Verifiable Water Use Inventory Using ICT …
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The use of an irrigation water use indicator (RIS) allows the evaluation of whether
the applied irrigation has been adequate, deficient or in excess. This information is
key in the analysis of the components of the crop water footprint. The joint analysis
of WF C and RIS provides both the amount of water needed to obtain a unit of product
in certain crop growing conditions and whether or not there suitability of the applied
irrigation.
By recording the daily application of water and the evolution of the soil water
moisture content, inefficiencies in irrigation management can be detected, so that
improvements can be established to contribute to better management of water
resources.
The methodology developed has been successfully applied to two organic study
farms (orange orchard and greenhouse tomatoes) during an agricultural campaign in
southern Spain. Optimal irrigation schedules were obtained for each crop, as well
as their corresponding water footprint inventory. These values have been compared
with values compiled in the specialized literature on a regional scale in Spain, being
values of the same order of magnitude, although more adjusted to the reality of the
farms analyzed (water use and production) given the time scale (daily) and space
scale (farm) of analysis, the methodology and the sources of data used.
However, the proposed methodology has some limitations in the estimation of
effective precipitation on a daily scale, such as not considering the rain characteristics (intensity and duration of each shower). Therefore, the occurrence of runoff or
percolation is not considered, as well as the amount of rainwater that could remain
on the ground surface after certain rainfall events and infiltrate in the following days,
affecting the daily water balance in the soil.
An incipient line of work has emerged from this fact, focusing on increasing the
precision of the calculation of rainwater used by crops. A model of runoff generation
and soil water movement is being developed that would contribute both to more
accurate water footprint inventories and better management of available blue water
resources.
References
1. Alcaide Zaragoza C, Fernández García I, González Perea R, Camacho Poyato E, Rodríguez
Díaz JA (2019) REUTIVAR: model for precision fertigation scheduling for olive orchards using
reclaimed water. Water (Switzerland) 11(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122632
2. Allan JA (1998) Virtual water: a strategic resource global solutions to regional deficits. Gr
Water 36:545–546
3. Allen RG, Luis SP, Raes D, Smith M (1998) FAO irrigation and drainage paper no. 56. Crop
evapotranspiration (guidelines for computing crop water requirements). Irrig Drain 300(56),
300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2010.12.001
4. Bayart JB, Bulle C, Deschênes L, Margni M, Pfister S, Vince F, Koehler A (2010) A framework
for assessing off-stream freshwater use in LCA. Int J Life Cycle Assess 15(5):439–453. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s11367-010-0172-7
31
The use of an irrigation water use indicator (RIS) allows the evaluation of whether
the applied irrigation has been adequate, deficient or in excess. This information is
key in the analysis of the components of the crop water footprint. The joint analysis
of WF C and RIS provides both the amount of water needed to obtain a unit of product
in certain crop growing conditions and whether or not there suitability of the applied
irrigation.
By recording the daily application of water and the evolution of the soil water
moisture content, inefficiencies in irrigation management can be detected, so that
improvements can be established to contribute to better management of water
resources.
The methodology developed has been successfully applied to two organic study
farms (orange orchard and greenhouse tomatoes) during an agricultural campaign in
southern Spain. Optimal irrigation schedules were obtained for each crop, as well
as their corresponding water footprint inventory. These values have been compared
with values compiled in the specialized literature on a regional scale in Spain, being
values of the same order of magnitude, although more adjusted to the reality of the
farms analyzed (water use and production) given the time scale (daily) and space
scale (farm) of analysis, the methodology and the sources of data used.
However, the proposed methodology has some limitations in the estimation of
effective precipitation on a daily scale, such as not considering the rain characteristics (intensity and duration of each shower). Therefore, the occurrence of runoff or
percolation is not considered, as well as the amount of rainwater that could remain
on the ground surface after certain rainfall events and infiltrate in the following days,
affecting the daily water balance in the soil.
An incipient line of work has emerged from this fact, focusing on increasing the
precision of the calculation of rainwater used by crops. A model of runoff generation
and soil water movement is being developed that would contribute both to more
accurate water footprint inventories and better management of available blue water
resources.
References
1. Alcaide Zaragoza C, Fernández García I, González Perea R, Camacho Poyato E, Rodríguez
Díaz JA (2019) REUTIVAR: model for precision fertigation scheduling for olive orchards using
reclaimed water. Water (Switzerland) 11(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/w11122632
2. Allan JA (1998) Virtual water: a strategic resource global solutions to regional deficits. Gr
Water 36:545–546
3. Allen RG, Luis SP, Raes D, Smith M (1998) FAO irrigation and drainage paper no. 56. Crop
evapotranspiration (guidelines for computing crop water requirements). Irrig Drain 300(56),
300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2010.12.001
4. Bayart JB, Bulle C, Deschênes L, Margni M, Pfister S, Vince F, Koehler A (2010) A framework
for assessing off-stream freshwater use in LCA. Int J Life Cycle Assess 15(5):439–453. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s11367-010-0172-7