Water and heat resource utilization of cotton under different cropping patterns and their effects on crop biomass and yield formation

•A new method for visualizing the spatiotemporal change in soil water consumption.•The complexity of crop responses to multiple environmental factors is highlighted.•The main factor driving cotton biomass formation is water consumption.•Cotton yield exhibits a significant positive correlation with PEGDD and PEsoil.•MC and WIC had high cotton yield and accumulated temperature production efficiency.