Global water stress mitigation achieved through international crop trade.

Ying Shi, Xu Zhao, Martin R Tillotson, Xinxin Zhang, Rui Zhong, Honglin Zhong

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in iScience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ying ShiInstitute of Blue and Green Development, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China.

Xu ZhaoInstitute of Blue and Green Development, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China.

Martin R TillotsonSchool of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT Leeds, UK.

Xinxin ZhangBusiness School, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China.

Rui ZhongInstitute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China.

Honglin ZhongInstitute of Blue and Green Development, Shandong University, Weihai 264209, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Global water savings can be achieved by trading crops from countries with higher to lower water productivity. However, strengthening such water-saving trade links could intensify global water stress if exports come from water-stressed countries to less stressed ones. Here, we explore whether international crop trade can alleviate global water stress using a virtual scarce water saving/loss indicator and refined trade matrices for 109 crops across 150 countries. We further assess how differences in water productivity and stress between trade partners mitigate global water stress by categorizing different types of crop trade relationships. Our results indicate that while international crop trade generally helps mitigate global water stress, over half of the trade links still contribute to increased water stress. Scenario analysis suggests that enhancing crop water productivity among exporters involved in virtual scarce water loss trade links could convert up to 53% of these loss links into saving links.

Indexed as

Agricultural scienceAgriculture in international tradeEarth sciencesSustainability aspects of food production

Identifiers

PMID40655097

DOI10.1016/j.isci.2025.112896

PMCPMC12246643

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY-NC

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.