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Effect of warming and nitrogen addition on evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in a wheat-soybean/fallow rotation from 2010 to 2014

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Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) are critical indexes in water flux cycles of croplands, being affected by climate change. However, field studies addressing influence of experimental warming on ET and WUE in semi-arid cropland are highly deficient. A two-factor experiment, including soil temperature [ambient (C) and increased average 1.5 °C (T) at 5 cm soil depth] and nitrogen fertilizer (N) [without (N0) and with 315 kg N ha−1 input (N1)], was conducted from 2010 to 2014 in North China Plain to measure ET and WUE of wheat-soybean/fallow rotation. In the N1 treatment, warming increased ET by 3 %, 22 %, 34 % and 16 % in wheat growing seasons of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively, compared with ambient temperature. N addition increased ET by 9 %, 22 %, 11 % and 27 % under ambient temperature, and by 14 %, 60 %, 45 % and 50 % under warming during the four wheat growing seasons. Warming reduced WUE by 15 %–45 % under N1. N addition increased WUE by 68 % under ambient temperature during 2010 to 2012, decreased WUE by 45 % under warming during 2011 to 2013. Warming did not alter ET and WUE in the N0 treatment during whole years. Under N1 treatment, the reduction in WUE with increasing soil temperature is likely due to the increased vapour pressure deficit (VPD). The study highlights the interactions between climate warming and N addition on hydrological cycles during wheat growth, contributing the understanding of how fertilized semi-arid cropland respond to climate change.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the key program of national natural science foundation of China (Grant No. 41530859) and National natural science foundation of China (2012BAD14B07-03), (201503117-09), (31270554) and (41301323). We thank Dr. Aaron Ellison for his fruitful comments and English-language editing of early versions of this manuscript. We are grateful for the technical support by Wenxu Dong, **aoxin Li and Jiazhen Li.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetic and Developmental Biology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 286 Huaizhong Road, Shijiazhuang, 050021, China

    Liting Liu, Chunsheng Hu, Zhaoqiang Ju & **ying Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bei**g, 100039, China

    Liting Liu

  3. Sino-African Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya

    Liting Liu

  4. Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Blichers Allé 20, 8830, Tjele, Denmark

    Jørgen E. Olesen

  5. Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research (SDC), Bei**g, China

    Jørgen E. Olesen

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Liu, L., Hu, C., Olesen, J.E. et al. Effect of warming and nitrogen addition on evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in a wheat-soybean/fallow rotation from 2010 to 2014. Climatic Change 139, 565–578 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1825-8

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