Verifiable Water Use Inventory Using ICT …
7
for “transparent products”, thus encouraging sustainable water use in agricultural
production.
In this work, a procedure has been developed to determine the real-time scheduling
of a precision irrigation system that optimizes the use of irrigation water in crops
produced according to industrial agriculture techniques. Real-time knowledge of
water inputs and outputs during the development of the crop based on data received
from sensors installed in the field allows obtaining the verifiable inventory of water
use at the farm scale using ICTs.
The proposed methodology has been applied to two crops (greenhouse tomatoes
and orange trees) grown according to the principles of industrial agriculture during
the 2019/2020 irrigation season. The cultivation area is located in the south of Spain,
where a particularly unfavorable climate scenario is expected as a result of climate
change: with an increase in temperature, a reduction in precipitation and an increase in
torrential rainfall. It is therefore essential to optimize the use of scarce water resources
in this region. The efficiency of the implemented precision irrigation systems is
determined by water footprinting each crop.
After the introduction section, the organization of the contents of this chapter is
described below. Section 2 (materials and methods) includes the description of the
case studies in which the proposed methodology has been applied, the procedure for
applying ICT to determine the volumes of irrigation water (blue water) and rainwater
(green water) used by the crops, and the methodology for optimizing water use and
ends by describing how to make an accurate inventory of the water footprint of a
crop.
Section 3 shows the application of the developed methodology in two case studies,
discussing the results obtained and including a comparison with previous water
footprinting works of the studied crops. The chapter finishes gathering the main
conclusions obtained in this work, as well as possible lines of research in this field.
2 Methodology
2.1 Case Study Description
The developed methodology has been applied to the inventory water use of an orange
grove and a tomato greenhouse crop grown in southern Spain (Fig. 1).
These crops are cultivated by applying the principles of organic and industrial
agricultural production.
These two crops are quite different in terms of water requirements. Citrus fruit
can use rainwater to cover part of their water needs, while tomatoes are grown in
greenhouses throughout their cycle and only use irrigation water to satisfy their
needs. Both crops are cultivated in a water scare.
Thus, tomato, in particular, is grown in the southeast, in one of the areas with
the largest concentrations of greenhouses in the world, mainly dedicated to intensive
7
for “transparent products”, thus encouraging sustainable water use in agricultural
production.
In this work, a procedure has been developed to determine the real-time scheduling
of a precision irrigation system that optimizes the use of irrigation water in crops
produced according to industrial agriculture techniques. Real-time knowledge of
water inputs and outputs during the development of the crop based on data received
from sensors installed in the field allows obtaining the verifiable inventory of water
use at the farm scale using ICTs.
The proposed methodology has been applied to two crops (greenhouse tomatoes
and orange trees) grown according to the principles of industrial agriculture during
the 2019/2020 irrigation season. The cultivation area is located in the south of Spain,
where a particularly unfavorable climate scenario is expected as a result of climate
change: with an increase in temperature, a reduction in precipitation and an increase in
torrential rainfall. It is therefore essential to optimize the use of scarce water resources
in this region. The efficiency of the implemented precision irrigation systems is
determined by water footprinting each crop.
After the introduction section, the organization of the contents of this chapter is
described below. Section 2 (materials and methods) includes the description of the
case studies in which the proposed methodology has been applied, the procedure for
applying ICT to determine the volumes of irrigation water (blue water) and rainwater
(green water) used by the crops, and the methodology for optimizing water use and
ends by describing how to make an accurate inventory of the water footprint of a
crop.
Section 3 shows the application of the developed methodology in two case studies,
discussing the results obtained and including a comparison with previous water
footprinting works of the studied crops. The chapter finishes gathering the main
conclusions obtained in this work, as well as possible lines of research in this field.
2 Methodology
2.1 Case Study Description
The developed methodology has been applied to the inventory water use of an orange
grove and a tomato greenhouse crop grown in southern Spain (Fig. 1).
These crops are cultivated by applying the principles of organic and industrial
agricultural production.
These two crops are quite different in terms of water requirements. Citrus fruit
can use rainwater to cover part of their water needs, while tomatoes are grown in
greenhouses throughout their cycle and only use irrigation water to satisfy their
needs. Both crops are cultivated in a water scare.
Thus, tomato, in particular, is grown in the southeast, in one of the areas with
the largest concentrations of greenhouses in the world, mainly dedicated to intensive