Li et al. (2026) Divergent Controls on Sustained Increases and Decreases in Global Water Use Efficiency over the Past Four Decades

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Water
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-29
• Authors: Yan Li, Zhanlin Ma, Guangchao Li, Zhen Yang
• DOI: 10.3390/w18192420

Research Groups

• Institute of Remote Sensing, Key Laboratory for Land Surface Process and Climate Change, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China

Short Summary

This study analyzed the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of global water use efficiency (WUE) from 1982 to 2018, identifying key driving factors and spatial distribution characteristics. The results show that WUE increased in approximately 62.24% of vegetated areas globally.

Objective

• Investigate the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of global WUE under climate change

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, with a focus on vegetated areas
• Temporal Scale: 1982 to 2018, with an emphasis on long-term trends

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Land surface model-derived evapotranspiration (ET)
• Data sources: Satellite remote sensing products, including leaf area index (LAI) and temperature data

Main Results

• WUE showed a significant increase in approximately 14.95% of global vegetated areas, with the strongest correlation found between LAI and sustained WUE increase.
• Temperature exerted the most significant influence on sustained WUE increase, covering an area of approximately 75.69%.
• Climatic factors exhibited the strongest correlation under the combined effects of biotic and climatic factors for areas of sustained WUE decrease.

Contributions

This study provides a key scientific basis for identifying regionalized water resource management strategies that enhance ecosystem carbon sink capacity under climate change, deepening our understanding of global vegetation carbon-water coupling mechanisms.

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41675049)
• Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA20060402)

Citation

@article{Li2026Divergent,
  author = {Li, Yan and Ma, Zhanlin and Li, Guangchao and Yang, Zhen},
  title = {Divergent Controls on Sustained Increases and Decreases in Global Water Use Efficiency over the Past Four Decades},
  journal = {Water},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/w18192420},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/w18192420}
}