Meteorological drought, especially when influenced by human activities, significantly impacts agriculture. We assessed the Yangtze River Basin (YRB)’s crop ecosystem resilience during the 2022 southern China drought. Using the elasticity framework, we quantified crop Leaf Area Index (LAI) changes with meteorological factors and human activities (irrigation) in the YRB. Our study covered maize, wheat, early and late-season rice, evaluating model accuracy with and without irrigation. Results indicate high accuracy (R² > 0.8, p < 0.05) in simulating LAI changes, notably improved with irrigation. Irrigation emerged as the primary driver of LAI changes in the past two decades, except for solar radiation’s impact on maize. In 2022, irrigation crucially influenced LAI changes, particularly in rice varieties. Early-season rice and late-season rice saw over 40% contribution from irrigation, while maize and wheat responded mainly to precipitation and radiation. Overall, 2022 yields remained stable, with late-season rice showing an apparent increase. Drought timing correlated with maize, wheat, and early-season rice yields, consistent with natural patterns. Conversely, late-season rice exhibited the opposite pattern due to artificial irrigation, impacting 58% of the growing areas in 2022. The study offers insights into investigating farmland ecosystems responding to extreme droughts.

中文翻译：

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农业抵御2022年华南干旱的能力强劲

气象干旱，特别是受人类活动影响时，会对农业产生重大影响。我们评估了 2022 年华南干旱期间长江流域 (YRB) 作物生态系统的恢复能力。利用弹性框架，我们量化了黄河流域作物叶面积指数（LAI）随气象因素和人类活动（灌溉）的变化。我们的研究涵盖了玉米、小麦、早稻和晚稻，评估了有灌溉和无灌溉的模型准确性。结果表明 ，模拟 LAI 变化的准确性很高（R ²  > 0.8，p < 0.05），并且通过灌溉显着提高。除了太阳辐射对玉米的影响外，灌溉成为过去二十年 LAI 变化的主要驱动因素。 2022 年，灌溉对 LAI 变化产生至关重要的影响，尤其是水稻品种。早稻和晚稻的灌溉贡献超过40%，而玉米和小麦主要受降水和辐射影响。总体来看，2022年单产保持稳定，晚稻增势明显。干旱时间与玉米、小麦和早稻产量相关，与自然模式一致。相反，由于人工灌溉，晚稻表现出相反的模式，到 2022 年将影响 58% 的种植面积。该研究为调查农田生态系统应对极端干旱提供了见解。