Comparing theoretical irrigation requirement and actual irrigation for citrus in Florida

Florida ranks first in citrus production, with nearly 68% of all U.S. citrus growing in the season 2005-2006. Most of the citrus groves are located from central to south Florida, and agricultural irrigation permitting is regulated by three of Florida's five water management districts. Most of the permitting for citrus production in Highlands, Polk and Hillsborough counties is conducted by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), and quantities are based on the District's AGMOD computer program. In 2003, the SWFWMD implemented new permit criteria so that permitted amounts were more representative of actual water use. This paper compares grower reported citrus irrigation water use in Highlands, Polk and Hillsborough counties from 1994 through 2005 with permitted and theoretical irrigation requirements calculated by a daily water balance. Two different sets of crop coefficients (K_c's) developed for citrus in Florida were compared in the daily soil water balance calculation of theoretical irrigation requirements. The percentage of irrigated area considered in this study ranged from 40 to 60% to simulate a range of grower practices. Meteorological data from two weather stations and additional rainfall information from 50 locations within the three counties was used in the water balance. Missing and error values in the meteorological historical record data were filled with weather generators. The multiannual average water consumption (including cold protection water use) from growers ranged from 243 (Hillsborough) to 406 mm (Highlands) and the multiannual average permitted irrigation requirement (without cold protection) ranged from 295 to 557 mm. The simulated gross irrigation requirements under different scenarios of location-K_c-wetted area were variable but mostly lower than the limits established by the district, except for some scenarios in Polk County, whose maximum simulated irrigation value reached 578 mm year⁻¹. In general, permitted limits recommended by the SWFWMD seem to be reasonable for the actual water use by growers in these counties.     

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.     

Estimation of irrigation return flow from paddy fields considering the soil moisture

The objective of this study was to estimate irrigation return flow in irrigated paddy fields considering the soil moisture. The proposed model was applied to examine its feasibility with regard to the growing period of rice. Simulation results showed a good agreement between the observed and simulated values: root mean square error (RMSE) of 6.05-7.27 mm day⁻¹, coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.72-0.73, and coefficient of efficiency (E) of 0.54-0.55. The estimated average annual irrigation return flow during the period from 1998 to 2001 was 306.2 mm, which was approximately 25.7% of the annual irrigation amounts. Of this annual irrigation return flow, 14.1% was attributable to quick and 11.6% to delayed return flow. These results indicate that considerable amounts of irrigation water in the paddy fields were returned to streams and canals by surface runoff and groundwater discharge. The modeling assessment method proposed in this study can be used to manage agriculture water and estimate irrigation return flow under different hydrological and water management conditions.     

Evaluation of surface water drainage systems for cropping in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia

In Ethiopia vertisols cover about 10% of the total land area and is the fourth most important soil used for crop production, accounting for nearly 23% of the total arable land used for crop production. More than half of the vertisols are found in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia, with an altitude of more than 1500 m above mean sea level. The unique physical and chemical properties of these soils and the high rainfall during the main cropping season create severe surface waterlogging problems which hinder crop production activities. Severe surface waterlogging affects the growth of plants by impeding nutrient uptake and creating oxygen deficiency around the root zone. To address this crop production problem, three surface water drainage methods, namely broad bed and furrow (BBF), ditch, and flat (traditional) methods were evaluated using the water balance of the plant root zone and wheat as a test crop. The experiment was conducted at the Ginchi Research Station in the central highlands of Ethiopia over two consecutive seasons (2000 and 2001). The results showed that both the BBF and the ditch drainage methods gave about 33% and 22% more grain yield than the flat treatment, respectively. However, there were no significant differences between BBF and ditch for both grain and biomass yield during both experimental seasons. During both seasons the total water balance (ΔW_r) at the root zone especially, in the months of June, July and August on all the treatments was higher than the crop water requirement (ETc) and showed no significant difference between the treatments. Thus, the results of this study indicated that the soil water in the root zone was not significantly altered by surface drainage systems and therefore implies the need of further improvement of the different surface drainage methods regarding improving the waterlogging condition and hence the productivity of the vertisols in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia.     

A discussion on and alternative to the Penman-Monteith equation

The Penman-Monteith (PMe) equation that estimates evaporation from leaf/canopy surfaces is based on a few approximations. Several authors discussed ensuing errors and suggested improvements. This paper reminds those discussions which ended in the early nineties. It compares linearized PMe− with non-linear iterative solutions and illustrates resulting deviations. It differentiates between deviations for daily and hourly evaporation rate estimates. The latter are found to be higher. It also demonstrates deviations obtained at two different altitudes above sea level. Considering present tendencies to refine evaporation estimates for practical purposes and making use of easily available methods for solving non-linear equations this paper offers a new method to estimate evaporation.In a first step, a simple algebraic term, the surface temperature control sum, is introduced to find approximate differences between air and evaporating surface (leaf, canopy) temperatures. It suggests to concentrate research on the r_s/r_a ratio. A new formula is derived for estimating leaf/canopy surface temperatures for non-water stressed plants.In a second step, the estimates of temperature differences are used to calculate evaporation estimates. This two-step approximation leads to appreciably smaller errors as compared to the PMe-solution over the full range of input parameters of agro-meteorological relevance. It is, however, less accurate than some of methods proposed in literature. The method is meant for practical application in agricultural water management.     

基于数据融合算法的灌区蒸散发空间降尺度研究

采用Landsat和MODIS数据,通过增强自适应融合算法(Enhanced spatial and temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model,ESTARFM)对蒸散发进行空间降尺度,构建田块尺度蒸散发数据集;利用2015年田间水量平衡方法计算的蒸散发数据对融合结果进行评价。在融合蒸散发基础上,结合解放闸灌域2000—2015年间种植结构信息,提取不同作物各自生育期和非生育期内年际蒸散发量,并分析了大型灌区节水改造以来,作物蒸散发占比的年际变化。研究结果表明:融合蒸散发与水量平衡蒸散发变化过程较吻合,小麦耗水峰值出现在6月中下旬—7月初,玉米和向日葵峰值出现在7月份。在相关性分析中,玉米、小麦和向日葵的决定系数R2分别达到了0.85、0.79和0.82;生育期内玉米(5—10月份)、小麦(4—7月份)和向日葵(6—10月份)的均方根误差均不高于0.70 mm/d;平均绝对误差均不高于0.75 mm/d;相对误差均不高于16%。在农田蒸散发总量验证中,融合蒸散发与水量平衡蒸散发相关性较好,两者决定系数达到了0.64。基于ESTARFM融合算法生成的高分辨率蒸散发(ET)结果可靠,具有较好的融合精度。融合结果与Landsat蒸散发的空间分布和差异性一致,7月23日、8月24日和9月1日相关系数分别达到0.85、0.81和0.77;差值均值分别为0.24 mm、0.19 mm和0.22 mm;标准偏差分别为0.81 mm、0.72 mm和0.61 mm。ESTARFM融合算法在农田蒸散发空间降尺度得到较好的应用,可有效区分不同作物蒸散发之间的差异。不同作物在生育期和非生育期内耗水量差别较大;生育期内套种(4—10月份)耗水量最大,达到637 mm,玉米(5—10月份)和向日葵(6—10月份)次之,分别为598 mm和502 mm,小麦(4—7月份)最低为412 mm;非生育期内,小麦(8—10月份)耗水量最大,年均达到214 mm,玉米(4月份)和向日葵(4—5月份)分别为42 mm和128 mm。不同作物多年平均耗水量(4—10月份)差异较小,其年际耗水总量主要随作物种植面积的变化而变化。     

征地区片综合地价平衡研究──以周口市为例

征地区片价是政府征地时的重要依据,区域之间不合理的征地区片价影响着社会的稳定。为了解决征地区片价之间的平衡问题,笔者以周口市为例,通过建立综合计算指标体系,利用Arc GIS对其进行空间插值,发现现存征地区片价中存在的问题,利用最高级别征地区片价和综合质量分之间的相关关系进行重新平衡调整,建立相应的相关性方程,最后得出平衡后的征地区片价。结果表明:征地区片价的确定是多种因素综合的结果,其区域之间的平衡也受距离、经济、周边地价等多方面的影响,其中,距离中心城镇近的地区最容易受到中心城镇的影响,其综合质量分影响较小,其余位于较外围的地区受综合分值影响较大,交通的便利性是平衡征地区片综合地价的一项关键因素。     

季节性冻融区地下水位预测方法研究

为预测河套灌区冻融区全年地下水位变化过程,采用统计学方法,研究了冻融期地下水位与地表气温间的关系,建立了二者间的线性模型,结合非冻融期水量均衡模型,建立了改进型水量均衡模型,通过优化求解方法确定模型参数。结果表明,模型计算埋深与实测埋深拟合效果较好,提出的改进型水量均衡模型可较好地预测冻融区全年地下水位变化过程,解决了冻融期间地下水模拟难题,方法简单精确,具有很好的实用性。     

EXPLORING THE RECYCLING OF MANURE FROM URBAN LIVESTOCK FARMS: A CASE STUDY IN ETHIOPIA

• Livestock manure was the main organic waste in urban and peri-urban areas.• Manure production will increase by a factor of 3–10 between 2015–2050.• Only 13%–38% of excreted N by livestock will be recycled in croplands.• Intensification of urban livestock production greatly increased N surpluses.• Reducing population growth and increasing livestock productivity needed.Urban population growth is driving the expansion of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) in developing countries. UPA is providing nutritious food to residents but the manures produced by UPA livestock farms and other wastes are not properly recycled. This paper explores the effects of four scenarios: (1) a reference scenario (business as usual), (2) increased urbanization, (3) UPA intensification, and (4) improved technology, on food-protein self-sufficiency, manure nitrogen (N) recycling and balances for four different zones in a small city (Jimma) in Ethiopia during the period 2015-2050. An N mass flow model with data from farm surveys, field experiments and literature was used. A field experiment was conducted and N use efficiency and N fertilizer replacement values differed among the five types of composts derived from urban livestock manures and kitchen wastes. The N use efficiency and N fertilizer replacement values were used in the N mass flow model.Livestock manures were the main organic wastes in urban areas, although only 20 to 40% of animal-sourced food consumed was produced in UPA, and only 14 to 19% of protein intake by residents was animal-based. Scenarios indicate that manure production in UPA will increase 3 to 10 times between 2015 and 2050, depending on urbanization and UPA intensification. Only 13 to 38% of manure N will be recycled in croplands. Farm-gate N balances of UPA livestock farms will increase to>1 t·ha⁻¹ in 2050. Doubling livestock productivity and feed protein conversion to animal-sourced food will roughly halve manure N production.Costs of waste recycling were high and indicate the need for government incentives. Results of these senarios are wake-up calls for all stakeholders and indicate alternative pathways.     

日粮阴阳离子差对泌乳前期热应激奶牛血液酸碱平衡和生产性能的影响

研究日粮阴阳离子差对泌乳前期热应激奶牛血液酸碱平衡和生产性能的影响,选用36头热应激条件下泌乳前期荷斯坦奶牛,采用完全随机试验设计(n=12),以不同日粮阴阳离子差[DCAD;(Na K )-(Cl- S2-)mEq/kgDM]为试验处理,即对照组(DCAD为 130.49 mEq/kg DM),试验Ⅰ组(DCAD为 251.54 mEq/kg DM)和试验Ⅱ组(DCAD为 383.87 mEq/kg DM),试验期42 d。结果表明:(1)提高日粮DCAD可明显增强奶牛血液的缓冲能力和运氧能力。血液pH和碱超值随着日粮DCAD的升高而上升(P<0.05),DCAD对其他血气指标的影响不明显,其中二氧化碳总量、二氧化碳分压、实际碳酸氢盐、氧饱和度均逐渐增加(P>0.05),而氧分压则呈峰形变化(P>0.05);(2)DCAD对奶牛血清尿素氮、总蛋白、白蛋白的影响均达到了极显著水平(P<0.01),肌酸磷酸激酶变化明显(P<0.05),血糖含量直线上升(P>0.05);(3)适当提高日粮DCAD可显著提高奶牛的生产性能。试验Ⅰ组和试验Ⅱ组的4%标准乳较对照组分别提高了11.0%和5.1%(P<0.05),而乳脂率明显降低(P<0.05),乳蛋白率(P<0.05)和乳糖含量(P>0.05)随日粮DCAD的升高而增加。综合以上各项指标考虑,建议以试验Ⅰ组(DCAD为 251.54 mEq/kg DM)作为泌乳早期奶牛的DCAD日粮。