Background: Water scarcity is one of the most prominent issues of discussion worldwide concerned with sustainable development, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. The viability of agriculture, economy, and social stability, is actually determined by effective use of water with updated traditional methods or modern technologies. To increase water use efficiency and control the most serious soil erosion, and to guarantee food security in these areas, a great effort has been made to develop a sustainable farming technology known as ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting system.

Methods: After reviewing previous literature, micro-catchment and in situ rainwater harvesting techniques are more commonly used than macro-catchment depending on rainfall patterns and local soil characteristics. Types of macro-catchment systems include traditional open pond, cistern, earthen dam, sand dam, ephemeral stream diversion and spate irrigation. Types of the micro-catchment systems include pitting, contouring, terracing and micro-basins.

Results: There are a number of advantages from rainwater harvesting as an affordability technology for low-income communities, water security improvement, runoff reduction, high water quality and a long life span. Additionally, rainwater harvesting technologies promotes agriculture production and creates opportunity for skill development and income generation among individuals. The main disadvantages of rainwater harvesting technologies are the limited supply and uncertainty of rainfall. Furthermore, possible contamination of the rainwater with animal wastes and organic matter which may result in health risks if rainwater is not treated prior to consumption as a drinking water source and leakage from cisterns can cause the deterioration of load-bearing slopes. Ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting is undoubtedly the optimum technique to reduce soil erosion, elevate nutrient loading. Despite the benefits of ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting, there are still a number of obstacles that prevent practical application of this system. One of the obstacles is a large amount of plastic film residues generated from the long use of plastic film mulching in ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting. The plastic film residues have adversely caused soil and environmental issues.

Conclusion: Therefore, future research should be carried out on the use of organic (straw, biodegradable film, and biochar etc) mulching in ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting system to minimize the abundance and effect of plastic film residues on the environment. 

Qi Wang is a professor at the College of Grassland Science, Gansu Agricultural University, China. He has published more than 60 research articles in high impact factor journals and three national patents. He wrote a book named Supervision of Turf Engineering, China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing, China. He undertook four funded projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. He did postdoctoral study at the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences from 2009 to 2012. He obtained his PhD at the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008. He studied for his master’s at Agronomy College, Gansu Agricultural University, and for his bachelor’s degree at College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University. He studied as a visiting scholar at Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand from October 2010 to October 2011, at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, United States from December 2016 to June 2017, and University of Almeria, Spain from February to August 2023.