GEOG visiting scholar Dandan Zhao and Professors Klaus Hubacek, Kuishuang Feng, and Laixiang Sun published their research in the journal of Water Research. Water Research is ranked No. 1 journal in WATER RESOURCES according to Clarivate Analytics.
Their research showed that that regional differences in land productivity between agricultural and non-agricultural sectors are the main forces determining the pattern of virtual water flows across major regions, and other resources such as labor and water have played only a limited role. The current market forces reflect the scarcity of land resources, but does not reflect the water scarcity in the context of interregional trade in China. They suggested that the ongoing efforts to increase land productivity of agriculture in the southern regions would contribute to reducing water scarcity in the North and Northeast China Plain.
