Water scarcity and fish imperilment driven by beef production
Water scarcity and fish imperilment driven by beef production
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DOI：
10.1038/s41893-020-0483-z
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发表时间：
2020-03-02
影响因子：
27.6
通讯作者：
Troy, Tara J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Richter, Brian D.;Bartak, Dominique;Troy, Tara J.
在许多地区，人类消耗淡水的速度已接近或超过水源自然补充的速度，给人类和生态系统带来缺水风险。在这里，我们评估人类用水的影响及其与美国各地水资源短缺和生态破坏的联系，确定河流脱水的主要原因并探索改善这些问题的方法。我们发现，牛饲料作物的灌溉是美国西部河水的最大消耗者，这意味着牛肉和奶制品的消费是该地区水资源短缺和鱼类危机的主要原因。我们评估了通过减少牛饲料产量来缓解水资源短缺的机会，发现灌溉饲料作物的临时轮作休耕可以显着降低水资源短缺风险并提高生态可持续性。长期的水安全和河流生态系统健康最终将要求美国人减少依赖灌溉饲料作物的牛肉消费。河流流域的用水是一个古老的资源管理问题，但很少量化特定部门的用水量。科罗拉多河被过度用于牛肉和乳制品生产，危及整个河流生态系统。
Human consumption of freshwater is now approaching or surpassing the rate at which water sources are being naturally replenished in many regions, creating water shortage risks for people and ecosystems. Here we assess the impact of human water uses and their connection to water scarcity and ecological damage across the United States, identify primary causes of river dewatering and explore ways to ameliorate them. We find irrigation of cattle-feed crops to be the greatest consumer of river water in the western United States, implicating beef and dairy consumption as the leading driver of water shortages and fish imperilment in the region. We assess opportunities for alleviating water scarcity by reducing cattle-feed production, finding that temporary, rotational fallowing of irrigated feed crops can markedly reduce water shortage risks and improve ecological sustainability. Long-term water security and river ecosystem health will ultimately require Americans to consume less beef that depends on irrigated feed crops.Water use in river basins is an age-old resource-management question, but it is rare to quantify consumption by specific sectors. The Colorado River is being overused for beef and dairy production, endangering the entire river ecosystem.