Many countries are experiencing significant water scarcity and related problems due to limited availability, uneven distribution of water resources and high demand. Therefore, increasing water use efficiency and better management of existing resources have become substantially important. The agricultural sector is responsible for around 80% of global freshwater withdrawal. Wheat is one of the most important crops having large volumes of virtual water (VW) which is defined as the hidden water embedded in the products. Water footprint (WF) is an indicator showing the total volume of freshwater consumption of a product or process. Blue water concept is defined as the amount of exploited surface and groundwater resources. Green water represents the total volume of rainwater allocated by the product. WF methodology brings a new approach to inter-regional water use and management by quantifying the amount of direct and indirect water use and tracing the hidden links between production, consumption and trade. The main objective of this study is to analyze Turkey’s national blue and green WF of wheat production, consumption and virtual water trade between 2008 and 2019. Detailed province-based quantification of wheat’s water exploitation is provided using spatial interpolation method. Total consumptive WF of wheat production and consumption of Turkey is calculated as 39.3 and 48.1 Gm3/year, respectively. The average blue and green VW contents of wheat production through Turkey are assessed to be 1161 and 748 m3/ton, respectively. The water footprint parameters of each province are calculated and discussed using climatic and agricultural data. VW transfer of Turkey’s international wheat trade is also analyzed. Total national water saving is calculated as 7.8 Gm3/year which is mostly imported from Russia. Global VW deficit due to international wheat trade is calculated to be 1.76 Gm3/year. Despite its high contribution to global wheat production, increasing population and strong wheat-based diet, quantitative, comparative and up-to-date analyses of the blue and green WF and the VW transfer of wheat production in Turkey are not available. This study contributes to the national and international water management and planning studies to increase the water allocation efficiency of agricultural products.

中文翻译：

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评估小麦的水足迹和虚拟水贸易：土耳其的案例研究

由于可获得性有限，水资源分配不均和高需求，许多国家正面临严重的水资源短缺和相关问题。因此，提高用水效率和更好地管理现有资源已变得至关重要。农业部门约占全球淡水抽取量的80％。小麦是最重要的农作物之一，具有大量的虚拟水（VW），虚拟水被定义为产品中嵌入的隐藏水。水足迹（WF）是显示产品或过程的淡水消耗总量的指标。蓝水概念定义为开采的地表和地下水资源量。绿水代表产品分配的雨水总量。WF方法通过量化直接和间接用水量并追踪生产，消费和贸易之间的隐藏联系，为区域间用水和管理带来了新方法。这项研究的主要目的是分析土耳其在2008年至2019年之间的全国蓝色和绿色小麦生产，消费和虚拟水贸易状况。使用空间插值方法提供了基于省份的小麦水资源开发的详细量化信息。土耳其小麦生产和消费的总消费WF分别为39.3 Gm3 /年和48.1 Gm3 /年。据估计，通过土耳其的小麦平均蓝色和绿色大众含量分别为1161和748立方米/吨。利用气候和农业数据计算并讨论了每个省的水足迹参数。还分析了土耳其国际小麦贸易的大众转移。据计算，全国节水总量为7.8 Gm3 /年，其中大部分是从俄罗斯进口的。据计算，由于国际小麦贸易造成的全球大众赤字为1.76 Gm3 /年。尽管它对全球小麦产量做出了巨大贡献，但人口增长和以小麦为基础的强健饮食，却无法对土耳其的蓝色和绿色WF和大众生产的大众转移进行定量，比较和最新分析。该研究有助于国家和国际水管理和规划研究，以提高农产品的水分配效率。据计算，由于国际小麦贸易而产生的全球大众赤字为1.76 Gm3 /年。尽管它对全球小麦产量做出了巨大贡献，但人口增长和以小麦为基础的强健饮食，却无法对土耳其的蓝色和绿色WF和大众生产的大众转移进行定量，比较和最新分析。该研究有助于国家和国际水管理和规划研究，以提高农产品的水分配效率。据计算，由于国际小麦贸易造成的全球大众赤字为1.76 Gm3 /年。尽管其对全球小麦产量做出了巨大贡献，但人口增长和以小麦为基础的饮食旺盛，但尚无法对土耳其的蓝色和绿色WF和大众生产的大众转移进行定量，比较和最新分析。该研究有助于国家和国际水管理和规划研究，以提高农产品的水分配效率。