Water-scarcity footprints and water productivities indicate unsustainable wheat production in China

Water shortage is a critical constraint limiting China’s capacity for food security. To provide evidence supporting environmentally sustainable water use in food production, this study compared irrigation water productivities (IWPs) and water-scarcity footprints (WSFs) for China’s wheat production at high spatial resolution. Contrary to previous water productivity studies assessing crop yield over total water consumption, it was found that IWPs...