Abstract:
To optimize the use of agricultural water resources and improve the efficiency of agricultural production, it is essential to quantitatively assess long-term trends in crop water use efficiency (CWUE). In this study, three typical crops (cotton, maize, and winter wheat) were studied in the oasis agricultural area of the Manas River Basin located in the northern Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang. Long-term agricultural meteorological observations from 1980 to 2023 at the Wulanwusu Agrometeorological Station in the basin were used, and correlation, trend, and geographic detector statistical methods were applied. The purpose of this study was to clarify the long-term trends of CWUE for three typical crops and to analyze the contribution of meteorological factors and management measures to CWUE. The results of this study show that over the past 44 years, the yields of the three typical crops in the basin have shown an increasing trend, their evapotranspiration has shown an increasing trend first and then a decreasing trend, and their CWUEs have changed from insignificant changes at the beginning to rapid improvement. The CWUE of the cotton and maize increase the most significantly in the stage of drip irrigation with film cover (LD) (the annual growth rates are 0.022 1 kg·m
−3·a
−1, 0.281 2 kg·m
−3·a
−1, respectively), and the CWUE of winter wheat increase the most significantly in the stage of drip irrigation without film cover (ND) (the annual growth rate is 0.094 3 kg·m
−3·a
−1). Among all the factors affecting CWUE, the effect of management measures on CWUE was greater than that of meteorological factors, and their contributions to the CWUE of cotton, maize, and winter wheat were 63.02%, 61.75%, and 58.86%, respectively. Among the management measures, varieties and irrigation methods have higher contributions; among the meteorological factors, the CWUE of cotton is mainly affected by the accumulated temperature above 0 ℃, whereas duration of sunshine contributed more to the CWUE of maize and winter wheat. This study provides essential scientific data to support the efficient management and utilization of agricultural water resources in the Northern Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang, thereby ensuring food security and promoting sustainable agricultural development in the region.