Priority area determination for planting structure adjustment of main food crops in China

Water resources in China are scarce. Adjusting planting structure is an important way to save water in agriculture．Considering its practical guidance and operability, it is necessary to identify areas where crop planting structure should be adjusted preferentially．This study builds an evaluation model to determine priority areas for planting structure adjustment of main food-crops (rice, corn, and wheat production)．In this model, the resource, environment and economy requirements were reflected by crop water footprint, water resources scarcity, and net income of crops per unit area, respectively．Areas where rice planting structure should be preferentially adjusted were found to be Hunan, Jiangxi, Heilongjiang, Guangdong and Guangxi．Areas where corn planting structure should be preferentially adjusted were Heilongjiang, Jilin, Henan, Inner Mongolia and Shandong．Areas where wheat planting structure should be preferentially adjusted were Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Hebei and Jiangsu．These data will be useful to promote planting structure adjustment in China．