This Special Issue focuses on Agricultural Water Conservation: Tools, Strategies, and Practices, which aims to bring together a collection of recent cutting-edge research and advancements in agricultural water conservation. Globally, irrigated acreage increased by 76% between 1970 and 2012 (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, 2014). ADS Producers in the agricultural sector have historically paid less for water than producers from all other sectors. Natl. California is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world, and is the major producer of many nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Availability of nonrenewable water is especially relevant in dry regions where the accessible portion of renewable water is often exceeded within any time period and water must be pumped from nonrenewable sources to meet demands (e.g., California River Basin, Rio Grande River Basin). Agric. Escriva-Bou, A. et al. By default, each of the 235 river basins in GCAM are limited to 25% of the available total nonrenewable groundwater stock35. Finally, the spatial variability of changes under the Sustainable GW+No Subsidy scenario is to depend highly on the level of climatic impact on water availability and the overall access to desalinated water for agriculture (Supplementary Fig. Nat. Predicting farmer responses to water pricing, rationing and subsidies assuming profit maximizing investment in irrigation technology. Article GCAM v5.1: Representing the linkages between energy, water, land, climate, and economic systems. A significant increase in the height, number, and diameter of summer stalks, as well an increase in the marketable yield, weight, and number of green spears was observed for most of the cultivars. Instead of irrigating the entire plant from above, drip irrigation uses pipes to drip water slowly onto the roots of the plants. HF-DLF dilution at 10%, 25%, and 50% consisted in +1.9%, +3.5, and 4.9% amount of liquid released compared to the control. Sustainable water measures were shown to shift production across basins (Fig. https://water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/SGMA-Groundwater-Management (2014). Excessive nonrenewable groundwater extraction has several negative impacts to the local environment including land subsidence, water quality degradation, and sea level rise6,7,8. Hydrogeol. In general, postharvest drip irrigation of asparagus cultivated in very light sandy soil significantly contributes to the increase in productivity of American cultivars of this species. Geosci. While true cost comparisons are lacking in the literature, some studies have suggested that the disproportionality results in the agricultural sector paying as little as 1% of the water cost as other sectors24,25,26. ONeill, B. C. et al. While the results expressed within this study highlight the upper bounds of certain water sustainability measures, there are several intermediate scenarios where future individual governance policies may align. Economic aspects of irrigation water pricing. J. Agronomy | Special Issue : Agricultural Water Conservation: Tools However, its use can have drawbacks to both soil and micro-irrigation systems, especially when the total solids in the wastewater. Irrigation, used to compensate for periodic deficiencies in precipitation, allows for high- and good-quality crops for many species. Additionally, the impacts on agricultural production and revenue are analyzed across the United States. See more information about the agricultural water use exclusion. Pricing of water: Optimal departures from the inverse elasticity rule. 16(6), 10391055 (2008). The model was calibrated and evaluated using field data collected from two cropping seasons (201214), then the calibrated model was used to develop different scenarios under irrigation with saline water from 5, 10 to 15 dS m, Irrigation with wastewater can strongly contribute to the reduction of water abstraction in agriculture with an especial interest in arid and semiarid areas. Res. The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of 2014 was adopted in California to decrease the groundwater pumping from moderate to highly exploited river basins in the state by 2040. Excess agricultural production from within basins in the United States are then allowed to be traded globally. The valley produces more than half of the state's agricultural output. This study was intended to assess the effects of moderate water deficits, with the goal of maintaining robust alfalfa (Medicago . A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Barley is the main staple food crop for most of the countries of this region, including Tunisia. Agriculture Water Conservation Techniques | Environment.co Scientific Reports (Sci Rep) PDF Agricultural Water Stewardship - Ag Innovations 2), due to large volumes of both renewable and nonrenewable water pumping (Fig. For each scenario with additional groundwater constraints in this study, reductions are introduced in 2015 from the total stock on groundwater availability35 for each river basin. The agricultural sector contributed more than 5% to the U.S. GDP in 201739, with individual states having much larger shares within their respective economies. While paying a higher price for water results in overall declines in water usage, addressing the economic impacts of such losses will need to be considered under any future water governance measures. Acad. Groundwater supports jobs for millions of Californians when it is used in manufacturing, agriculture, fruit and vegetable processing, high tech, petroleum refining, beverage production, and other businesses. Water supply in GCAM-USA is modeled at the 235 global HUC-2 basin scale26, 35. Manag. Can. Lett. The results expressed so far are contingent on the model, water availability assumptions and level of agricultural price subsidy (Methods). In the classroom, the program promotes responsible stewardship of natural resources that will lead these students - as adults - to make good water resource decisions. Contact Us Why Agricultural Irrigation and Water Conservation Are Intrinsically Linked Oct 6, 2020| Blog, How To Conserve Water In Agriculture Part of our How to Conserve Water in Agriculture Guide Agricultural irrigation and water conservation undeniably go hand in hand. Agricultural Water Use Efficiency - Department Of Water Resources This study was performed at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory (CPRL) in Bushland, Texas, USA. While changing agricultural water price subsidies often exist to promote sustainable water use, the agricultural sector continues to pay a fraction of what other sectors pay for water, while maintaining large volumes of withdrawals24. For the sensitivity analysis preformed in this study, we include climatic impacts on water supply. Agricultural impacts of sustainable water use in the United States, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-96243-5. This can be varied to increase or decrease the level of subsidy that is desired. Harou, J. J. 4), while concurrently vastly improving the sustainable water use within the U.S. With agricultural revenue constituting a large portion of states and the regional economy, such losses can have lasting impacts without additional measures set to maximize water use efficiency. Thank you for visiting nature.com. USDA. Evapotranspiration (ET) is one of the largest data gaps in water management due to the limited availability of measured evapotranspiration data, and because ET spatial variability is difficult to characterize at various scales. Salam, Y. This study was intended to, Irrigation management practices that reduce water use with acceptable impacts on yield are important strategies to cope with diminished water supplies and generate new sources of water to transfer for other agricultural uses, and urban and environmental demands. There was a higher squash yield and lower IWUE in SS than WS. Water scarcity is a critical issue for agriculture, and hence, efficient management and conservation practices for agricultural water use are essential for adapting to and mitigating the impacts of current and future discrepancy between water supplies and water demands. Virtual groundwater transfers from overexploited aquifers in the United States. If groundwater extraction occurs, the accessible portion of water is back-calculated from the total water supply and water withdrawals in the historical calibration period of GCAM-USA. Drip irrigation applied for 2 years (20062007) in the postharvest period had a positive effect on all studied traits in both summer stalks and green spears in 20072008. Tapping unsustainable groundwater stores for agricultural production in the High Plains Aquifer of Kansas, projections to 2110. For example, the California River basin experiences revenue losses similar to production losses (Fig. Estimated Groundwater Withdrawals from Principal Aquifers in the United States, 2015 (No. Additionally, the cross-sectoral price of water is assumed to remain disproportionate as the agricultural sector pay 1% of what all other sectors pay for water. However, its use can have drawbacks to both soil and micro-irrigation systems, especially when the total solids in the wastewater are high, such as in digestate liquid fractions (DLF) from plant material. Agricultural water conservation a serious look Manag. https://www.iaee.org/en/publications/ejarticle.aspx?id=2168. Nonrenewable groundwater extraction in the U.S. is estimated to have more than doubled since 1960 and is projected to at least double again by the end of the century5. Li, X. et al. Change 136(2), 217231 (2016). Environ. Studies have investigated the implications of raising the price of water for irrigation, often finding that as prices increase, farmers are encouraged to invest in highly efficient irrigation practices to require less water while maintaining profit margins27, 28. Assessment of Visual Quality, Soil Moisture and Performance of an ET-Based Smart Controller, Impact of Partial Root Drying and Soil Mulching on Squash Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Arid, Estimation of Sensible and Latent Heat Fluxes Using Surface Renewal Method: Case Study of a Tea Plantation, Evaluating Irrigation and Farming Systems with Solar MajiPump in Ethiopia, Water-Use Efficiency and Productivity Improvements in Surface Irrigation Systems, Assessment of Landsat-Based Evapotranspiration Using Weighing Lysimeters in the Texas High Plains, Feasibility of Moderate Deficit Irrigation as a Water Conservation Tool in Californias Low Desert Alfalfa, Modeling the Effects of Irrigation Water Salinity on Growth, Yield and Water Productivity of Barley in Three Contrasted Environments, Feeding Emitters for Microirrigation with a Digestate Liquid Fraction up to 25% Dilution Did Not Reduce Their Performance, Adoption of Water-Conserving Irrigation Practices among Row-Crop Growers in Mississippi, USA. Scientific Reports Therefore, improving irrigation water use efficiency and developing water conservation strategies is crucial for maintaining urban green infrastructure. Practical and sustainable water management systems are needed in arid regions due to water shortages and climate change. Background Even though the campus enrollment has more than tripled since 1969, the Davis campus is using about the same amount of water as it did in the 1970s. 4). In contrast, 50% HF-DLF increased pH by around a half point and such difference increased with time. Daily, seven-day running average, monthly, and seasonal satellite-based ET data were compared with corresponding lysimeter ET data. distribution and use in California is important to decision-making at the policy and farm levels, but is currently lacking. The current assumption in GCAM-USA is that the agricultural sector will pay 1% the cost of water as all other sectors26. Wada, Y. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). Positive values represent increases in withdrawals after sustainable measures are implemented, whereas negative values represent declines in overall withdrawals when compared to the reference scenario. You are accessing a machine-readable page. Past and future contribution of global groundwater depletion to sea-level rise. The Water Conservation Act of 2009, passed as part of the landmark water reform legislation, set well-publicized targets for urban conservation, but contained some requirements for agriculture as well. This scenario assumes that nonrenewable groundwater may be pumped from a basin after water demands exceed an accessible level (Kim et al., 2016) and is available at higher costs. Seaber, P. R., Kapinos, F. P., & Knapp, G. L. Hydrologic Unit Maps (1987). wrote the paper, N.T.G., P.P., M.B. These impacts are derived from five different general circulation models (GCM). The PacInst Paper defines four major water conservation strategies, implying the availability of major water savings, while downplaying or ignoring the Paper authors' own cautions such as "We note that a more detailed economic assessment is needed to capture the social, economic, and environmental benefits and costs of these improvements" (page . Article 42, 169180 (2017). However, water and crop productivity could be further improved in the combined use of MajiPump with CA and drip irrigation (i.e., 38% and 33% water productivity and 43% and 36% crop productivity improvements were observed for potato and onion, respectively). 913). The objective of this study is to assess satellite based-ET estimation accuracy using measured ET from large weighing lysimeters. Famiglietti, J. S. The global groundwater crisis. Irrigation management practices that reduce water use with acceptable impacts on yield are important strategies to cope with diminished water supplies and generate new sources of water to transfer for other agricultural uses, and urban and environmental demands. Water Manag. Groundwater depletion embedded in domestic transfers and international exports of the United States. This is calculated using the global hydrologic model Xanthos37, 38 which calculates the percentage of runoff that is stable in dry years while requiring 10% of streamflow maintained for environmental purposes26, 35. We focus on the United States as an example due to the drastic spatial differences in both groundwater pumping and means of meeting agricultural demands (e.g., rain-fed production in much of the east, and significant irrigation in the southwest). State Water Plan for the state of Texas. There is a need . most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal. For the purposes of this study, we use GCAM-USA, an open-source, community model that represents the interactions among energy, water, agriculture and land use, economy, and climate systems globally with state-level details in the U.S. (Methods). the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, Taking agricultural conservation seriously | California WaterBlog Sci. Ag and food sectors and the economy. Huang, Z. et al. Proc. Tsur, Y. Please let us know what you think of our products and services. Without question, we must continue on our trajectory of making California farming more water-efficient. GCAM-USA models agricultural production and demands at the HUC-2 basin level with land use competition following a logit-model of sharing driven by the profitability of competing uses of land. Google Scholar. Currently, agriculture accounts (on average) for 70 percent of all freshwater withdrawals globally (and an even higher share of "consumptive water use" due to the evapotranspiration of crops). Analysis of irrigation water tariffs and taxes in Europe. Nat. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. Nat. 2), reaching nearly 20% total revenue loss in the Sustainable GW+No Subsidy scenario. Understanding water risk and the importance of water conservation in agriculture is fundamental to ensuring a balance of sustainability and profitability. By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. We monitored the response of hybrid bermudagrass and tall fescue to varying irrigation treatments, including irrigation levels (percentages of reference evapotranspiration, ET, Research-based information regarding the accuracy and reliability of smart irrigation controllers for autonomous landscape irrigation water conservation is limited in central California. Groundwater depletion embedded in international food trade. Water requirements of asparagus were calculated on the base of reference evapotranspiration and crop coefficients. The importance of California's agricultural water supplies Our results suggest broader qualitative implications for the global agricultural system. Iyer, G. et al. Editors Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. The inter-sectoral impact model intercomparison project (ISIMIP): Project framework. This analysis uses GCAM-USA, of the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM) version 5.2, to investigate the impacts of limiting available renewable water to the calculated accessible portion, reducing the amount of allowed nonrenewable groundwater extraction, and varying the water price subsidy on the agricultural sector in the United States. The seven-year-old law is supposed to stop the over-pumping . As this demand exceeds renewable thresholds, countries are increasing their depletion of nonrenewable groundwater, which results in significant increases in unsustainable utilizations of water. Agriculture - Department Of Water Resources The capacity of the MajiPumps (MP400 and MP200) was tested for the discharge head and discharge using three types of solar panels (150 W and 200 W rigid, and 200 W flexible). Johnson, J., Johnson, P. N., Segarra, E. & Willis, D. Water conservation policy alternatives for the Ogallala Aquifer in Texas. This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, as part of research in Multi-Sector Dynamics, Earth and Environmental System Modeling Program. Project WET is now over 15 years old and has reached 14,374 . Our results suggest that in the absence of such measures, dry agricultural regions with high reliance on irrigation might face severe agricultural revenue losses as production shifts elsewhere. Dogan, M. S., Buck, I., Medellin-Azuara, J. permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17400-4, https://water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/SGMA-Groundwater-Management, https://www.twdb.texas.gov/waterplanning/swp/2017/index.asp, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/ag-and-food-sectors-andthe-economy/, https://www.iaee.org/en/publications/ejarticle.aspx?id=2168, https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-26174.pdf, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Contributions of healthier diets and agricultural productivity toward sustainability and climate goals in the United States. Open Res. Both assumptions allow for the possibility of altered spatial and temporal water availability. Also included are agricultural supply and demands at the HUC-2 basin level scale (Hydrologic Unit Codes46) same resolution as GCAMs 235 river basins) within the United States, and livestock and primary energy mining modeled at the United States regional level. Oqallala Aquifer Initiative. This article identifies irrigated row-crop farmer factors associated with the adoption of water-conserving practices. Softw. The sensitivity of future nationwide economic agricultural revenues to these assumptions is rather modest (1%-5% across all sensitivity cases under the Sustainable GW+No Subsidy scenario, see Supplementary Fig. Economic impacts of selected water conservation policies in the Ogallala Aquifer. 49(12), 78647873 (2013). Medelln-Azuara, J., Howitt, R. E. & Harou, J. J. permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. This work was carried out during the 20142019 period in three crops, namely, barley, corn, and sorghum, in an irrigation district, showing the results of a methodology applied to gravity irrigation systems to increase the WUE. The water productivity of garlic, cabbage, potato, and maize was increased by 256%, 43%, 53%, and 9%, respectively, under CA as compared to conventional tillage (CT) even under overhead irrigation. & Troy, T. J. We report results from the waterscarce region of Minqin County, where 87% of Chinese farmers interviewed responded that they use plastic mulch to conserve water and 53% to increase yields. 46). https://www.twdb.texas.gov/waterplanning/swp/2017/index.asp (2017). Open Res. It is equally important to use soil management and water-saving systems. Google Scholar. Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI. No clogging was found, which likely depended on both the shape of the emitter and the high-pressure head (200 kPa). Turner, S. W., Hejazi, M., Yonkofski, C., Kim, S. H. & Kyle, P. Influence of groundwater extraction costs and resource depletion limits on simulated global nonrenewable water withdrawals over the twenty-first century. & Brabez, F. Modelling farmers responses to irrigation water policies in Algeria: An economic assessment of volumetric irrigation prices and quotas in the Jijel-Taher irrigated perimeter. Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. 2). Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Water resources are under huge pressure given the current projections for population increase and demand for food on the one hand, and climate change on the other. 1). Water Conservation in Agriculture | Bayer Global Energy J. Likewise, the availability of desalination may allow for additional water in areas with seawater desalination capabilities, which in turn would decrease pressures on other sources of water. Keeping It Down on the Farm: Agricultural Water Use Efficiency However, little is known about the impacts of such sustainability strategies. California is elevating environmental justice in groundwater rights When the most stringent sustainability measures are taken, the California River basin experiences nearly 25% total revenue loss. Satellite-based ET estimation has been shown to have great potential. Our school education program, Project WET - Water Education for Teachers - is built on this wise statement. This practice is projected to continue into the future12, 13. This per capita reduction has been achieved through both efficiency and conservation efforts.
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