, field irrigation, and farm-
land drainage) at the irrigation district scale, a basin-scale farmland hydrological coupled
model was developed according to Equation (1) [52].
QG = QOU + ( Etr + Eq ) × S + QGG − Q∆ (1)
where: QG is the total water used in the irrigation district, QOU is the drainage of farmland,
Etr and Eq are the crop transpiration and evaporation, QGG is the groundwater exchange,
and Q4 is the algebraic sum of other water entering and flowing into the irrigation district, S
is the cultivated land area in irrigation areas. The water consumption within irrigation areas
was calculated on yearly basis, with the objective to understand the impact of conventional
water-saving irrigation technology in 1980–2000, and high-efficiency water-saving irrigation
technology in 2001–2020, on the water consumption within irrigation areas. The water
balance equations for the irrigation districts in the Yanqi Basin are as follows.
IW + PW = EW + O + ∆S (2)
where, IW is the amount of water diverted from the Kaidu River to the irrigation district.
PW is the amount of precipitation in the irrigation district, and EW is the water consumption,
O is the discharge, and 4S is the change in water storage, which for inter-annual variation
can be considered as 4S ≈ 0; all values were used in 106 m3 .
2.4. Irrigation Water Used Efficiency Analysis

2.4.1. Traditional Water Use Efficiency Indicators
The farm scale is generally expressed in terms of the field water use coefficient
(FWUC) [53] calculated using Equation (4), and crop water productivity (CWP) [54] was
calculated using Equation (3).
WUE = 0.1Y/ET (3)
where, WUE refers to crop water use efficiency (kg/m3 ); Y is the crop yield (kg/hm2 ); ET
refers to evapotranspiration from farmland in mm.
During the process of water conveyance from source to field for use in plant growth,
there is a need to assess the corresponding water use efficiencies such as the canal water
utilization coefficient (conveyance efficiency), field water utilization coefficient (field wa-
ter use efficiency), and crop water utilization efficiency (crop water use efficiency) [55],
respectively. These coefficients [56] are mainly analyzed at the irrigation scale, focusing on
the reuse of return water and the impact of changes in crop cropping structure on water
consumption, and these efficiencies are some of the most commonly used indicators in
the agricultural water use efficiency metrics [26,57]. The main analyses at the irrigation
district scale include the canal water use coefficient, the field water use coefficient, and the
irrigation water use coefficient, focusing on the reuse of return water and the impact of
changes in crop cropping structure on water consumption. Irrigation water use efficiency
is defined as follows [58]:
Ec = W f /Wd , E f = Wr /W f , Ei = Ec ∗ E f = Wr /Wd (4)
where, Ec is the canal water utilization coefficient, Ef is the field water utilization coefficient,
and Ei is the irrigation water utilization coefficient; Wd refers to the total amount of water
diverted from the head of the canal, Wf is the amount of irrigation water that enters the
field, and Wr refers to the amount of water that is irrigated into the rhizosphere of the crop.
2.4.2. Improved IWMI Water Balance Method

Irrigation water use efficiency evaluation may lead to uncertainties due to its assess-
ment at different scales [28,59], such as farm level, districts level, and basin level. The
evaluation methodology should be adapted according to scale as is explained by the
improved IWMI method of water balance shown in Figure 4.
real water savings, and that water productivity indicators should be used to harmonise
water use efficiency [60,61] at different scales. Therefore the water balance method pro-
posed by IWMI [62] is commonly used, which solves the problem of inconsistent water
use efficiency at different spatial scales [32,63,64]. However, this approach lacks validation
regarding its applicability in the Northwest Arid Zone along with research on improve-
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 9 of 25
ment strategies that take into account the characteristics of water consumption in oases
and salinization problems.
Figure
Figure 4.
4. IWMI
IWMI water
water budget
budget methodology
methodology for
for supply
supply and
and consumption discharges.
consumption discharges.
Water use efficiency

It has been argued thatat the
thefarmland, irrigation
classical concept of district, and watershed
“efficiency” may not bescales can be
appropriate
expressed with three indicators,
for water management and planningnamely,
at thedepleted fraction,
basin level, beneficial
and does utilization,
not take and
into account
the potential of
productivity reuse of water
water, basedin onlarger hydrological
different systems.
scales of water In later developments, many
balance.
scholars
Thehave proposed
depleted that[32]
fraction agricultural
is water productivity should be used to achieve real
water savings, and that water productivity indicators should be used to harmonise water
use efficiency [60,61] at different scales. Therefore the water balance method proposed
by IWMI [62] is commonly used, which solves the problem of inconsistent water use
efficiency at different spatial scales [32,63,64]. However, this approach lacks validation
regarding its applicability in the Northwest Arid Zone along with research on improvement
strategies that take into account the characteristics of water consumption in oases and
salinization problems.
Water use efficiency at the farmland, irrigation district, and watershed scales can
be expressed with three indicators, namely, depleted fraction, beneficial utilization, and
productivity of water, based on different scales of water balance.
The depleted fraction [32] is
DFg = D/G (5)
where DFg refers to the water consumption factor; D is the water consumption in mm; G is
the gross inflow in mm and can also be expressed in terms of net inflow and available water.
The beneficial utilization is
BUa = BD /A (6)
where BUa refers to the beneficial water use coefficient, BD is the beneficial water consump-
tion in mm, and A is the available water in mm, and it can also be expressed in terms of
gross inflow, net inflow, and consumption. To determine BUa , it is necessary to determine
which part of the consumed water is beneficial and which part is non-beneficial. Saliniza-
tion is an important problem in oases in arid zones that threatens crop yields; therefore, the
amount of saline leaching water is considered as the effective consumptive water.
The productivity of water [65] is
PWa = Y/A (7)

gross inflow, net inflow, and consumption. To determine BUa, it is necessary to determine
which part of the consumed water is beneficial and which part is non-beneficial. Saliniza-
tion is an important problem in oases in arid zones that threatens crop yields; therefore,
the amount of saline leaching water is considered as the effective consumptive water.
The productivity of water [65] is
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 10 of 25
PWa = Y / A (7)
where PWa refers to the output efficiency of available water, Y is the amount of output,
where PWa refers to the output efficiency of available water, Y is the amount of output,
which can be expressed in terms of crop yield (kg) or crop revenue (CNY), and A is the
which can be expressed in terms of crop yield (kg) or crop revenue (CNY), and A is the
amount of available water in mm, which can also be expressed in terms of gross inflow,
amount of available water in mm, which can also be expressed in terms of gross inflow,
net inflow, and consumptive use. The concept of PWa in agriculture is close to that of crop
net inflow, and consumptive use. The concept of PWa in agriculture is close to that of crop
water use efficiency.
water use efficiency.
3. Results
3. Results
3.1. Irrigation
3.1. Irrigation District
District Development
Development in
in the
the Kaidu
Kaidu River
River Irrigation
Irrigation District
District
Trendanalysis
Trend analysisfor
forthe
thechanges
changesin inthe
thearea
areaofofarable
arablelandland was
was carried
carried out
out using
using remote
remote
sensingmonitoring
sensing monitoringdata
dataononthethe current
current 1 km
1 km land
land useuse status
status in China
in China fromfrom
19801980 to 2020,
to 2020, and
anddistribution
the the distribution of arable
of arable landland is shown
is shown in Error!
in Figure Referenceland
5. Cultivated source not
area andfound.. Culti-
residential
vated land area
construction and
land inresidential construction
the irrigation land an
district show in the irrigation
increasing district
trend, andshow aneast,
in the increas-
the
size of the cultivated
ing trend, and in the land
east, area increases
the size of the significantly.
cultivated land The trend
area in forest
increases and grassland
significantly. The
converted to cultivated
trend in forest land isconverted
and grassland clear. Agglomeration
to cultivated landof residential urban and rural
is clear. Agglomeration ofland
resi-
is more dispersed.
dential urban and Andruralthe
landcultivated area of theAnd
is more dispersed. irrigation district isarea
the cultivated mainly centered
of the on
irrigation
Bosten
districtLake and spreads
is mainly centeredoutoninBosten
all directions.
Lake and spreads out in all directions.
Figure 5. Distribution of arable land area in the irrigation district of the Yanqi Basin.
Based on the statistical data for the irrigated area in the irrigation district and the
remote sensing data for the current 1 km land use status in China from 1980 to 2020, the
actual irrigation water consumption per unit of cultivated land area reached the highest
value of 8.41 × 106 m3 /hm2 /a in 2011 and the minimum value of 4.01 × 106 m3 /hm2 /a in
2020 from 1980 to 2020. The irrigated area of arable land [66] in the irrigation district of the
Yanqi Basin shows an increasing trend from 1980 to 2020, and the remotely sensed area is
larger than indicated in the statistical data.
3.2. Analysis of Water Supply and Demand in Irrigation Districts

The water consumption of different sectors in Yanqi Basin irrigation district from 2009
to 2020 is shown in Table 2, with the average share of agricultural water consumption reach-
ing 92.8%, of which the average share of groundwater consumption by industry reaches
37.7%. The analysis reveals that the ecological and environmental water replenishment of
the irrigation district shows a trend of rising year by year after 2015, and the main share of
water use in the irrigation district is agricultural water use (Table 3), followed by ecological
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 11 of 25
and environmental water replenishment, and the amount of industrial water use exceeds
the water used for residential life.
Table 2. Water consumption in different sectors in the irrigation districts (unit: 108 m3 ).
Water Use in Industrial Water Domestic Water Ecological and Total Water
Year
Agriculture Consumption Consumption Environmental Recharge Consumption
2009 12.597 0.120 0.122 0.420 13.259
2010 15.955 0.199 0.222 0.258 16.634
2011 18.941 0.416 0.183 0.382 19.923
2012 17.093 0.583 0.291 0.443 18.411
2013 16.829 0.499 0.299 0.137 17.764
2014 10.207 0.517 0.355 0.126 11.205
2015 15.976 0.460 0.299 0.139 16.875
2016 15.451 0.395 0.314 0.274 16.434
2017 14.568 0.402 0.220 0.434 15.624
2018 12.911 0.245 0.190 0.595 13.941
2019 11.580 0.202 0.188 0.839 12.808
2020 9.984 0.196 0.160 1.506 11.845
Mean 14.341 0.353 0.237 0.463 15.394
Table 3. Percentage of water use in agriculture, and percentage of groundwater and surface water
out of total water consumption in irrigation districts.
Percentage of Water Used in Agriculture Percentage of Surface Water in Percentage of Groundwater in

Year
in Total Water Consumption Total Water Consumption Total Water Consumption
2009 0.950 0.768 0.232
2010 0.959 0.672 0.328
2011 0.951 0.699 0.301
2012 0.928 0.654 0.346
2013 0.947 0.637 0.363
2014 0.911 0.814 0.186
2015 0.947 0.568 0.432
2016 0.940 0.571 0.429
2017 0.932 0.575 0.425
2018 0.926 0.588 0.412
2019 0.904 0.572 0.428
2020 0.843 0.647 0.353
Mean 0.928 0.768 0.232
From the Bayingol Statistical Yearbook and the Water Resources Bulletin, we were
able to obtain statistics for water supply and water consumption (Table 4) and irrigated
area (Table 5) in the irrigation districts and the crops in Hejing County, Yanqi County, Bohu
County, and Heshuo County, as well as those in the Second Agricultural Division. The data
for the amount of water supplied from the surface water, the amount of water supplied
from the ground water, and the amount of water consumption are shown in Table 4.
An analysis of Tables 2 and 4 shows that the agricultural irrigation water is mainly
from surface water, with an average value of 1.012 km3 in 1998 and 2009–2020, the water
drainage volume of farmland is low, and the main share of water resources consumption in
the irrigation district is agricultural irrigation.
The relationship between water supply and water use in the irrigation district, shown
in Figure 6, showed that water supply is higher than water use in the irrigation district,
indicating that the water demand for the agricultural economy of the area is met. In 2009,
water supply and water consumption in the irrigation district were the highest, and after
2010, the water supply in the irrigation district was at a stable level, as shown in Figure 6,
where the trend of water consumption in the irrigation district is consistent with the trend
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 12 of 25
of water supply in the irrigation district, and as shown in Figure 7a, where the water
consumption per unit area of the irrigation district exhibits a downward trend.
Table 4. Water supply and consumption in irrigation districts (unit: 108 m3 ).
Water Supply Water Consumption

Year Irrigation Water from Irrigation Water from Surface
Irrigation Water Net Irrigation Water
Groundwater Water
1998 10.61 3.00 7.61 5.68
2009 24.77 2.51 22.26 12.31
2010 15.65 3.21 12.45 8.78
2011 13.41 4.64 8.77 8.65
2012 11.90 4.65 7.25 8.07
2013 13.15 3.51 9.65 8.09
2014 13.50 3.81 9.70 8.47
2015 14.37 4.23 10.14 9.16
2016 12.45 3.69 8.77 8.03
2017 11.92 3.22 8.70 7.59
2018 12.26 3.29 8.97 8.83
2019 11.59 3.20 8.39 8.43
2020 12.29 3.42 8.88 9.45
Mean 13.68 3.57 10.12 8.58
Table 5. Drainage, water consumption, and irrigated area in irrigation districts.
Farmland Drainage Water Consumption Irrigated Area Actual Evaporation

Year
/(108 m3 ) /(108 m3 ) /(108 m2 ) /(mm)
1998 1.93 5.18 12.07 429.12
2009 1.87 11.29 17.54 643.93
2010 2.73 7.32 17.87 409.65
2011 2.80 8.36 17.93 466.10
2012 2.60 5.87 18.00 325.99
2013 2.46 6.93 18.07 383.60
2014 2.46 6.62 18.13 364.89
2015 2.42 7.81 18.20 429.09
2016 2.37 6.83 18.27 373.71
2017 2.20 6.39 18.28 349.45
2018 1.94 8.52 18.33 464.53
2019 1.82 9.44 18.33 515.06
2020 1.76 8.95 18.33 488.22
Mean 2.26 7.65 17.64 434.10
Analyzing Table 3 and Figure 7a shows that, from 1998 to 2020, the average value of
evapotranspiration in the irrigation district is 434.1 mm, with an overall trend of slowly
decreasing. As shown in Figure 7b, the irrigation coefficient of the irrigation district has
been improved, which indicates that the promotion of water-saving irrigation technology
can cause reduced evapotranspiration in the irrigation district and improve the water
use efficiency.
The analysis in Figure 8 shows that the total amount of water used, the total amount
of water consumed, and the irrigated area of the irrigation district are all increasing, and
the evapotranspiration per unit area of the irrigation district is decreasing, i.e., the amount
of water consumed per unit area is decreasing, which is in line with the concept of water-
saving irrigation. Total water consumption increases and water consumption decreases,
with analysis indicating the following possible scenarios: the total area of cultivated land in
the irrigation district does not change much, and an increase in the total amount of water
consumed in the irrigation district is clear; the total amount of water consumed in the
irrigation district does not change significantly, and an increase in the area of cultivated
line with the concept of water-saving irrigation. Total water consumption increases and
water consumption decreases, with analysis indicating the following possible scenarios:
the total area of cultivated land in the irrigation district does not change much, and an
increase in the total amount of water consumed in the irrigation district is clear; the total
amount of water consumed in the irrigation district does not change significantly, and an 13 of 25
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990
increase in the area of cultivated land in the irrigation district is clear; or the total amount
of water consumed in the irrigation district is consistent with the trend of the area of the
irrigation district
land inand there is adistrict
the irrigation trend isofclear;
greater changes
or the in the of
total amount area of cultivated
water land
consumed in the in
irrigation
the irrigation district.
district is consistent with the trend of the area of the irrigation district and there is a trend
of greater changes in the area of cultivated land in the irrigation district.
Figure 6.
Figure 6. Irrigation Irrigation
water water
supply, supply,
water water use,
use, water water discharge,
discharge, and waterand water consumption.
consumption.
(a) (b)
Figure 7. Actual
Figure 7. actual water consumptionininirrigation
water consumption irrigationdistricts
districts(a)(a)
andand irrigation
irrigation water
water utilization
utilization coeffi-
coeffi-
cient (b).
cient (b).
In order to explain the reasons for the decline in water consumption of the irrigation
district, data for 1980–2020 were acquired, including data for the income and expenditure of
the irrigation district on water for the calculation of water balance, and for the calculation of
water consumption in the irrigation district to explore the changes in the variables involved
in water balance and analyze the reasons for these changes.
(a) (b)
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 14 of 25
Figure 7. actual water consumption in irrigation districts (a) and irrigation water utilization coeffi-
cient (b).
Figure 8. Trends in statistical

Figure 8. Trendsdata on waterdata
in statistical use,on
water discharge,
water use, waterand water consumption
discharge, in irriga- in irrigation
and water consumption
tion districts. districts.
In order 3.3. Characteristics

to explain of Water
the reasons Supply,
for the Drainage
decline and consumption
in water Consumption inofthetheDistrict
irrigation
district, data for 1980–2020 were acquired, including data for the income and expenditure
In the period from 1950 to 1980, China’s Xinjiang agricultural irrigation mode was
of the irrigation district
mainly onwater-diffuse
large water for theirrigation,
calculation of from
and water1980
balance, andChina
to 2000, for the calcula- developed
vigorously
tion of water consumption in the irrigation
water conservation technology, district
moving to explore the changes inwater
into a conventional the variables
conservation stage,
involved in water
mainlybalance andcanal
through analyze theand
lining reasons for these changes.
field engineering. After 2000, China entered the stage of
promoting efficient water conservation technology. The spray drip irrigation system caused
3.3. Characteristics of Water Supply,
the irrigation districtDrainage
to have anandincrease
Consumption
in cropin transpiration,
the District surface runoff reduction
groundwater recharge reduction, and ineffective
In the period from 1950 to 1980, China’s Xinjiang agricultural loss reduction, and
irrigation it increased
mode was effective
consumption and the field water use coefficient. Later, efficient
mainly large water-diffuse irrigation, and from 1980 to 2000, China vigorously developed water-saving technologies
such astechnology,
water conservation sub-film dripmoving
irrigation reduced
into inter-tree evaporation
a conventional and groundwater
water conservation stage, recharge,
increased crop transpiration, and allowed production to increase.
The amount of water diversion, effective rainfall, and farmland drainage in the irriga-
tion district during the period 1980–2020 is shown in Table 6, and the water consumption
in the irrigation district was calculated using the water balance Equation (2).
In the water balance analysis for the irrigation district in Yanqi Basin for the period
1980–2020, the water consumption of the irrigation district, which includes losses in the
irrigation canal system and losses in the field, should be less than the calculated water
consumption of the irrigation district. The irrigation district developed from the stage of
conventional water conservation before 2000 to the stage of efficient water conservation
irrigation technology promotion after 2000, its irrigation water consumption E shows a
decreasing trend, as shown in Figure 9b, the total amount of water consumption and the
total amount of water used both have increasing trends, and from the results for analysis of
the influencing factors, the continuous expansion of the cultivated area in the irrigation
district was the main reason for the increase in the total amount of water used.
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 15 of 25
Table 6. Water balance terms for each water saving irrigation stage in the Yanqi Basin irrigation
district, 1980–2020. (unit: mm).
Diversion Volume Effective Rainfall Farmland Drainage water Consumption

Year
I P O E
1980 726.08 65.10 127.39 663.78
1981 759.57 122.60 133.37 748.80
1982 731.46 73.70 128.59 676.57
1983 702.15 106.40 123.21 685.35
1984 688.40 63.10 120.81 630.68
1985 674.64 16.20 118.42 572.42
1986 610.65 48.80 111.84 547.60
1987 595.69 115.60 104.67 606.63
1988 604.07 115.00 106.46 612.61
1989 608.85 71.20 107.06 572.99
1990 570.64 83.20 100.44 553.40
1991 549.67 94.60 96.58 547.69
1992 535.87 142.10 94.37 583.60
1993 653.42 69.50 114.87 608.05
1994 528.70 61.10 92.72 497.08
1995 550.88 118.10 96.83 572.15
1996 530.63 78.30 93.54 515.39
1997 557.44 96.50 97.92 556.02
1998 599.02 129.80 105.31 623.51
1999 576.59 66.60 101.36 541.82
2000 668.91 104.00 117.59 655.31
2001 790.48 66.70 138.97 718.21
2002 687.39 70.60 120.84 637.15
2003 689.08 124.90 121.14 692.84
2004 833.05 46.50 146.45 733.10
2005 648.96 49.15 114.09 584.03
2006 687.73 92.56 120.90 659.39
2007 653.74 55.64 114.93 594.46
2008 631.97 80.33 111.10 601.20
2009 563.89 47.64 99.13 512.40
2010 820.42 72.10 144.23 748.29
2011 840.74 33.40 147.80 726.34
2012 779.89 87.28 137.11 730.07
2013 738.79 86.83 129.88 695.73
2014 738.79 53.76 129.88 662.66
2015 630.54 62.82 110.85 582.51
2016 615.91 71.42 108.28 579.06
2017 573.25 107.29 100.78 579.76
2018 505.26 52.47 88.82 468.91
2019 473.06 46.13 83.16 436.03
2020 400.96 89.17 70.49 419.64
The analysis of changes in water consumption and water consumption per unit area
in the irrigation area on an annual scale shows that there is an increasing trend for the total
amount of water consumption in the irrigation area from 1980 to 2020 and a decreasing
trend for the water consumption per unit area, and these trends are shown in Figure 10a.
The total amount of water diversion into the irrigation district increases with the increase
in area, and the relationships with this change are shown in Figure 10b, and for the Yanqi
Basin irrigation district, the water consumption per unit area of the irrigation district shows
a decreasing trend with the increase in the irrigation district area. In addition, from 1980 to
2020, the water diversion into the irrigation district changed from 1.214 km3 to 1.000 km3
and reached a maximum of 1.593 km3 in 2000, thus the water diversion into the irrigation
district showed an overall upward trend.
in Error! Reference source not found.b, and for the Yanqi Basin irrigation district, the
water consumption per unit area of the irrigation district shows a decreasing trend with
the increase in the irrigation district area. In addition, from 1980 to 2020, the water diver-
sion into the irrigation district changed from 1.214 km3 to 1.000 km3 and reached a maxi-
mum of 1.593 km3 in 2000, thus the water diversion into the irrigation district showed an
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 16 of 25
overall upward trend.
(a)is more obvious, and the increases in water diversion cause (b) water consumption to in-
crease. The analysis in Error! Reference source not found.b shows that the increase in
Figure 9. Area
Figure Areaof
ofirrigation
irrigationdistrict
districtand
andchanges
changesinin
(a)(a) irrigation
irrigation district;
district; (b)(b) precipitation
precipitation andand irriga-
irrigation
water 9.
consumption requires increased precipitation.
tion in irrigation districts.
in irrigation districts.
In analyzing the relationship between precipitation, water diversion, and water con-
sumption in the irrigation district, as shown in Error! Reference source not found.a, the
trend of an increase in water diversion and precipitation on the irrigation district is not
obvious, whereas the trend of an increase in water consumption on the irrigation district
(a) (b)
Figure 10.
Figure 10. Change
Change in
in (a)
(a) water
water availability
availability and
and water
water consumption.;
consumption.; (b)
(b) irrigation
irrigation diversion
diversion and
and
water consumption.
water consumption.
In analyzing the relationship between precipitation, water diversion, and water con-
sumption in the irrigation district, as shown in Figure 11a, the trend of an increase in water
diversion and precipitation on the irrigation district is not obvious, whereas the trend of an
increase in water consumption on the irrigation district is more obvious, and the increases
in water diversion cause water consumption to increase. The analysis in Figure 11b shows
that the increase in water consumption requires increased precipitation.
3.4. Variation in Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in the District

Based on the literature and the Bayingol Statistical Yearbook, it is possible to obtain the
field water use coefficient, canal water use coefficient, and irrigation water use coefficient
for the Yanqi Basin irrigation district from 1998 to 2020, as shown in Figure 12. The upper
canal water use coefficient of the irrigation district shows a trend of slow increase, from
0.50 in 1998 to 0.82 in 2020, after the implementation of canal measures. The field water use
(a) (b)
coefficient displays a significant increase until 2011, and then it shows a decreasing trend,
Figure 11.a(a)
reaching Water diversion
minimum of 0.83and
in precipitation; water diversion
2013, but it remains above and
0.83water
afterconsumption; (b) water
2014. The irrigation
consumption and precipitation.

Based on the literature and the Bayingol Statistical Yearbook, it is possible to obtain
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 17 of 25
(a) (b)
Figure
water 10. Change
utilization in (a)
factor haswater
beenavailability
on an upwardand water consumption.;
trend, (b) significant
with the most irrigation diversion
changesand
water consumption.
particularly after 2017.
(a)
Agronomy 2023, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW (b) 18 of 25
Figure
Figure 11. 11.
(a) (a) Water
Water diversion
diversion andand precipitation;
precipitation; water
water diversion
diversion andand water
water consumption;
consumption; (b) (b) water
water

Based on the literature and the Bayingol Statistical Yearbook, it is possible to obtain
the field water use coefficient, canal water use coefficient, and irrigation water use coeffi-
cient for the Yanqi Basin irrigation district from 1998 to 2020, as shown in Error! Reference
source not found.. The upper canal water use coefficient of the irrigation district shows a
trend of slow increase, from 0.50 in 1998 to 0.82 in 2020, after the implementation of canal
measures. The field water use coefficient displays a significant increase until 2011, and
then it shows a decreasing trend, reaching a minimum of 0.83 in 2013, but it remains above
0.83 after 2014. The irrigation water utilization factor has been on an upward trend, with
the most significant changes particularly after 2017.
Figure 12. Traditional water use efficiency indicators for irrigation districts.
Figure 12. Traditional water use efficiency indicators for irrigation districts.
3.4.2. Improved IWMI Water Balance Method
3.4.2. Improved
AccordingIWMIto theWater Balance Method
data acquisition of the irrigation district, the water consumption
ratioAccording
indicator to the datafraction)
(depleted acquisitionDFgofandthethe
irrigation district, the
actual average water consumption
irrigation water volume
ratio indicatorof(depleted
per hectare arable land fraction) DFg and the
were selected for actual average irrigation
the assessment of water water volume per
use efficiency; the
hectare of arable landratio
water consumption wereindicator
selected is forthe
theratio
assessment
of waterofconsumption
water use efficiency;
per unit the
areawater
to the
consumption
income item.ratio
Fromindicator is thethe
1980 to 2020, ratio of water
water consumption
consumption per unit
ratio index andarea to the income
the actual irrigated
item. From
acreage 1980consumption
water to 2020, the water consumption
of arable land in the ratio index and
irrigation the actual
districts irrigated
in Yanqi Basinacre-
both
showed
age watera consumption
decreasing trend, and the
of arable water
land consumption
in the irrigation Edistricts
in the irrigation
in Yanqi districts
Basin both also
decreased
showed along withtrend,
a decreasing the decrease
and theinwaterthe water consumption
consumption ratio
E in the index; the
irrigation trend of
districts the
also
change is along
decreased basically
with the
thesame, and the
decrease changes
in the waterare shown in Figure
consumption 13. However,
ratio index; the trend theofwater
the
consumption
change ratio the
is basically same, D
indicator Fg (depleted
and the changes fraction),
are showndetermined using
in Error! the improved
Reference sourcewaternot
balance method increased from 0.8390 in 1980 to 0.8562, showed
found.. However, the water consumption ratio indicator DFg (depleted fraction), deter- an overall decreasing
trend,using
mined and the
theaverage
improved waswater
0.8436.
balance method increased from 0.8390 in 1980 to 0.8562,
showed an overall decreasing trend, and the average was 0.8436.
showed a decreasing trend, and the water consumption E in the irrigation districts also
decreased along with the decrease in the water consumption ratio index; the trend of the
change is basically the same, and the changes are shown in Error! Reference source not
found.. However, the water consumption ratio indicator DFg (depleted fraction), deter-
mined using the improved water balance method increased from 0.8390 in 1980 to 0.8562,
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 18 of 25
showed an overall decreasing trend, and the average was 0.8436.
(a) Actual irrigation water consumption. (b) Water consumption E.
Figure 13. Water consumption ratio index compared with (a) actual irrigation water consumption
per hectare of farmland and (b) water consumption.
Analysis of the relationship between the water consumption ratio coefficient and the
change in gross water supply and water consumption in the irrigation district per unit area
from 1980 to 2020 shows that, when there is an increase in the water consumption ratio
index, the gross water supply and water consumption have a decreasing trend, and the
water consumption ratio coefficient decreases when the irrigation water use coefficient
has an increasing trend. When the irrigated area increases, the water consumption ratio
coefficient is positively proportional.
In the evaluation of traditional water use efficiency, the three water use efficiency
coefficients, namely the irrigation water use coefficient, the field water use coefficient, and
the canal water use coefficient, are all smaller than the water use efficiency coefficients in the
stage of promoting high-efficiency water-saving irrigation. During 1998–2010, the irrigation
water utilization coefficient increased from 0.35 to 0.45, and during 2011–2020, the irrigation
water utilization coefficient increased continuously from 0.46 to 0.68, indicating that there
is an improved water efficiency from water-saving irrigation technology use in the Yanqi
Basin irrigation district. The implementation of water-saving irrigation technology in the
irrigation districts in the northwest of China has led to the effective use of water resources
and alleviated the water resource deficiencies preventing agricultural development in the
northwest of China.
The water consumption index and the actual irrigated water of arable land used in
the water balance method proposed by the improved IWMI were selected for analysis, and
both show a decreasing trend. Combined with the irrigation district water balance to obtain
the process of water consumption, the total amount of water consumption in cultivated
land area within the irrigation district, i.e., the expansion of cultivated land area, has a
significant impact on the total amount of water diversion and water consumption in the
irrigation district.
From 1980 to 2020, when the value for the water consumption ratio indicator decreases,
the water consumption per unit area and the actual irrigated acreage water consumption in
the irrigation district both have a decreasing trend, as shown in Figure 14. The development
of water-saving irrigation technology in the region has brought about the effective use of
water resources, and the amount of water saved has promoted the reclamation of farmland,
brought momentum to development and technical support to local agriculture, and can
better promote the development of the local economy.
sumption in the irrigation district both have a decreasing trend, as shown in Error! Refer-
ence source not found.. The development of water-saving irrigation technology in the
region has brought about the effective use of water resources, and the amount of water
saved has promoted the reclamation of farmland, brought momentum to development
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 and technical support to local agriculture, and can better promote the development 19ofofthe
25
local economy.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Figure14.
Figure 14.Changes
Changesinin water
water consumption
consumption ratio
ratio indicators
indicators with
with (a) water
(a) the the water availability,
availability, andirri-
and (b) (b)
irrigation efficiency coefficient, (c) water consumption, and (d) irrigated area.
gation efficiency coefficient, (c) water consumption, and (d) irrigated area.
4.4.Discussion
Discussion
Datacollected
Data collectedfromfromthetheBayingolin
Bayingolin Water
Water Resources
Resources Bulletin
Bulletin andand
thethe Bayingolin
Bayingolin Sta-
Statis-
tistical
tical Yearbook
Yearbook showshow thatirrigation
that the the irrigation
districtdistrict passes through
passes through cities and cities and in
counties counties
terms ofin
water
termssupply,
of waterwater use,water
supply, and traditional water use efficiency
use, and traditional water use indicators of irrigation
efficiency indicators of water
irriga-
use
tionefficiency,
water use canal water use
efficiency, canalefficiency
water and
use field water and
efficiency use efficiency.
field water The improvement
use efficiency. Thein
water use efficiency
improvement indicates
in water that the development
use efficiency indicates thatof the
water-saving
development irrigation technologyirri-
of water-saving in
the irrigation district results in some improvements to the agricultural
gation technology in the irrigation district results in some improvements to the agricul- water use efficiency
intural
this water
district.
useStatistics
efficiency forinthe irrigation
this district. district were
Statistics obtained
for the in combination
irrigation district werewith data
obtained
from the literature,
in combination withanddatathrough
from thethe supply andand
literature, use through
of water the
consumption
supply andand usedrainage
of water
balance, we calculated
consumption irrigation
and drainage waterwe
balance, consumption, which shows
calculated irrigation watera downward
consumption, trend, in-
which
dicating
shows athat irrigationtrend,
downward water-saving
indicatingirrigation technology
that irrigation has a certainirrigation
water-saving water-saving effect.
technology
has a certain water-saving effect.
4.1. Effect of Water-Saving Irrigation on Water Balance in the District
4.1. The
EffectBayingol Statistical
of Water-Saving Yearbook
Irrigation and Balance
on Water Water Resources Bulletin indicate that the
in the District
supply of Bayingol
The water exceeds consumption
Statistical in the
Yearbook and Yanqi
Water Basin irrigation
Resources district;
Bulletin indicate thus,
that the
the sup-
demand for local water resources is met, and the gap between the total water supply and
ply of water exceeds consumption in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district; thus, the demand
water consumption is gradually narrowing. The irrigation districts in the Yanqi Basin
for local water resources is met, and the gap between the total water supply and water
consumption is gradually narrowing. The irrigation districts in the Yanqi Basin are pre-
dominantly agricultural, with roughly 90% of their total surface and groundwater being
used for agricultural irrigation, and water consumption per unit area of the irrigation dis-
tricts shows a slowly declining trend. Both the statistical area and remotely sensed area of
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 20 of 25
are predominantly agricultural, with roughly 90% of their total surface and groundwater
being used for agricultural irrigation, and water consumption per unit area of the irrigation
districts shows a slowly declining trend. Both the statistical area and remotely sensed area
of arable land in the irrigation district show a significant increase, indicating that the arable
land in the irrigation district of Yanqi Basin expanded during the period of 1980–2020,
resulting in an urgent demand for total water resources even under the conditions of the
continuous development of water-saving irrigation technology.
In this paper, remote sensing monitoring was used in the Yanqi Basin irrigation district
in Xinjiang to obtain the change in cultivated area of the irrigation district and collect the
irrigation diversion data and drainage data. Analysis using the water balance method
to calculate the irrigation water consumption for the period of 1980–2020 shows that,
with the development of water-saving irrigation technology, the efficiency of agricultural
water resources is improving, Yanqi Basin irrigation water diversion is still in the state of
increasing, which is apparent, and the development of water-saving technology does not
seem to bring about an increase in the amount of water savings, but the irrigation district
per unit of water consumption shows a downward trend, indicating that the increase in its
area greatly affects the total amount of water needed in the irrigation district.
In 1980–2020, the cultivated area of the irrigation district showed an increasing trend.
Analyzing the relationship between area and the water use efficiency coefficients can be
seen as shown in Figure 15. When the cultivated area increases, the depleted fraction shows
a decreasing trend, and in 2020, the statistics of the cultivated area of the irrigation district
reached 18.333 × 108 m3 , and the water consumption coefficient reached the minimum
value of 0.829 in 1985. Its canal water utilization coefficient, field water utilization coeffi-
cient, and irrigation water utilization coefficient show an increasing trend, among which the
change in the irrigation water utilization coefficient is the most obvious, and it reaches the
maximum value of 0.829 in 2020. The actual irrigation water use per mu increased slightly
with the increase in irrigation area, and reached a minimum of 4.010 × 106 m3 /hm2 /a in
2020, indicating that the change of cultivated land area has obvious influence. The selected
water use efficiency coefficients all showed water saving effects on the irrigation district,
i.e., the water saving irrigation technology promoted the beneficial improvement of water
use efficiency.
Water-saving irrigation technology plays an important role in the western water-scarce
areas, and the development of efficient irrigation water-saving technology has brought
great benefits to agriculture in the arid regions of Northwest China. From the water
balance analysis for the Xinjiang Yanqi Basin irrigation district, we can conclude that water-
saving irrigation technology in the Xinjiang Yanqi Basin irrigation district has facilitated
better results, water use efficiency has been greatly improved, in order to ensure that the
normal growth and development of crops, and, at the same time, reducing the crop water
consumption per unit area, to achieve “less water, more production”, to a certain extent,
thereby ensuring the effective use of water resources. However, in order to achieve crop
production efficiency, the uncontrolled expansion of arable land in the irrigation district
means that the amount of water is still in short supply, and the rate of arable land expansion
in the irrigation district of agricultural water consumption is far greater than the amount
of water saved by water-saving irrigation technology, resulting in the implementation of
water-saving irrigation technology, and the phenomenon of “the more you save water, the
more you use water”, i.e., “the paradox of irrigation efficiency”.
4.2. Suggestions for Avoiding the Paradox of Irrigation Efficiency

In order to break this paradox, we should improve the water conservation policy
mechanism, optimize water conservation planning, raise people’s awareness of water
resources use, and realize the selection of water-saving irrigation technology according
to local conditions, and develop and improve the water-saving informatization system in
irrigation districts [67]. Adopting rational water–soil–food resource management measures,
cient reached the minimum value of 0.829 in 1985. Its canal water utilization coefficient,
field water utilization coefficient, and irrigation water utilization coefficient show an in-
creasing trend, among which the change in the irrigation water utilization coefficient is
the most obvious, and it reaches the maximum value of 0.829 in 2020. The actual irrigation
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 water use per mu increased slightly with the increase in irrigation area, and reached 21 ofa25
minimum of 4.010 × 106 m3/hm2/a in 2020, indicating that the change of cultivated land
area has obvious influence. The selected water use efficiency coefficients all showed water
saving effects
planning on the
the area irrigation
of arable land district, i.e., the water
and agricultural waterresources,
saving irrigation technology
and making pro-
more effective
moted the beneficial improvement of water use efficiency.
use of water resources can ensure that the economic and ecological benefits are maximized.
Figure 15. Relationship between the area of cultivated land and water use efficiency coefficients
Figure 15. Relationship between the area of cultivated land and water use efficiency coefficients in
in irrigation.
irrigation.
To achieve total water use and water efficiency control, firstly, we should improve
Water-saving irrigation technology plays an important role in the western water-
farmers’ knowledge and use of water-saving irrigation technology [68], encourage farmers
scarce areas, and the development of efficient irrigation water-saving technology has
to adopt efficient water-saving irrigation technologies, and at the same time, implement
brought great benefits to agriculture in the arid regions of Northwest China. From the
good policies [69,70] so that water-saving technologies have wider coverage. Secondly,
water balance analysis for the Xinjiang Yanqi Basin irrigation district, we can conclude
there is still much room for development when it comes to water-saving irrigation technol-
that water-saving irrigation technology in the Xinjiang Yanqi Basin irrigation district has
ogy, and we should increase the awards for water-saving technological breakthroughs to
facilitated better results, water use efficiency has been greatly improved, in order to ensure
encourage innovation from technical personnel on the basis of increasing water saving. At
that the normal growth and development of crops, and, at the same time, reducing the
the same time, we cannot blindly use water-saving irrigation technology, which should be
crop water consumption per unit area, to achieve “less water, more production”, to a cer-
adapted to local conditions in finding scientifically sound and appropriate water-saving
tain extent, thereby ensuring the effective use of water resources. However, in order to
irrigation technology. Finally, we need a breakthrough not only in technology but also in the
achieve crop production
relationship between landefficiency, theresources
and water uncontrolled
to findexpansion
a balanceofand
arable land in the point,
breakthrough irri-
gation district means that the amount of water is still in short supply, and the rate of
in addition to conducting planned expansion of arable land areas to prevent the scenario of arable
land
“theexpansion in the irrigation
more water-saving, district
the more waterof agricultural
shortages” water
from consumption
becoming is far greater
more serious.
5. Conclusions
In this study, the changes in water consumption and water use efficiency within the
irrigation district in Yanqi Basin were analyzed using the total volume changes in water
supply, water use, water drainage, and water consumption through the concept of water
balance. Remote sensing data for arable land from 1980 to 2020, the Bayingol Statistical
Yearbook, and the Water Resources Bulletin were used to obtain the statistical data for
water supply and water consumption in the irrigation district, and the literature was used
to obtain data on basic information of the irrigation district, such as the irrigation water
use efficiency, the field water use coefficient, and the canal water use coefficient. The main
conclusions are detailed in the following.
The irrigation efficiency coefficient within the irrigation district improved to different
extents during 1998–2020, and irrigation water saving technology was well promoted and
brought about a water saving effect within the irrigation district of Yanqi Basin. The water
Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990 22 of 25
consumption E within the irrigation district shows a trend of decreasing from 1980 to
2020, and the water-saving irrigation technology in the irrigation district brought about a
beneficial change in water consumption and improved the efficiency of water resources
such that water resources in the irrigation district of Yanqi Basin were fully utilized. The
cultivated land area in the irrigation district shows a trend of increasing from 1980 to
2020, indicating that the continuous expansion of cultivated land in the irrigation district
may lead to an increase in the total amount of water used in agriculture. The total water
consumption in the irrigation district shows an upward trend from 1980 to 2020, which
supports the notion that the expansion of cultivated area in the irrigation district is the
main reason for the increase in total water consumption in the irrigation district. This
results in the “irrigation efficiency paradox” of “the more saving, the more consuming” on
the surface water.
Water-saving irrigation technology has been effectively promoted in the Yanqi Basin
irrigation district, but the expansion of arable land has not been well planned, resulting in
the total water use in the irrigation district not being effectively controlled such that water–
soil resources did not reach an optimal balance. In future studies, the relationships among
water volume in irrigation districts, land area, and crop yield can be analyzed in light of the
changes in crop area and crop yield, so as to carry out planning and management of water–
soil–food resources, and at the same time, to develop more efficient water-saving irrigation
techniques and cultivate “high-yield, low-water-consumption” crop seeds. Against the
background of limited total water resources and growing water demand, only by observing
the “three red lines” of Chinese water resources management rule and implementing
the most stringent water resources management system can the existing water resources
load be compressed and limited, and only then can the local economy be developed in a
sustainable manner to achieve the sustainable development goals.
Author Contributions: D.L. was responsible for writing and editing, guiding the research and
providing funding; G.M. was responsible for editing, providing some of the data and funding for the
project; H.C. came up with the idea, organized and analyzed the data, and completed the manuscript;
F.H., L.M., Q.H. and X.M. contributed to editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
(Grant Nos. 52109031, 52279025, and 42071335), and the National Key Research and Development
Program of China (2022YFF1302200).
Data Availability Statement: The DEM data were obtained from Geospatial Data Cloud (https:
//www.gscloud.cn, accessed on 24 October 2023), the meteorological data from 1980 to 2020 were
collected from the National Climatic Centre of China (http://data.cma.cn, accessed on 24 October
2023), and statistics data from the Bayingol Mongol Autonomous Prefecture Statistical Yearbook and
the Bayingol Mongol Autonomous Prefecture Water Resources Bulletin.
Acknowledgments: We thank the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their constructive
comments.
Conflicts of Interest: Author Guanghui Ming was employed by the company Yellow River Engi-
neering Consulting Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the
absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict
of interest.
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Agronomy 13 02990 v3

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agronomy

Agronomy 2023, 13, 2990. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122990 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy

2. Materials and Methods

Agronomy 2023, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 6 of 25

1. Location map of the irrigation district in Yanqi Basin.

Figure 3. Map of the Kaidu–Kongqi River Basin.

Table 1. Data used in the study.

Data Type Data Sources

2.3. Water Balance Analysis

QG = QOU + ( Etr + Eq ) × S + QGG − Q∆ (1)

2.4. Irrigation Water Used Efficiency Analysis

Ec = W f /Wd , E f = Wr /W f , Ei = Ec ∗ E f = Wr /Wd (4)

2.4.2. Improved IWMI Water Balance Method

Water use efficiency

PWa = Y/A (7)

3.2. Analysis of Water Supply and Demand in Irrigation Districts

Percentage of Water Used in Agriculture Percentage of Surface Water in Percentage of Groundwater in

Table 4. Water supply and consumption in irrigation districts (unit: 108 m3 ).

Water Supply Water Consumption

Table 5. Drainage, water consumption, and irrigated area in irrigation districts.

Farmland Drainage Water Consumption Irrigated Area Actual Evaporation

Agronomy 2023, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 14 of 25

Figure 8. Trends in statistical

In order 3.3. Characteristics

Diversion Volume Effective Rainfall Farmland Drainage water Consumption

Agronomy 2023, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 17 of 25

3.4. Variation in Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in the District

3.4. Variation in Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in the District

3.4. Variation in Irrigation Water Use Efficiency in the District

(a) Actual irrigation water consumption. (b) Water consumption E.

Agronomy 2023, 13, x FOR PEER REVIEW 20 of 25

4.2. Suggestions for Avoiding the Paradox of Irrigation Efficiency

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