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Climate change

Intensified Climate Change Threatens Agricultural Sustainability of Tea in Northern China

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Climate change has severely impacted northern China's tea plantations, exacerbating drought events and reducing crop yields. A recent study, supported by The National Key Research And Development Program of China, The National Natural Science Foundation of China, and The Jiangsu Provincial Water Conservancy Science And Technology Project, highlights the urgent need for precision irrigation strategies. The research team, led by Quanru Liu of the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, conducted a three-year monitoring campaign to collect data on soil water content and meteorological conditions. Their findings demonstrate the potential of physics-based modeling in improving irrigation strategies and water use efficiency.

Key Takeaways:

  • Global climate change has intensified drought events in northern China, posing significant threats to tea production and agricultural sustainability.
  • The HYDRUS-1D model was used to simulate soil water content dynamics across 10 soil layers (0-100 cm) in a coastal area of northern China, achieving an R2 of 0.739 for tea plantations and 0.878 for grasslands.
  • The research demonstrated the potential of physics-based modeling for understanding vertical soil water processes under different land cover types and provided a scientific basis for improving irrigation strategies and water use efficiency in tea-growing regions.
  • The study highlighted the importance of accurately simulating soil water content for drought forecasting, soil moisture management, and precision irrigation strategies in northern China.
  • The research team consisted of Quanru Liu, Zongzhi Wang, Liang Cheng, Ying Bai, Kun Wang, and Yongbing Zhang from the Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute and National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention.

Statistics:

  • The HYDRUS-1D model achieved an R2 of 0.739 for tea plantations and 0.878 for grasslands.
  • The study was supported by The National Key Research And Development Program of China (amount unsubspecified), The National Natural Science Foundation of China, and The Jiangsu Provincial Water Conservancy Science And Technology Project.
  • The research was conducted over a three-year period (2021-2023) in a coastal area of northern China.
  • The HYDRUS-1D model simulated soil water content dynamics across 10 soil layers (0-100 cm).

Sources:

  • Spatiotemporal Simulation of Soil Moisture in Typical Ecosystems of Northern China: A Methodological Exploration Using HYDRUS-1D. Agronomy, 2025, 15(8), 1973.
  • http://www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy (Agronomy journal)
  • https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15081973 (free journal article)
  • NewsRx. Data on Agronomy Described by Researchers at Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (Spatiotemporal Simulation of Soil Moisture in Typical Ecosystems of Northern China: A Methodological Exploration Using HYDRUS-1D). China Weekly News. September 9, 2025; p 110.

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