Modeling Agricultural Water Use Efficiency in Tibet's Pengbo Irrigation District: An Application of the SWAT Hydrological Model

Modeling Agricultural Water Use Efficiency in Tibet's Pengbo Irrigation District: An Application of the SWAT Hydrological Model | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Modeling Agricultural Water Use Efficiency in Tibet's Pengbo Irrigation District: An Application of the SWAT Hydrological Model xiang li, Guangcheng Shao, Bing Xu, Bo Yang, Shuangen Yu, Jia Lu, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7028118/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigated the hydrological cycle dynamics under water management measures in the Pengbo irrigation area of Tibet, analyzing and evaluating the water balance and water productivity at the irrigation area scale. The findings provide a theoretical foundation for enhancing water use efficiency and promoting high crop yields in the alpine irrigation regions of Tibet. Utilizing the water balance method and SWAT hydrological model simulations, the water cycle processes in the Pengbo Irrigation District were elucidated, and the irrigation water productivity along with crop water productivity for highland barley, winter wheat, and rapeseed were calculated and analyzed. The results indicate that:a) The SWAT model, calibrated and vali-dated using runoff data from 2022 to 2023, shows a strong agreement between measured and simulated values. The calibration and validation results meet the accuracy criteria with R²≥0.82 and NSE ≥ 0.70.b) The spatial distribution of deep seepage and irrigation water in the study area exhibits similar patterns; regions with higher irrigation water volumes are prone to increased deep seepage. The deep seepage in the study area ranges from 197.2 mm to 314.5 mm, constitut-ing 29.3–36.7% of the total rainfall plus irrigation. The evapotranspiration during the crop growth period varies from 465.1 mm to 616.8 mm, representing 60.1–74.2% of the total rain-fall plus irrigation. c ) The spatial distribution of crop irrigation water productivity inversely correlates with irrigation water volume; areas with higher irrigation volumes exhibit lower crop irrigation water productivity. The average irrigation water productivity for highland barley, winter wheat, and rapeseed was 1.97 kg·m⁻³, 2.38 kg·m⁻³, and 0.80 kg·m⁻³, respectively. The average crop water productivity was 1.16 kg·m⁻³, 1.41 kg·m⁻³, and 0.47 kg·m⁻³. Winter wheat demonstrates significantly higher irrigation and crop water productivity compared to highland barley and rapeseed.The SWAT model simulations effectively characterize the water balance features of the Pengbo Irrigation District in Tibet and are suitable for simulating water cycle processes in similar alpine regions. Future agricultural de-velopment should focus on improving water use efficiency by optimizing crop irrigation systems, transitioning from flood irrigation to border irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, and micro-sprinkler irrigation. Additionally, considering crop yield and water productivity, it is advisable to increase the cultivation of winter wheat and highland barley while reducing the area dedicated to rapeseed. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Hydrology Biological sciences/Plant sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Earth and environmental sciences/Hydrology Biological sciences/Plant sciences Pengbo Irrigation District in Tibet SWAT model Water Cycling Process Water-use Efficiency Water Productivity Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7028118","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":486436380,"identity":"0b688d51-6cac-428e-8483-fb548461ba1d","order_by":0,"name":"xiang li","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hohai University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"xiang","middleName":"","lastName":"li","suffix":""},{"id":486436381,"identity":"b9800889-869f-4613-b133-0442eddc1c8e","order_by":1,"name":"Guangcheng 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Productivity","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7028118/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7028118/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigated the hydrological cycle dynamics under water management measures in the Pengbo irrigation area of Tibet, analyzing and evaluating the water balance and water productivity at the irrigation area scale. The findings provide a theoretical foundation for enhancing water use efficiency and promoting high crop yields in the alpine irrigation regions of Tibet. Utilizing the water balance method and SWAT hydrological model simulations, the water cycle processes in the Pengbo Irrigation District were elucidated, and the irrigation water productivity along with crop water productivity for highland barley, winter wheat, and rapeseed were calculated and analyzed. The results indicate that:a) The SWAT model, calibrated and vali-dated using runoff data from 2022 to 2023, shows a strong agreement between measured and simulated values. The calibration and validation results meet the accuracy criteria with R\u0026sup2;\u0026ge;0.82 and NSE\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;0.70.b) The spatial distribution of deep seepage and irrigation water in the study area exhibits similar patterns; regions with higher irrigation water volumes are prone to increased deep seepage. The deep seepage in the study area ranges from 197.2 mm to 314.5 mm, constitut-ing 29.3\u0026ndash;36.7% of the total rainfall plus irrigation. The evapotranspiration during the crop growth period varies from 465.1 mm to 616.8 mm, representing 60.1\u0026ndash;74.2% of the total rain-fall plus irrigation. c ) The spatial distribution of crop irrigation water productivity inversely correlates with irrigation water volume; areas with higher irrigation volumes exhibit lower crop irrigation water productivity. The average irrigation water productivity for highland barley, winter wheat, and rapeseed was 1.97 kg\u0026middot;m⁻\u0026sup3;, 2.38 kg\u0026middot;m⁻\u0026sup3;, and 0.80 kg\u0026middot;m⁻\u0026sup3;, respectively. The average crop water productivity was 1.16 kg\u0026middot;m⁻\u0026sup3;, 1.41 kg\u0026middot;m⁻\u0026sup3;, and 0.47 kg\u0026middot;m⁻\u0026sup3;. Winter wheat demonstrates significantly higher irrigation and crop water productivity compared to highland barley and rapeseed.The SWAT model simulations effectively characterize the water balance features of the Pengbo Irrigation District in Tibet and are suitable for simulating water cycle processes in similar alpine regions. Future agricultural de-velopment should focus on improving water use efficiency by optimizing crop irrigation systems, transitioning from flood irrigation to border irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, and micro-sprinkler irrigation. Additionally, considering crop yield and water productivity, it is advisable to increase the cultivation of winter wheat and highland barley while reducing the area dedicated to rapeseed.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Modeling Agricultural Water Use Efficiency in Tibet's Pengbo Irrigation District: An Application of the SWAT Hydrological Model","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-07-18 18:19:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7028118/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b0621b9c-7356-4764-b318-1d09562a3968","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 18th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":51770533,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":51770534,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Hydrology"},{"id":51770535,"name":"Biological sciences/Plant sciences"},{"id":51770536,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":51770537,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Hydrology"},{"id":51770538,"name":"Biological sciences/Plant sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-08-28T06:24:29+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-07-18 18:19:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7028118","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7028118","identity":"rs-7028118","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}