Assessing the effects of water table depth on water use, soil salinity and wheat yield: Searching for a target depth for irrigated areas in the upper Yellow River basin.

Highlights: [•] Changes of soil water, salinity and yield were simulated using SWAP for wheat. [•] SWAP was modified by adopting EPIC crop model and osmotic head-dependent function. [•] Model was well calibrated and validated using experimental data in 2007 and 2008. [•] Fifteen treatments with different irrigation and GWD were predicted and evaluated. [•] A target GWD of 1.0–1.5m was suggested to be optimal for wheat's growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]