Authors
Jonathan Winter, Jose R Lopez, Joshua Wright Elliott, Alexander C Ruane, Cheryl Porter, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Martha Anderson, Christopher Hain
Publication date
2020/12
Journal
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
Volume
2020
Pages
GC107-08
Description
The current rate of groundwater extraction in the United States is unsustainable, making it essential to understand the impacts of limited water use on food production. We integrate a gridded crop model with satellite observations and water survey data to assess the effects of sustainable groundwater withdrawals on US agricultural production. Using the most optimistic assumptions for groundwater extraction, we find that sustainable groundwater use will decrease US irrigated production of maize, soybean, and winter wheat by 20%, 6%, and 25%, respectively. Using more conservative assumptions of groundwater availability, US irrigated production of maize, soybean, and winter wheat will decrease by 45%, 37%, and 36%, respectively. These results demonstrate the vulnerability of US agricultural production to unsustainable groundwater pumping, highlighting the difficulty of expanding or even maintaining food …
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