Agro-environmental evaluation of irrigation land: I. Water use in Bardenas irrigation district (Spain)

Non-point agrarian contamination makes its allocation to a specific territory difficult. This first part of the study seeks to analyze contamination resulting from water use in 54,438 ha of Bardenas irrigation district included in the Arba basin (BID-Arba). To this end, water balances were carried out in BID-Arba by means of measuring or estimating the main inputs, outputs and water storage between 1 April 2004 and 30 September 2006. Also, the spatial-temporal variability in water use was analyzed.The semester error balances were acceptable (between 11% and −6%), which permits the attribution of the mass of pollutants exported in drainage to the irrigation area evaluated, the objective of the second part of the study. Irrigation efficiency (IE) in BID-Arba was high (90%) despite the fact that Irrigation Sub-District VII (ISD-VII), with considerable flood irrigation drainage (27%), and ISD-XI with considerable losses due to evaporation and wind drift in sprinkler irrigation systems (15%), brought down the average (IE_VII = 73%; IE_XI = 83%). Irrigation management was inadequate as there was a water deficit (WD) of 9%, partly affected by the 2005 drought (WD_{Apr-05/Sep-05} = 21%) and the low irrigation doses applied in ISD-XI (WD_XI = 12%).To sum up, intense re-use of water caused a water use index (percentage of water used by the crops) of 85% which surpassed 90% in periods of drought. Nevertheless, irrigation management should be improved in order to annul the water deficit and to maximize the productivity of the agrarian system.     

Long-term water balances in La Violada Irrigation District (Spain): II. Analysis of irrigation performance

The analysis of long-term irrigation performance series is a valuable tool to improve irrigation management and efficiency. This work focuses in the assessment of irrigation performance indices along years 1995-2008, and the cause-effect relationships with irrigation modernization works taking place in the 4000 ha surface-irrigated La Violada Irrigation District (VID). Irrigation management was poor, as shown by the low mean seasonal irrigation consumptive use coefficient (ICUC = 51%) and the high relative water deficit (RWD = 20%) and drainage fraction (DRF = 54%). April had the poorest irrigation performance because corn (with low water demand in this month) was irrigated to promote its emergence, whereas winter grains (with high water demands in this month) were not fully irrigated in water-scarce years. Corn, highly sensitive to water stress, was the crop with best irrigation performance because it was preferentially irrigated to minimize yield losses. The construction of a new elevated canal that decreased seepage and drainage fractions, the entrance in operation of six internal reservoirs that would increase irrigation scheduling flexibility, and the on-going transformation from surface to sprinkler irrigation systems are critical changes in VID that should lead to improved ICUC, lower RWD and lower DRF. The implications of these modernization works on the conservation of water quantity and quality within and outside VID is further discussed.     

Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process to irrigation project improvement: Part II. How professionals evaluate an irrigation project for its improvement

Planning improvement of an irrigation project often depends on irrigation professionals who conduct the initial survey of the irrigation project. Accordingly, activities for improvement will be different depending on who evaluates the status quo of the irrigation project, because of the diversity of expertise and experience of professionals. A questionnaire survey was conducted to examine how irrigation professionals evaluate an irrigation project, that is, on what evaluation factors (EFs) they place the importance. In the questionnaire, professionals ranked the relative importance of EFs derived from internal process indicators of the Rapid Appraisal Process (RAP). Answers to the questionnaire were processed by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP, Part I), and then local weights of EFs were obtained as a measure of relative importance of EFs. Those local weights were statistically analyzed by the Anderson-Darling normality test, the F-test and the t-test. Then, they were modeled by probability density functions. The results implied (a) that irrigation professionals give the first priority to water delivery services project-wide and (b) that they consider that irrigation infrastructure (hardware) of primary canals is more important than that of secondary canals. These findings infer that irrigation professionals first consider how well water is controlled and distributed project-wide and second how appropriately primary canals are designed and maintained. Also, their views are divided into two regarding importance of hardware and management, namely some insist that hardware is more important than management and the others insist that management is more important than hardware.     

Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process to irrigation project improvement: Part I. Impacts of irrigation project internal processes on crop yields

Performance improvement of existing irrigation projects has been a major concern in international irrigation development. Activities for irrigation project improvement usually involve not only infrastructure (hardware) improvement but also changes in management. However, the impact of management improvement on irrigation performance has not been sufficiently verified because, in most cases, (a) irrigation project evaluation is done qualitatively, and (b) management improvement is implemented simultaneously with hardware improvement. Therefore, the impact of management improvement needs to be evaluated quantitatively and separately from hardware. This research attempts to quantify effects of management and hardware improvements on irrigation project performance, using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). First, an AHP model for irrigation project evaluation was developed by using internal process indicators of the rapid appraisal process. Secondly, the AHP model was applied for scoring 16 irrigation projects dealt with in FAO Water Reports 19. Then, finally, effects of the evaluation factors (e.g. managing entities, hardware, water delivery services) on irrigation project performance were analyzed by changing weights of the evaluation factors and comparing correlations between AHP model scores and crop yields. The research showed the potential and effectiveness of AHP application to irrigation project evaluation. Also, it revealed that the quality of water delivery service had a significant impact on crop production. Analysis through correlation did not imply significant relationships among water delivery services, management and hardware. However, it is inferred from the result that there would be still more room to improve the AHP model toward better evaluation of the irrigation project by adding more internal process indicators to the model.     

Drip irrigation of tea (Camellia sinensis L.): 1. Yield and crop water productivity responses to irrigation

The effects of drip irrigation on the yield and crop water productivity responses of four tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) clones were studied four consecutive years (2003/2004-2006/2007), in a large (9 ha) field experiment comprising of six drip irrigation treatments (labelled: I₁-I₆) and four clones (TRFCA PC81, AHP S15/10, BBK35 and BBT207) planted at a spacing of 1.20 m × 0.60 m at Kibena Tea Limited (KTL), Njombe in the Southern Tanzania in a situation of limited water availability. Each clone × drip irrigation treatment combination was replicated six times in a completely randomized design with 144 net plots each with an area of 72 m². Clone TRFCA PC81 gave the highest yields (range: 5920-6850 kg dried tea ha⁻¹) followed by clones BBT207 (5010-5940 kg dried tea ha⁻¹), AHP S15/10 (4230-5450 kg dried tea ha⁻¹) and BBK35 (3410-4390 kg dried tea ha⁻¹) and drip irrigation treatment I₂ gave the highest yields, ranging from 4954 to 6072 kg dried tea ha⁻¹) compared with those from other treatments (4113-5868 kg dried tea ha⁻¹). Most of these yields exceeded those (4200 kg dried tea ha⁻¹) obtained from overhead sprinkler irrigation system in Mufindi also Southern Tanzania, and Kibena Estate itself. Results showed that drip irrigation of tea not only increased yields but also gave water saving benefits of up to 50% from application of 50% less water to remove the cumulative soil water deficit (treatment I₂), and with labour saving of 85% for irrigation. The yield of dried tea per mm depth of water applied, i.e., “the crop water productivity” for drip irrigation of clones TRFCA PC81, BBT207 and BBK35, in 2003/2004 for instance, were 9.3, 8.5 and 7.1 kg dried tea [ha mm]⁻¹, respectively. The corresponding values in 2004/2005 were 2.7, 4.5 and 2.0 kg dried tea [ha mm]⁻¹ while the yield responses from clone AHP S15/10 were linear decreasing by 1 and 1.6 kg dried tea [ha mm]⁻¹ in 2003/2004 and 2004/2005, respectively. In 2005/2006 the crop water productivity from clones TRFCA PC81, AHP S15/10, BBK35 and BBT207 were 4.5, 0.4, 5.2 and 6.9 kg dried tea [ha mm]⁻¹, respectively with quadratic yield response functions to drip irrigation depth of water application. The results are presented and recommendations and implications made for technology-transfer scaling-up for increased use by large and smallholder tea growers.     

Hydrological impacts of rainwater harvesting (RWH) in a case study catchment: The Arvari River, Rajasthan, India: Part 2. Catchment-scale impacts

A key question in relation to rainwater harvesting (RWH) is whether the technique increases the sustainability of irrigated agriculture. A conceptual water balance model, based on field data from the Arvari River catchment, was developed to study and understand catchment-scale trade-offs of rainwater harvesting (RWH). The model incorporates an effective representation of RWH function and impact, and works on a daily time step. Catchment spatial variability is captured through sub-basins. Within each sub-basin hydrological response units (HRUs) describe the different land use/soil combinations associated with the case study catchment, including irrigated agriculture. Sustainability indices, based on irrigated agriculture water demand, were used to compare conceptual management scenarios. The results show that as RWH area increases, it reaches a limiting capacity from where additional RWH structures do not increase the benefit to groundwater stores, but reduces stream flow. If the irrigation area is increased at the optimal level of RWH, where the sustainability indices were greatest, the resilience of the system actually decreased. Nevertheless RWH in a system increased the overall sustainability of the water resource for irrigated agriculture, compared to a system without RWH. Also RWH provided a slight buffer in the groundwater store when drought occurred. The conceptual analysis highlights the important link between irrigation area and RWH area, and the impact of RWH on the catchment water balance.     

Raising surface water levels in peat areas with dairy farming: Upscaling hydrological, agronomical and economic effects from farm-scale to local scale

Raising surface water levels in peat areas is a measure to reduce soil subsidence, to prevent decay of wooden foundations and to stimulate wet nature restoration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, in these areas dairy farms are present and farming at wetter soils is difficult due to lower bearing capacity of the soil for cattle and machines. Water boards are responsible for the water management of peat areas and thus have to evaluate the effects of water management strategies for the different land use functions. Therefore the hydrological, agronomical and economic effects of different surface water levels are calculated for dairy farms. The ‘Waterpas’ model is used to simulate hydrological effects, dairy farm management and economic results for different meteorological years. The raised surface water level causes a decrease in gross grass yield and a reduction in grass quality. This leads to higher costs and less farmers’ income relative to a reference situation with a freeboard of 60 cm. Raising the surface water increases the average costs for farmers with €89 ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for a freeboard of 50 cm, €170 ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for a freeboard of 40 cm and €239 ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ for a freeboard of 30 cm.However, water boards are not only interested in the effects for individual farms, but also for an entire region. A new spatial method was developed for upscaling from farm to polder level. For grassland fields in a typical Dutch peat area classes can be distinguished using GIS data on soil type, soil surface elevation, surface water levels, locations of farms and farm characteristics. The classification is based on 4 classes of freeboards of the grassland fields and 7 typical distributions of grassland fields within a dairy farm. The farm economics were simulated for these typical classes. An increase in costs was simulated for the whole polder Zegveld (1400 ha grassland) of €119,000 year⁻¹ at 10 cm surface water level rise; €133,000 year⁻¹ at 20 cm surface water level rise and €185,000 year⁻¹ at 30 cm surface water level rise.For an integral environmental evaluation of changing hydrological conditions it is advised to incorporate effects on nutrient emission to groundwater and surface water and emission of ammonia and greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.     

Yield and quality response of drip irrigated broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) under different irrigation regimes, nitrogen applications and cultivation periods

The experiment aimed at evaluating the yield and quality response of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) to applied irrigation water and nitrogen by drip irrigation method during the spring and autumn cultivation periods of 2007. Irrigation water was applied based on a ratio of Class A pan evaporation (k_cp = 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25) with 7 days interval. Also, the effect of four nitrogen levels (0 kg ha⁻¹, 150 kg ha⁻¹, 200 kg ha⁻¹ and 250 kg ha⁻¹) was compared with each treatment. The seasonal evapotranspiration in the treatments varied from 233 mm to 328 mm during the spring period and from 276 mm to 344 mm during the autumn period. The highest broccoli yield was obtained in the spring period as 11.02 t ha⁻¹ and in the autumn period as 4.55 t ha⁻¹. In general, there were statistical differences along nitrogen does with respect to yield and yield components while there were no statistically significant differences in the yield and yield components among irrigation regimes. Both yield and yield parameters in the spring period were found to be higher than that of the autumn period due to the low temperature and high rainy days in autumn. Irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) ranged from 3.78 kg m⁻³ to 14.61 kg m⁻³ during the spring period and from 1.89 kg m⁻³ to 5.93 kg m⁻³ during the autumn period. On the other hand, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) changed as 37.32-73.13% and 13.08-22.46% for spring and autumn season, respectively.     

Long-term water balances in La Violada irrigation district (Spain): I. Sequential assessment and minimization of closing errors

Long-term analysis of hydrologic series in irrigated areas allows identifying the main water balance components, minimizing closing errors and assessing changes in the hydrologic regime. The main water inputs [irrigation (I) and precipitation (P)] and outputs [outflow (Q) and potential (ET_c) crop evapotranspiration] in the 4000-ha La Violada irrigation district (VID) (Ebro River Basin, Spain) were measured or estimated from 1995 to 2008. A first-step, simplified water balance assuming steady state conditions (with error ? = I + P − Q − ET_c) showed that inputs were much lower than outputs in all years (average ? = −577 mm yr⁻¹ or −33% closing error). A second-step, improved water balance with the inclusion of other inputs (municipal waste waters, canal releases and lateral surface runoff) and the estimation of crop's actual evapotranspiration (ET_a) through a daily soil water balance reduced the average closing error to −13%. Since errors were always higher during the irrigated periods, when canals are full of water, a third-step, final water balance considered canal seepage (CS) as an additional input. The change in water storage in the system (ΔW) was also included in this step. CS and ΔW were estimated through a monthly soil–aquifer water balance, showing that CS was a significant component in VID. With the inclusion of CS and ΔW in the water balance equation, the 1998–2008 annual closing errors were within ±10% of total water outputs. This long-term, sequential water balance analysis in VID was an appropriate approach to accurately identify and quantify the most important water balance components while minimizing water balance closing errors.     

Assessing grain crop water productivity of China using a hydro-model-coupled-statistics approach: Part I: Method development and validation

Identifying and quantifying the links between water resources and food production is crucial in addressing the intensified conflicts between water scarcity and food security. We proposed an integrated framework for quantifying relationships between food and water based on the concept of green water (GW), blue water (BW) and crop water productivity (CWP). An estimation method coupling hydrologic model and crop and water statistics was developed and validated to quantify basin-scale GW, BW and CWP in breadbasket basins of China. A basin-scale GW and BW assessment method was developed by using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Monthly-step calibration and validation were performed at 15 discharge flow stations in seven first-order river basins of the country. The coefficient of determination (r²) and Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) in calibration stage ranged from 0.18 to 0.95, and −4.22 to 0.93, respectively; while in validation period, r² ranged from 0.02 to 0.97 and NSE ranged from −266.7 to 0.96. The simulated available soil water was validated against the observed soil moisture data, and the results showed that the model can reflect the yearly average values of soil water storage. Overall, the modeling performance for river basins with 4.94 million km² of drainage areas in total was acceptable. The simulated hydrologic components were then coupled with crop-and-water-statistics-based estimation method for assessing basin-scale CWP on four staple grain crops, i.e. rice, wheat, maize, and soybean. The results were validated by comparing with the similar investigations in China and around the globe. It was concluded that the overall performance of the estimation method was acceptable, and the method can be applied in assessing basin-scale GW, BW and CWP in China.