Suitability Assessment of Rice ( Oryza sativa L .) Irrigation Patterns Under Multiyear Climate Conditions: A Yield and Water Response Perspective

Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) is vital for global food security, with China leading in terms of production and consumption. However, current irrigation strategies in China often have low efficiency and poor adaptability to climate variability, partly due to the limited differentiation of water consumption pathways and interannual climate impacts. This study focused on Heilongjiang Province, and used 2023–2024 field observations to calibrate the DSSAT‐CERES‐Rice model for four irrigation regimes: controlled irrigation (CI), shallow‐wet irrigation (SWI), alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and conventional flooding (CK). The model achieved high accuracy for the leaf area index, dry matter accumulation, soil water dynamics and yield. Simulations with climate data from 2005 to 2024 revealed that CI and AWD increased transpiration and reduced evaporation, increasing yields by 5% and 4%, respectively, and evapotranspiration‐based water use efficiency by 5% and 4%, respectively, over those of the CK. SWI effectively reduced evaporation and buffered climate variability but had limited productivity. A fuzzy comprehensive evaluation gave the CI the highest score (3.44) for yield, water use efficiency and climate resilience, identifying it as the most adaptable, promising water‐saving irrigation strategy for Northeast China. These results support sustainable rice production and food security.