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Sustainable Irrigation System and Wastewater Engineering

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 4911

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: sustainable agricultural water management; wastewater treatment and reuse; nature-based solutions, evapotranspiration, irrigation systems
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water availability worldwide is decreasing rapidly owing to a series of factors, including demographic pressure, agricultural and industrial development, climate change, and growing food demand. The sustainable management of water resources is urgent, particularly in the agricultural sector, which represents the economic environment in which water consumption is highest.

The sustainability of irrigation practices can improve with the use of advanced irrigation techniques in order to obtain satisfactory yields and be economically cost-effective. Furthermore, the use of treated wastewater for irrigation can play an important role in water resource management and increase the environmental and economic sustainability of the entire production process. Indeed, the agronomic use of reclaimed water has many advantages, such as the reduction of conventional water use, the reduction of damage caused to the environment by dumping untreated or poorly treated wastewater into water bodies, the improvement of soil fertility by delivering nutrient compounds held in wastewater and, consequently, economic benefits for farmers due to the reduction of the amount of fertilizers required for the crops.

For the success of wastewater reuse, however, treatment processes with low environmental impacts, reduced energy consumption and few unwanted/harmful by-products must be adopted.

The main topics of this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Non-conventional water resources for agricultural production;
  • New techniques and nature-based solutions for wastewater treatment and reuse;
  • Innovative and sustainable irrigation methods, systems and practices for non-conventional water use;
  • Water saving irrigation techniques;
  • Safety, socio-economics and regulatory aspects of agricultural wastewater reuse;
  • Nutrient and fertilizer management in wastewater irrigation;
  • Effects of wastewater reuse on soil, plants and environment;
  • Wastewater use management at the farm and regional scale.

Dr. Mirco Milani
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • non-conventional water resources
  • wastewater treatment technologies
  • nature-based solutions
  • irrigation water management
  • sustainable irrigation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2367 KiB  
Article
Evaluating Supplementary Water Methodology with Saturated Soil Irrigation for Yield and Water Productivity Improvement in Semi-Arid Rainfed Rice System, Burkina Faso
by Aimé Sévérin Kima, Etienne Kima, Bernard Bacyé, Paule A. W. Ouédraogo, Ousmane Traore, Seydou Traore, Hervé Nandkangré, Wen-Guey Chung and Yu-Min Wang
Sustainability 2020, 12(12), 4819; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124819 - 12 Jun 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2222
Abstract
Saturated soil irrigation (SSI) has been reported as a great technique that increases water productivity in fully irrigated rice cultivation. However, this technique should be employed in a dry prone area where rainfalls fail to fulfill rice water requirements and fill up reservoirs [...] Read more.
Saturated soil irrigation (SSI) has been reported as a great technique that increases water productivity in fully irrigated rice cultivation. However, this technique should be employed in a dry prone area where rainfalls fail to fulfill rice water requirements and fill up reservoirs for sufficient irrigation. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to identify the most effective complementary irrigation that restores soil moisture to saturation and increases water productivity with fewer yield expenses. The study used a complete randomized blocks design with four replications and four soil saturation treatments: Sat200% (farmer practice), Sat160%, Sat120%, and Sat80%. In Sat160%, Sat120%, and Sat80% irrigation was applied once a week in the absence of rainfall. In Sat200%, water was daily applied except the day of rain. The results showed that reductions in soil saturation decreased plant height, tillers, and leaves number by 10%, 18%, and 14%, respectively. Yield and components were reduced between 26.09% and 4.8%. Weekly soil saturation at 120% exhibited greater irrigation productivity (0.69 kg/m3), rainwater productivity (1.02 kg/m3), and water-saving (90.53%) with less production penalty (5 × 10−3 kg/m3). We advocate that saturated soil irrigation should be recommended in the rainfed rice system as a drought mitigation measure in semi-arid conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Irrigation System and Wastewater Engineering)
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14 pages, 3585 KiB  
Article
What is the Redline Water Withdrawal for Crop Production in China?—Projection to 2030 Derived from the Past Twenty-Year Trajectory
by Feng Huang and Baoguo Li
Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4188; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104188 - 20 May 2020
Viewed by 2047
Abstract
The Chinese government set up a redline for water resources in 2011, mandating water withdrawals and management criteria to the year 2030. ‘How much water is required to produce sufficient crop to feed a 1.6 billion population in 2030?’ becomes a crucial question [...] Read more.
The Chinese government set up a redline for water resources in 2011, mandating water withdrawals and management criteria to the year 2030. ‘How much water is required to produce sufficient crop to feed a 1.6 billion population in 2030?’ becomes a crucial question to be addressed. The objectives of this study are to: (1) document crop water use and productivity from 1998 to 2017 and (2) define the redline water withdrawal for crop use (REWCU) to 2030. The study inversely inferred REWCU from broadly-defined available water for crop use (BAWCU) and associated parameters. Of all BAWCU, 66.3% had been consumed by crops, in which rainfall-derived water consumption accounted for 71.7% of it, while the irrigation-derived water consumption represented the remaining 28.2%. Of all the rainfall that was available for crop use, 72.1%, or the rainfall depletion rate, had been actually consumed by crop evapotranspiration (ET). Likewise, 55.2%, or the irrigation depletion rate, had been consumed by crops. Crop water productivity (CWP) measured by crop yield per unit ET was computed for six major crop categories. Five broad scenarios have been formulated—business as usual, optimistic, deliberative optimistic, pessimistic, and deliberative pessimistic—under lower, higher, and average population and crop projections, respectively. The projected REWCU was 4166.30 × 108 m3, and the projected agricultural water withdrawal was 4629.22 × 108 m3 to 2030, representing 66.1% of the projected nationwide redline total water withdrawal (RETWW) of 7000 × 108 m3. The study used CWP and BAWCU to inversely infer REWCU since they reflect diverse biophysical and management factors and can be used as reliable proxies. Both methodology and research results may offer references and support when making nation- and region-wide water-for-food decisions by crop and water administrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Irrigation System and Wastewater Engineering)
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