Irrigation water management using high resolution airborne remote sensing

This paper offers a historical retrospective on the remote sensing of crop coefficients for obtaining actual crop evapotranspiration. We present the canopy reflectance-based approach of crop coefficients and show the usefulness of high-resolution airborne imagery as a tool for monitoring the actual crop growth changes and characterizing in-field variability in an objective manner.     

Improvement of irrigation management towards the sustainable use of groundwater in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

The great expansion of irrigated lands using groundwater has often caused the exploitation of aquifer reserves beyond their recharge capacity. The development of management tools which can harmonize resource exploitation with reserve sustainability is the objective of an interesting experience being accomplished in the aquifer 08.29 in Mancha Oriental, Spain. This paper offers a summary of this ongoing project (GESMO), pointing out the specific role of the Irrigation Advisory Service. The general objective of the project is to create an integrated and integral management system of the aquifer as well as to prepare appropriate techniques for its adequate exploitation. Integral management means that both supply and demand management are considered, including the socio-economic and environmental perspectives. The concept of integrated management implies that the process must involve the majority of economic and social agents affected.

Management is founded on a Decision Support System (DSS) which takes into consideration different possible options. The DSS must contemplate the impacts on the environment, mainly the aquifer reserve losses and the increase of nitrates concentration in groundwater. The project directly affects more than 5000 agricultural users, irrigating about 100 000 ha with the aquifer water resources, as well as the whole population living in this region. Results of this project, including irrigation technologies developed may be useful for other areas in the Mediterranean Basin where similar cases occur.     

无人机遥感技术在精量灌溉中应用的研究进展

以提高农业用水效率为目标的精量灌溉是未来农业灌溉的主要模式,精量灌溉的前提条件是对作物缺水的精准诊断和科学的灌溉决策。用于作物缺水诊断和灌溉决策定量指标的信息获取技术主要基于田间定点监测、地面车载移动监测及卫星遥感。无人机从根本上解决了卫星遥感由于时空分辨率低而导致的瞬时拓延、空间尺度转换、遥感参数与模型参数定量对应等技术难题,也克服了地面监测效率低、成本高、影响田间作业等问题。近几年的研究结果表明,无人机遥感系统可以高通量地获取多个地块的高时空分辨率图像,使精准分析农业气象条件、土壤条件、作物表型等参数的空间变异性及其相互关系成为可能,为大面积农田范围内快速感知作物缺水空间变异性提供了新手段,在精量灌溉技术应用中具有明显的优势和广阔的前景。无人机遥感系统已经应用在作物覆盖度、株高、倒伏面积、生物量、叶面积指数、冠层温度等农情信息的监测方面,但在作物缺水诊断和灌溉决策定量指标监测方面的研究才刚刚起步,目前主要集中在作物水分胁迫指数(CWSI)、作物系数、冠层结构相关指数、土壤含水率、叶黄素相关指数(PRI)等参数估算的研究,有些指标已经成功应用于监测多种作物的水分胁迫状况,但对于大多数作物和指标,模型的普适性还有待进一步研究。给出了无人机遥感在精准灌溉技术中应用的技术体系,并指出,为满足不同尺度的高效率监测和实现农业用水精准动态管理的需求,今后无人机遥感需要结合卫星遥感和地面监测系统,其中天空地一体化农业水信息监测网络优化布局方法与智能组网技术、多源信息时空融合与同化技术、作物缺水多指标综合诊断模型、农业灌溉大数据等将是未来重点研究内容。     

Irrigation Performance Indicators Based on Remotely Sensed Data: a Review of Literature

The earlier generation of irrigation performanceindicators was based on canal flow data. Commonly,they quantify performance in a command area downstreamof a discharge measurement device. Remote sensingdeterminants, such as actual evapo-transpiration, soilwater content and crop growth reflect the overallwater utilization at a range of scales, up to fieldlevel. Crop evapo-transpiration includes wateroriginating from irrigation supply, water fromprecipitation, groundwater and water withdrawn fromthe unsaturated zone. Hence, this is a refinement inspatial scale as compared to the classicallycollected flow measurements, and describes moreoverdepletion from all water resources. If thesepossibilities are well implemented, we expect that anew generation of irrigation performance indicatorscan be quantified in a cost-effective manner.Especially, because satellite measurements pave a wayto standardize data collection between differentirrigation schemes and among different countries atcosts which are currently decreasing. These challengescan only turn into a success if irrigation managersare involved in pilot projects and demonstrationstudies exploring satellite data.     

Low Cost Satellite Data for Monthly Irrigation Performance Monitoring: Benchmarks from Nilo Coelho, Brazil

Irrigation performance indicators can helpwater managers to understand how anirrigation scheme operates under actualcircumstances. The new contribution ofremote sensing data, is the opportunity tostudy the crop growing conditions at scalesranging from individual fields to schemelevel. Public domain internet satellitedata have been used to calculate actual andpotential crop evapotranspiration, soilmoisture and biomass growth on a monthlybasis in the Nilo Coelho irrigation scheme,Pernambuco (Brazil). Satellite interpretedraster maps were merged with vector maps ofthe irrigation water delivery system.Monthly values of a minimum list ofirrigation performance indicators for thevarious service units in the pressurizedNilo Coelho scheme were determined. NiloCoelho is a good performing scheme. Theperformance can be improved further if 25%irrigation water is saved from February toJuly. The benchmark figures from thismodern irrigation system are presented forcomparitive analysis with other systems.The acceptable ranges in space and timeare presented. On average, 65% of thelateral pumping units on a monthly basisfall within the acceptable limits ofirrigation performance. Low cost irrigationperformance data based on low resolutionsatellite images (US$ 1/ha) will help themanagement team to focus on specificpumping units, and discuss alternativeirrigation and farm management strategieswith the stakeholders.     

Irrigation water management for crop diversification: Application of the WACCROD model

The actual water management practices, in terms of the volumes and intervals of delivery, are examined in a rice-based irrigation subsystem where crop diversification is practised. A simulation model (WACCROD) is used to generate the hypothetical water requirements of the changing crop mixture at quartenary and tertiary levels.Crops other than rice were planted in the dry season to reduce the need for water. Then, as the available water supplies diminished, the volume and timing of water deliveries changed based on the time, hydraulic location and relative importance of the crop.     

基于遥感的宝鸡峡灌区作物面积信息提取

灌区中不同作物的种植面积是分配灌溉用水的重要依据,遥感方法不仅可以提取各作物种植面积,而且可以获取其空间分布情况。基于2009年Landsat5-TM影像,综合分析宝鸡峡灌区农作物种植特点和光谱特征,运用决策树分类法获取灌区各作物面积。并由地面实际调查数据和高分辨率影像对分类精度进行评价,各地物精度均达85%以上。结果表明该方法适合灌区的作物分类。     

泾惠渠灌区作物种植结构变化对灌溉需水量的影响

研究种植结构变化对灌区作物需水量和灌溉需水量的影响,能够为作物生育期的灌溉用水管理和农业水资源规划提供基础数据。依据泾惠渠灌区实测降水和蒸发蒸腾等气象数据,采用FAO推荐的Penman-Monteith公式和作物系数法计算灌区主要作物需水量;通过频率计算和配线法确定灌区丰水年(25%)、平水年(50%)和枯水年(75%)的有效降水量;根据1988—2014年Landsat卫星遥感影像提取的泾惠渠灌区不同历史时期农业种植结构数据,计算典型水文年份灌区总灌溉需水量,并分析作物需水量和灌溉需水量在不同典型水文年的年际和月际变化。结果表明,随着泾惠渠灌区农业种植结构的变化,灌区总的作物需水量和灌溉需水量都呈现显著下降趋势。但泾惠渠灌区在1988—2005年间,单位面积平均作物需水量和平均灌溉需水量都基本保持不变,随后均呈小幅下降趋势。各月份作物总需水量和总灌溉需水量除6月份之外,其余各月份都呈现显著下降趋势;但在此期间,灌区单位面积平均作物需水量和平均灌溉需水量除在4、8、9月份呈下降趋势,而6月份呈显著增加趋势外,其余各月份基本保持不变。灌区总的作物需水量和灌溉需水量的下降主要是由农作物种植面积大量减少所致,种植结构的变化对其影响较小,但灌区种植结构调整后的作物需水量状况更符合区域有效降水特点。     

Earth Observation products for operational irrigation management in the context of the PLEIADeS project

Controlled and efficient agricultural irrigation management is required to avoid negative effects of the increasing world water scarcity and therefore to assure a sustainable production. Within this context, the project ‘Participatory multi-Level EO-assisted tools for Irrigation water management and Agricultural Decision-Support’ (PLEIADeS: http://www.pleiades.es) addressed the efficient and sustainable use of water for food production in water-scarce environments. The project aimed at improving the performance of irrigation schemes by means of a range of measures, made possible through wide space-time coverage of Earth Observation (E.O.) data and interactive networking capabilities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Project partners, represented by a set of pilot case-studies, included a broad range of conditions characteristic for the European, Southern Mediterranean and American regions. Algorithms for a number of basic products for the estimation of Irrigation Water Requirements (IWR) have been defined in an operational framework. In this study a review of application of these algorithms, applied and validated within different case-studies during the project, is presented.     

A New Simple Method to Determine Crop Coefficients for Water Allocation Planning from Satellites: Results from Kenya

Crop coefficient K_c is defined as theratio of crop potential and grass referenceevapotranspiration. This paper discussesthe estimation of crop potentialevapotranspiration from remote sensing datato deduce spatial variable and regionalscale crop coefficients. Maps of cropcoefficients avoid the need to frequentlyuse remote sensing data because grassreference evapotranspiration obtained fromroutine weather data describe the shorterterm day-to-day variation. The new methodis based on the simplified Priestley &Taylor equation for cropevapotranspiration. It is argued that thisis justified for humid conditions and thecalculation procedure is validated withfield data collected from irrigatedvegetables in Kenya. The method isthereafter applied to Landsat-TM satellitedata covering the Lake Naivasha Basin,Kenya, and the spatially variable cropcoefficients are determined. This simpletechnique improves the planning ofirrigation water resources because K_cestimations based on satellite imagesreveal the real agricultural practicesbetter than expected acreage data andtabulated K_c-values published in theinternational literature.     

Irrigation reliability and the productivity of water: A proposed methodology using evapotranspiration mapping

Irrigation is the dominant user of water worldwide, but provision of potable water and water for industry are higher priorities and give higher social and economic returns. Irrigation will continue to lose water to competing sectors and the productivity of irrigation systems (since food demand continues to grow) remains a central issue in water management. Performance assessment of irrigation has traditionally been difficult when based on field measurements of flows, deliveries and depths over large areas. Furthermore, performance measures have shifted from narrow engineering indicators to broader productivity issues of production achieved per unit of water consumed. Remote sensing, applied to the estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) over large areas, provides analysts of irrigation systems with extraordinary new tools for the objective assessment of consumption and production – constituting a quantum leap in the assessment of irrigation system performance. Awareness and utilisation of these tools is spreading, but important areas remain to be “converted” from traditional approaches that rely on an array of estimated parameters. The next challenge for remote sensing will be to map the frontier between the reliability of the irrigation service and the productivity achieved. Reliability provides the inducement for farmers to invest in higher productivity – to the benefit of themselves and society – and understanding better how the individual maximises profits within an uncertain irrigation environment can provide important guidance to managers and system designers.     

Farmer participation in irrigation management: The case of Doroodzan Dam Irrigation Network, Iran

The importance of farmer participation in system design and management has been emphasized in previous studies. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting farmer participation in irrigation management using survey research. The study was conducted in Doroodzan Dam Irrigation Network in Fars province, Iran. Multistage stratified random sampling was used to collect data from 270 farmers as the research sample. Results reveal that farmers’ attitudes toward participation in irrigation management, attitudes toward personnel of the State Water Authority and the Agricultural Extension Service Centers (AESCs), family size, the problem perception, dependence on the dam for water, and educational background have influenced their participation in irrigation management. By contrast, contact with information sources, animal units, sociability, age and agricultural experience did not affect farmers’ participation. Moreover, based on farmers’ perspectives, unequal water distribution among farms, dissatisfaction with Water Authority operators and high water fees and charges were the main problems and obstacles toward farmer participation in irrigation management.     

The Irrigation Management Game: A role playing exercise for training in irrigation management

The development of a role playing exercise for training of irrigation professionals in the management of small holder irrigation schemes is described. The exercise places participants in the position of either agency staff or farmers. As farmers participants are dependent on irrigation water supplies from the agency managed run-of-the-river irrigation system. As agency staff participants are responsible for water allocation between competing demands on the main system. The exercise develops interaction between the participants as they trade in water and negotiate for irrigation supplies.The exercise develops an understanding of the issues involved in managing an irrigation system, though not only on technical matters such as water allocation policy, yield response to water and performance assessment. The exercise also creates an awareness of the whole system, in particular the importance of communication between agency staff and farmers, and between farmers themselves.The Irrigation Management Game is the copyright of the author, Professor Ian Carruthers of Wye College, University of London and consulting engineers Mott MacDonald, Cambridge, UK.     

Irrigation management institutions in transition: a look back, a look forward

The paper explores current dissatisfaction withpast irrigation improvement approaches and examines reasonssuch dissatisfaction is so widespread. It reviews past andcurrent efforts to improve irrigation management in developingcountries and deduces themes with implications for the future. Finally it builds on these themes to speculate on directions inwhich both public irrigation agencies and local levelmanagement institutions will evolve in the future.     

GIS tools applied to the sustainable management of water resources: Application to the aquifer system 08-29

The sustainable exploitation of water resources requires planning and control methods that allow the incorporation of a great number of spatial and temporal variables. Because of its features, a Geographic Information System (GIS) seems the most suitable tool to aid in the management of available hydric resources. In this study, we have developed a specific GIS within the GESMO Project in order to better manage the 08-29 aquifer system (Mancha Oriental). This tool is intended for use by the JCRMO: Junta Central de Regantes de la Mancha Oriental (General Board of Irrigation Users of Eastern La Mancha), the organism responsible for aquifer management.This system is designed to integrate information from different sources, such as remote sensing, fieldwork data or administrative files with the cadastral subplot as a common reference. One of its functions is to expedite the control and monitoring, in real time, of the exploitation plans, which constitute the legal instrument to regulate water extractions. It will allow us to estimate the spatial and temporal distribution of water extractions needed for crops and their irrigation systems. These estimates will be highly valuable for aquifer modelling. The system also permits display of information on maps for easy handling. This visualisation allow users to more readily participate in decision-making processes.     

Management Processes on Two Small-Holder Sprinkler Layouts: A Case Study from Zimbabwe

Management patterns on two sprinkler schemes forsmall-holders are compared. The one overridingdifference is in the layout – soils, crops, climate,altitude, plot size, source of water and hardwarebeing similar or identical. Both schemes are used bysmall-holders to grow vegetables for cash. One layoutallows for individual control over both crop choiceand water application, and requires one group meetingeach month, to set the fee for the payment of theelectricity bill for the pump-set. The other layout,copied from Zimbabwe's large farms, is shown to imposegroup decision making on the choice of crop andvariety, the area to be planted and the planting date,forcing farmers to hold 17 meetings between July 31stand November 23rd. The case study shows the impact ofthe layout of the hardware on the managementprocess.     

Future directions for advanced evapotranspiration modeling: Assimilation of remote sensing data into crop simulation models and SVAT models

Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer Models (SVAT) and Crop Simulation Models describe physical and physiological processes occurring in crop canopies. Remote sensing data may be used through assimilation procedures for constraining or driving SVAT and crop models. These models provide continuous simulation of processes such as evapotranspiration and, thus, direct means for interpolating evapotranspiration between remote sensing data acquisitions (which is not the case for classical evapotranspiration mapping methods). They also give access to variables other than evapotranspiration, such as soil moisture and crop production. We developed the coupling between crop, SVAT and radiative transfer models in order to implement assimilation procedures in various wavelength domains (solar, thermal and microwave). Such coupling makes it possible to transfer information from one model to another and then to use remote sensing information for retrieving model parameters which are not directly related to remote sensing data (such as soil initial water content, plant growth parameters, physical properties of soil and so on). Simple assimilation tests are presented to illustrate the main techniques that may be used for monitoring crop processes and evapotranspiration. An application to a small agricultural area is also performed showing the potential of such techniques for retrieving evapotranspiration and information on irrigation practices over wheat fields.     

Introduction of Irrigation Service Fee (ISF) in Indonesia: Institutional development in action for resources management

The inability to properly maintain irrigation systems over time forced the Government of Indonesia (GOI) to seek cost recovery from water users through introduction of an irrigation service fee. The plan is to introduce this fee in all of the technical irrigation systems of Indonesia, covering about 4 million hectares, over a 12 year period. Design and Introduction of this service fee in 4 pilot areas of the 4 major rice producing provinces (West, Central and East Java, and South Sulawesi) during 1989–1991 has shown that users are willing to pay. Results of first ISF collection from over 11,000 farmers in Central and East Java in pilot systems was an encouraging 95%. However that acceptance to pay by users depends on their structured and systematic involvement in defining systems needs. They need to understand a differentiation in payment if service levels are different. They appreciate use of collected funds in the system where collected. They understand the organization of water users associations but this requires their active role in fee determination and collection. They understand the establishment of federations of these associations. ISF requires also active involvement of Local Government officials as facilitators and intermediaries between service receivers (the water users) and service providers (personnel of the Public Works irrigation department) in the introduction period. This article describes the experience of the first 21 months of the ISF project, the concept developed, the principles used as basis for ISF, the introduction at the field level, issues related to acceptance by users and by the institutions involved, and the first results.Abbreviations/Acronyms DGWRD Directorate General of Water Resources Development (Ministry of Public Works) - EOM Efficient Operation and Maintenance - Gabungan group of WUAs - IPAIR Indonesian abbreviation for ISF - ISF Irrigation Service Fee - Juru gate keeper - PBB land tax on irrigated lands - PPL agricultural field extension agent - P3A Indonesian abbreviation for Water Users Associations - PU Indonesian abbreviation for Public Works - SM Special Maintenance - WUA Water Users Associations     

行走式节水灌溉机具管理信息系统的设计与实现

针对目前行走式节水灌溉机具研究中存在的重复研究、技术资料匮乏、缺少相应的设计规范以及机具选择无据可循等问题,运用VisualBasic,ASP,IIS和SQLServer数据库等开发工具,开发了一个基于网络的行走式节水灌溉机具管理信息系统。用户可以通过本系统查阅机具设计、开发及应用的相关信息。本系统实现了行走式节水灌溉机具相关信息的添加、修改、删除和组合查询,实现了行走式节水灌溉机具图片在数据库中的读写,远程更新行走式节水灌溉机具信息等功能。为此,主要介绍了系统的总体设计、系统的软硬件配置和系统主要功能的实现。     

Assessing the performance of participatory irrigation management over time: A case study from Turkey

In many countries today, irrigation systems have been transferred to the water user associations (WUAs). Accordingly, it is believed that the performance of the irrigation systems is dependent on the performance of the WUAs.In this study, the performance of participatory irrigation management (PIM) over time is assessed with regard to the Kestel WUA serving a wide area of Turkey's Aegean coast. Data relating to the WUA is obtained from both the State Hydraulic Works and WUAs’ own records. In addition, two surveys have been carried out with the members of the WUA with an 8-year interval between them. Data have been analyzed within the framework of selected irrigation performance criteria and indicators. The non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the perceptions of the farmers on the WUA at different survey periods. A Logit model was estimated to evaluate the relationship between the irrigation problems and the level of satisfaction from the WUA.The performance of the WUA with the indicators of utility, productivity, sustainability and financial efficiency was found to be positive; while the performance of adequacy was identified as poor. The farmers were generally satisfied of the WUA's operation, with their level of satisfaction improving over time. On the other hand, the farmers were not fully convinced that they had input with the system management. The initial design of the channel system and its maintenance were identified to be the key factors affecting user satisfaction.Overall, the Kestel WUA may be considered a successful example, thus supporting a promising future for PIM. Yet improved control and farmer education is needed for a superior performance of all indicators; and further enhanced farmer participation in management should be achieved in order to raise the level of farmer satisfaction.