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Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 55520

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Vito Cantore

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Guest Editor

Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council (CNR-ISPA), Bari, Italy
Interests: evapotranspiration; irrigation management; water stress; salinity stress; water use efficiency; sustainable water management; vegetables; irrigation DSS; sustainable fertilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Francesca Boari

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Guest Editor

Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council (CNR-ISPA), Bari, Italy
Interests: evapotranspiration; irrigation management; water quality; ecophysiology; abiotic stress; vegetables; yield quality
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Prof. Dr. Mladen Todorovic

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Guest Editor

CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Bari, Italy
Interests: water management in agriculture; irrigation; soil water balance and crop growth modelling; climate change impact; adaptation and mitigation; eco-efficiency
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Dr. Angelo Parente

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Guest Editor

Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council (CNR-ISPA), Via Amendola, 122/O, 70125, Bari, Italy
Interests: open field and greenhouse horticulture; soilless cultivation techniques; sensor-based fertigation management; improvement of water use efficiency in horticulture; mineral plant nutrition; composting and reuse of organic waste materials; yield and quality of vegetables

Prof. Ioannis L. Tsirogiannis

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, UoI Kostakii Campus, University of Ioannina, 47040 Arta, Greece
Interests: design, management, and auditing of irrigation; drainage systems
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Dr. Nikolaos Malamos

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural Technology, Theodoropoulou Terma, 27200, Amaliada, Greece
Interests: mathematical simulation and analysis of water resources systems (with emphasis in agricultural uses); soil–water movement; soil–water–plants–atmosphere relationships; water resources management; irrigation techniques; hydroinformatics; spatial analysis
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Dr. Francesco Fabiano Montesano

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Guest Editor

Institute of Sciences of Food Production, National Research Council (CNR-ISPA), Via Amendola, 122/O, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: greenhouse cultivation techniques; soilless cultivation techniques; sensor-based fertigation management in horticulture; improvement of water use efficiency in horticulture; mineral plant nutrition; biofortification of vegetables
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

On the global scale, only 20% of agricultural land is currently irrigated. Nevertheless, it produces more than 40% of the world’s food requirements. In the years to come, the demand for water in agriculture will continue to grow to meet the increase in food needs for an ever-growing world population. Moreover, the impact of climate variability and change on agricultural production will be enhanced, which will trigger additional water needs in the agricultural sector and a possible extension of irrigated land. However, fresh water resources are limited (especially in irrigated, usually arid and semiarid, regions), where water requirements of other sectors (domestic, industrial, environment) are expected to increase as well. Therefore, the challenge of irrigated agriculture is to produce more food of better quality with less water and with an optimized use of other resources, like nutrients and energy.

To respond to the above challenge, a myriad of climate-smart irrigation options has been under investigation in the last few years, including the adoption of new cultivars which are more resistant to abiotic stresses, the latest generation of monitoring sensors and irrigation management tools, integration of remote sensing and field data to optimize plant response to specific growing conditions, novel management strategies based on sustainable and eco-efficient use of resources, use of anti-transpirants, organic mulching material, soil conditioners, etc.

The general objective of this Special Issue (SI) is, therefore, to gather the results of the most recent research on climate smart irrigation practices and techniques that can be applied to promote sustainable crop cultivation under various pedo-climatic conditions and constraints. In particular, the research topics related to the efficient management of irrigation both in an open field and in greenhouses will be covered in this issue.

All types of manuscripts (original research, reviews, short communications, letters to editor, and discussions) are welcome.

Articles may include but are not limited to the following topics:

Agronomic practices (e.g., sowing/planting methods, soil management, cultivars) that can lead to water saving;
Irrigation strategies and techniques that optimize water, nutrient, and energy use;
Advanced tools, sensors, and monitoring techniques for sustainable irrigation management;
Use of nonconventional water resources for irrigation (treated wastewater, saline and brackish water);
Innovative approaches for performance evaluation of irrigation at farm and scheme scale.

Dr. Vito Cantore
Dr. Francesca Boari
Prof. Mladen Todorovic
Dr. Angelo Parente
Prof. Ioannis L. Tsirogiannis
Dr. Nikolaos Malamos
Dr. Francesco Fabiano Montesano

Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

water use efficiency
water saving
DSS
climate change
irrigation management tools
nonconventional water resources

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Published Papers (14 papers)

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13 pages, 1331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cool- and Warm-Season Turfgrass Irrigation with Subsurface Drip and Sprinkler Methods Using Different Water Management Strategies and Tools

by Abdül Halim Orta, Mladen Todorovic and Yeşim Ahi

Water 2023, 15(2), 272; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15020272 - 9 Jan 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2324

Abstract

This study compared the performances of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) to sprinkler irrigation (SI) of cool-season turf mix (CS) and warm-season (WS) turfgrass species while investigating their response to different irrigation scheduling strategies. Moreover, the suitability of crop water stress index (CWSI) for monitoring water stress and scheduling irrigation was tested. Irrigation was applied up to the field capacity when 30%, 50% and 70% of total available water was consumed. All parameters, including color, quality, fresh yield, dry matter yield, irrigation water productivity, water productivity, vegetation height and mowing, differed significantly for different irrigation methods and water supply strategies for both species. The best visual turf was maintained under non-limiting soil moisture conditions (30%) in all main and sub-treatments. At this irrigation threshold, maximum and minimum amounts of irrigation water were applied in SI CS treatment (523.5 mm) and SDI WS treatment (298.6 mm), respectively. Warm-season turf required up to 40% less water than cool-season turf mix. In the water-scarce regions, 50% treatment for cool-season and 70% treatment for warm-season can be suggested for acceptable visual quality, lower water consumption and less frequent clipping. The mean CWSI before irrigation, representing irrigation threshold, ranged between 0.22–0.70. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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18 pages, 1083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lebanese Cannabis: Agronomic and Essential Oil Characteristics as Affected by Sowing Date and Irrigation Practice

by Rhend Sleiman, Marie Therese Abi Saab, Jocelyne Adjizian Gerard, Salim Fahed, Ali Chehade, Abdel Kader Elhajj, Adla Jammoul, Georges Mansour, Mohamed Houssemeddine Sellami, Mladen Todorovic and Rossella Albrizio

Water 2022, 14(23), 3842; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14233842 - 25 Nov 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2057

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out in Lebanon to assess the agronomic and essential oil characteristics of cannabis as affected by sowing date and irrigation practice. The experiment consisted of a split-plot design with the water regime being the main factor (I_opt-irrigated when the readily available soil water is depleted; I₅₀- receiving 50% of the irrigation amounts in I_opt treatments) and sowing date as the sub-plot factor (mid-April; end of April; mid-May). Biometric and seed quality parameters of the cannabis crop were determined. The essential oils (EO) of the inflorescence were subjected to a multivariate analysis such as principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The obtained results revealed that the aboveground fresh biomass, the dry matter, and the plant height were 55.08%, 59.62%, and 43.11% higher in I_opt than in I₅₀, respectively. However, the EO content was neither statistically affected by the irrigation regime nor by the sowing date. Under early sowing, both the water-use efficiency (WUE) for biomass and the EO production reached their highest values. All treatments presented a similar seed composition except that the crude fat and crude protein content were more elevated in I_opt than in I₅₀ treatments. The main extracted essential oils in cannabis inflorescence corresponded to twenty-six identified compounds representing 79.34% of the monoterpenes and 81.25% of the sesquiterpenes. The monoterpenes were highly correlated with the irrigation treatment and early-April sowing while the sesquiterpenes were better enhanced under I₅₀ and end of April to mid-May sowing. The study reveals that agronomic practices lead to differential responses of pharmacologically useful plant compounds for improved health benefits. Further research is required to clarify the potential for cannabis cultivation in Lebanon. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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14 pages, 2669 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Can Precise Irrigation Support the Sustainability of Protected Cultivation? A Life-Cycle Assessment and Life-Cycle Cost Analysis

by Kledja Canaj, Angelo Parente, Massimiliano D’Imperio, Francesca Boari, Vito Buono, Michele Toriello, Andi Mehmeti and Francesco Fabiano Montesano

Water 2022, 14(1), 6; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14010006 - 21 Dec 2021

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5489

Abstract

To address sustainability challenges, agricultural advances in Mediterranean horticultural systems will necessitate a paradigmatic shift toward smart technologies, the impacts of which from a life cycle perspective have to be explored. Using life cycle thinking approaches, this study evaluated the synergistic environmental and economic performance of precise irrigation in greenhouse Zucchini production following a cradle-to-farm gate perspective. A cloud-based decision support system and a sensor-based irrigation management system (both referred to as “smart irrigation” approaches) were analyzed and compared to the farmer’s experience-based irrigation. The potential environmental indicators were quantified using life cycle assessment (LCA) with the ReCiPe 2016 method. For the economic analysis, life cycle costing (LCC) was applied, accounting not only for private product costs but also for so-called “hidden” or “external” environmental costs by monetizing LCA results. Smart irrigation practices exhibited similar performance, consuming on average 38.2% less irrigation water and energy, thus generating environmental benefits ranging from 0.17% to 62%. Single score results indicated that life cycle environmental benefits are up to 13% per ton of product. The cost-benefit analysis results showed that even though the implementation of smart irrigation imposes upfront investment costs, these costs are offset by the benefits to water and energy conservation associated with these practices. The reduction of investment costs and higher water costs in future, and lower internal rate of return can further enhance the profitability of smart irrigation strategies. The overall results of this study highlight that smart and innovative irrigation practices can enhance water-energy efficiency, gaining an economic advantage while also reducing the environmental burdens of greenhouse cultivation in a Mediterranean context. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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12 pages, 1650 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Adaptive Agricultural Strategies for Facing Water Deficit in Sweet Maize Production: A Case Study of a Semi-Arid Mediterranean Region

by Lea Piscitelli, Milica Colovic, Adel Aly, Mohamad Hamze, Mladen Todorovic, Vito Cantore and Rossella Albrizio

Water 2021, 13(22), 3285; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13223285 - 20 Nov 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3335 | Correction

Abstract

Maize is a crucial global commodity, which is used not only for food, but also as an alternative crop in biogas production and as a major energy-supply ingredient in animal diets. However, climate change is jeopardizing current maize production due to its direct impact on weather instability and water availability or its indirect effects on regional climate suitability loss. Hence, new areas for sweet maize cultivation should be considered in the future. Therefore, this study focuses on the possibility of producing maize in a challenging environment in Southern Italy considering rainfed cultivation and two irrigation regimes (full and deficit). The experiment was conducted during two subsequent growing seasons under semi-arid Mediterranean climate conditions. The overall results indicated a significant difference in biomass and yield between irrigated and non-irrigated treatments, and between full and deficit irrigation. Sweet maize cultivated under deficit irrigation gained less biomass than under full irrigation and its development and fruit maturation were delayed. Under deficit irrigation, the plants gave lower yields and a higher percentage of the panicle weight consisted of kernels. Irrigation water productivity was higher for deficit than for full irrigated treatment. These findings indicate the feasibility of sweet maize production in semi-arid areas of Southern Italy using adaptive agricultural strategies including deficit irrigation and controlled water stress. Given the importance of maize production, understanding of maize growth and productivity in a challenging environment may support future agricultural programming and thereby contribute e to mitigation of the direct and indirect effects of climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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20 pages, 6545 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Integrated Aquifer Management Approach for Aridification-Affected Agricultural Area, Shengeldy-Kazakhstan

by Vladimir Mirlas, Assyl Makyzhanova, Vitaly Kulagin, Erghan Kuldeev and Yaakov Anker

Water 2021, 13(17), 2357; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13172357 - 27 Aug 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2390

Abstract

Ongoing water-resource depletion is a common trend in southeastern Kazakhstan and in most of Central Asia, making the use of drainage water for freshwater preservation and groundwater recharge a key strategy for sustainable agriculture. Since the Ily River inflow began to decrease, groundwater levels in the Shengeldy study area site have fallen below the drainage pipes. As such, our main research hypothesis was that owing to drainage infiltration, the regional shallow aquifer can be used as an effective additional water source for moistening crop root systems during the irrigation period. The MODFLOW groundwater flow model was used to simulate and quantitatively assess the combined hydrogeological and irrigation conditions of artificial groundwater recharge both from the subsurface drainage and as an additional source for irrigation. The field study showed that the additional groundwater table elevation will reach approximately 1.5 m under the field drainage system and that the additional groundwater recharge influence zone will develop up to 300–350 m from the drains. The MODFLOW simulation together with full-scale experimental studies suggests that under certain conditions drainage water can be applied both as an additional source of irrigation and for aquifer sustainable maintenance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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17 pages, 3987 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Reclaimed Water for Vineyard Irrigation in a Mediterranean Context: Life Cycle Environmental Impacts, Life Cycle Costs, and Eco-Efficiency

by Kledja Canaj, Domenico Morrone, Rocco Roma, Francesca Boari, Vito Cantore and Mladen Todorovic

Water 2021, 13(16), 2242; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162242 - 17 Aug 2021

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4091

Abstract

The agricultural sector in the Mediterranean region, is increasingly using reclaimed water as an additional source for irrigation. However, there is a limited number of case studies about product-based life cycle analysis to ensure that the overall benefits of reclaimed water do indeed outweigh the impacts. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methods are used in this study to investigate the environmental impacts and costs of vineyard cropping systems when tertiary reclaimed water is used as a supplementary source of irrigation water (integrated system). The conventional production system utilizing 100% groundwater was used as a reference system. As a proxy for sustainability, eco-efficiency, which combines economic and environmental performance, was assessed. The LCA revealed that the integrated system could reduce the net environmental impact by 23.8% due to lower consumption of irrigation water (−50%), electricity (−27.7%), and chemical fertilizers (−22.6%). Nevertheless, trade-offs between economics and the environment occurred as an integrated system is associated with higher life cycle costs and lower economic returns due to lower crop yield (−9.1%). The combined eco-efficiency assessment (ratio of economic value added to total environmental impact) revealed that the integrated system outperformed in terms of eco-efficiency by 12.6% due to lower environmental impacts. These results confirmed that reclaimed water could help to ensure an economically profitable yield with net environmental benefits. Our results provided an up-to-date and consistent life cycle analysis contributing to the creation of a valuable knowledge base for the associated costs and benefits of vineyard cultivation with treated wastewater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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19 pages, 1926 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

LCA-Based Environmental Performance of Olive Cultivation in Northwestern Greece: From Rainfed to Irrigated through Conventional and Smart Crop Management Practices

by Konstantina Fotia, Andi Mehmeti, Ioannis Tsirogiannis, George Nanos, Andreas P. Mamolos, Nikolaos Malamos, Pantelis Barouchas and Mladen Todorovic

Water 2021, 13(14), 1954; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13141954 - 16 Jul 2021

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5138

Abstract

Olive cultivation is expanding rapidly in the northwestern part of Greece, under both rainfed and irrigated practices. Irrigation can result in larger yields and economic returns, but trade-offs in the water–energy–pollution nexus remain a controversial and challenging issue. This study presents an environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Greek olive orchard systems in the plain of Arta (Epirus), comparing rainfed (baseline), Decision Support System (DSS)-based (smart) irrigation practices and farmer experience-based (conventional) irrigation practices. The contributions in this paper are, first, to provide a first quantitative indication of the environmental performance of Greek olive growing systems under different management strategies, and second, to detail the advantages that can be achieved using smart irrigation in olive cultivation in the Greek and Mediterranean contexts. Eighteen midpoints (e.g., climate change, water scarcity, acidification, freshwater eutrophication, etc.), two endpoints (damages on human health and ecosystem quality), and a single score (overall environmental impact) were quantified using the IMPACT World+ life cycle impact assessment method. The LCA model was set up using the OpenLCA software v1.10.3. The functional units were 1 ton of product (mass-based) and 1 ha of cultivated area (area-based) on a cradle-to-farm gate perspective. Irrigated systems had the lowest impacts per mass unit due to higher yields, but showed the highest impacts per cultivated area. The DSS-based irrigation management could reduce water and energy use by 42.1% compared to conventional practices. This is translated into a reduction of 5.3% per 1 ton and 10.4% per 1 ha of the total environmental impact. A sensitivity analysis of impact assessment models demonstrated that the benefits could be up to 18% for 1 ton of product or 22.6% for 1 ha of cultivated land. These results outline that DSS-based irrigation is a promising option to support less resource-intensive and sustainable intensification of irrigated agriculture systems in the plain of Arta. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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18 pages, 3165 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimating Surface and Groundwater Irrigation Potential under Different Conservation Agricultural Practices and Irrigation Systems in the Ethiopian Highlands

by Abdu Y. Yimam, Tewodros T. Assefa, Feleke K. Sishu, Seifu A. Tilahun, Manuel R. Reyes and P.V. Vara Prasad

Water 2021, 13(12), 1645; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13121645 - 11 Jun 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5111

Abstract

This study was conducted at the Dangishta watershed in the Ethiopian highlands to evaluate irrigation potential from surface and groundwater sources under different farming and water application systems. Daily streamflow and the groundwater table were monitored from 2015 to 2017. Shallow groundwater recharge was estimated using the water table fluctuation method. Automated baseflow separation techniques were used to determine the amount of runoff and baseflow from the total streamflow records. The potential of groundwater and runoff to sustain dry season irrigation (i.e., low flow) was evaluated considering two tillage systems (i.e., conservation agriculture, CA; and conventional tillage, CT), and water application (i.e., drip and overhead) systems for major irrigated crops (i.e., onion, garlic, cabbage, and pepper) grown in the Dangishta watershed. We found that the annual groundwater recharge varied from 320 to 358 mm during the study period, which was about 17% to 22% of the annual rainfall. The annual surface runoff depth ranged from 192 to 268 mm from 2015 to 2017. The results reveal that the maximum seasonal irrigable land from groundwater recharge was observed under CA with drip irrigation (i.e., 2251 and 2992 ha from groundwater recharge and surface runoff, respectively). By comparison, in the CT practice with overhead irrigation, the lowest seasonal irrigable land was observed (i.e., 1746 and 2121 ha from groundwater and surface runoff, respectively). From the low flow analysis, about 199 and 173 ha of one season’s irrigable land could be irrigated using the CA and CT systems, respectively, both with drip irrigation. Similarly, two-season overhead irrigation potential from low flow under CA and CT was found to be about 87 and 76 ha, respectively. The dry season irrigable land using low flow could be increased from 9% to 16% using the CA system for the various vegetables, whereas drip irrigation could increase the irrigable land potential by 56% compared to overhead irrigation. The combined use of groundwater recharge and runoff could sustain up to 94% of the dry season low flow irrigation through the combination of the CA system and drip irrigation. Decision makers must consider the introduction of feasible and affordable technologies to make use of groundwater and direct runoff, to maximize the potential of dry season production through efficient and appropriate CA and water management practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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17 pages, 2401 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Are Water User Associations Prepared for a Second-Generation Modernization? The Case of the Valencian Community (Spain)

by César González-Pavón, Jaime Arviza-Valverde, Ibán Balbastre-Peralta, José Miguel Carot Sierra and Guillermo Palau-Salvador

Water 2020, 12(8), 2136; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082136 - 28 Jul 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4357

Abstract

This work focuses on the situation of the technological transition to new technologies in drip irrigation in the Valencian Community (Spain). The study covers the last decade with data from interviews to managers of Irrigation Communities in 2010 and 2018. We analyze the main technological problems in seven topics: (i) Catchment & Pumping; (ii) Storage & Regulation; (iii) Treatment & Filtering; (iv) Transport & Distribution; (v) Maneuver, Regulation & Protection; (vi) Automation; (vii) Theft and Vandalism. We also have researched the influence of the performance of the Automation system, the presence of a technician in the Irrigation Community and the use of sensors or climatic data. Results show that problems related to technological maintenance of filtering systems or automation are very common and important and they are more important in large Irrigation Communities. We have also observed that mostly large ICs are using sensors or climatic data for their irrigation schedule. We can conclude that their current situation is focused in the daily maintenance of technological problems, inherited from the first modernization processes at the beginning of 21st century. Hence, they are far away from a second stage of modernization or the smart irrigation pushed by the new advances on technology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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25 pages, 2011 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Application of Ground-Based and Satellite Remote Sensing for Estimation of Bio-Physiological Parameters of Wheat Grown Under Different Water Regimes

by Nada Mzid, Vito Cantore, Giuseppe De Mastro, Rossella Albrizio, Mohamed Houssemeddine Sellami and Mladen Todorovic

Water 2020, 12(8), 2095; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12082095 - 24 Jul 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3922

Abstract

Remote sensing technologies have been widely studied for the estimation of crop biometric and physiological parameters. The number of sensors and data acquisition methods have been increasing, and their evaluation is becoming a necessity. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of two remote sensing data for describing the variations of biometric and physiological parameters of durum wheat grown under different water regimes (rainfed, 50% and 100% of irrigation requirements). The experimentation was carried out in Policoro (Southern Italy) for two growing seasons. The Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 images and radiometric ground-based data were acquired regularly during the growing season with plant biometric (leaf area index and dry aboveground biomass) and physiological (stomatal conductance, net assimilation, and transpiration rate) parameters. Water deficit index was closely related to plant water status and crop physiological parameters. The enhanced vegetation index showed slightly better performance than the normalized difference vegetation index when plotted against the leaf area index with R² = 0.73. The overall results indicated that the ground-based vegetation indices were in good agreement with the satellite-based indices. The main constraint for effective application of satellite-based indices remains the presence of clouds during the acquisition time, which is particularly relevant for winter–spring crops. Therefore, the integration of remote sensing and field data might be needed to optimize plant response under specific growing conditions and to enhance agricultural production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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20 pages, 3706 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Impact of Climate Change on Paddy Water Balance Using APEX-Paddy Model

by Mohammad Kamruzzaman, Syewoon Hwang, Soon-Kun Choi, Jaepil Cho, Inhong Song, Jung-hun Song, Hanseok Jeong, Taeil Jang and Seung-Hwan Yoo

Water 2020, 12(3), 852; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12030852 - 18 Mar 2020

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5384 | Correction

Abstract

This research aims to assess the impact of climate change on water balance components in irrigated paddy cultivation. The APEX-Paddy model, which is the modified version of the APEX (Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender) model for paddy ecosystems, was used to evaluate the paddy water balance components considering future climate scenarios. The bias-corrected future projections of climate data from 29 GCMs (General Circulation Models) were applied to the APEX-Paddy model simulation. The study area (Jeonju station) forecasts generally show increasing patterns in rainfall, maximum temperature, and minimum temperature with a rate of up to 23%, 27%, and 45%, respectively. The hydrological simulations suggest over-proportional runoff–rainfall and under-proportional percolation and deep-percolation–rainfall relationships for the modeled climate scenarios. Climate change scenarios showed that the evapotranspiration amount was estimated to decrease compared to the baseline period (1976–2005). The evaporation was likely to increase by 0.12%, 2.21%, and 7.81% during the 2010s, 2040s, and 2070s, respectively under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP)8.5, due to the increase in temperature. The change in evaporation was more pronounced in RCP8.5 than the RCP4.5 scenario. The transpiration is expected to reduce by 2.30% and 12.62% by the end of the century (the 2070s) under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively, due to increased CO₂ concentration. The irrigation water demand is generally expected to increase over time in the future under both climate scenarios. Compared to the baseline, the most significant change is expected to increase in the 2040s by 3.21% under RCP8.5, while the lowest increase was found by 0.36% in 2010s under RCP4.5. The increment of irrigation does not show a significant difference; the rate of increase in the irrigation was found to be greater RCP8.5 than RCP4.5 except in the 2070s. The findings of this study can play a significant role as the basis for evaluating the vulnerability of rice production concerning water management against climate change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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20 pages, 1985 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of a Water Absorbing Geocomposite on Soil Water Retention and Soil Matric Potential

by Michał Śpitalniak, Krzysztof Lejcuś, Jolanta Dąbrowska, Daniel Garlikowski and Adam Bogacz

Water 2019, 11(8), 1731; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11081731 - 20 Aug 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5353

Abstract

Climate change induces droughts that are becoming more intensive and more frequent than ever before. Most of the available forecast tools predict a further significant increase in the risk of drought, which indicates the need to prepare solutions to mitigate its effects. Growing water scarcity is now one of the world’s leading challenges. In agriculture and environmental engineering, in order to increase soil water retention, soil additives are used. In this study, the influence of a newly developed water absorbing geocomposite (WAG) on soil water retention and soil matric potential was analyzed. WAG is a special element made from geotextile which is wrapped around a synthetic skeleton with a superabsorbent polymer placed inside. To describe WAG’s influence on soil water retention and soil matric potential, coarse sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam soils were used. WAG in the form of a mat was used in the study as a treatment. Three kinds of samples were prepared for every soil type. Control samples and samples with WAG treatment placed at depths of 10 cm and 20 cm were examined in a test container of 105 × 70 × 50 cm dimensions. The samples had been watered and drained, and afterwards, the soil surface was heated by lamps of 1100 W total power constantly for 72 h. Soil matric potential was measured by Irrometer field tensiometers at three depths. Soil moisture content was recorded at six depths: of 5, 9, 15, 19, 25, and 30 cm under the top of the soil surface with time-domain reflectometry (TDR) measurement devices. The values of soil moisture content and soil matric potential were collected in one-minute steps, and analyzed in 24-h-long time steps: 24, 48, and 72 h. The samples with the WAG treatment lost more water than the control samples. Similarly, lower soil matric potential was noted in the samples with the WAG than in the control samples. However, after taking into account the water retained in the WAG, it appeared that the samples with the WAG had more water easily available for plants than the control samples. It was found that the mechanism of a capillary barrier affected higher water loss from soil layers above those where the WAG had been placed. The obtained results of water loss depend on the soil type used in the profile. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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1 pages, 157 KiB

Open AccessCorrection

Correction: Piscitelli et al. Adaptive Agricultural Strategies for Facing Water Deficit in Sweet Maize Production: A Case Study of a Semi-Arid Mediterranean Region. Water 2021, 13, 3285

by Lea Piscitelli, Milica Colovic, Adel Aly, Mohamad Hamze, Mladen Todorovic, Vito Cantore and Rossella Albrizio

Water 2022, 14(5), 679; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14050679 - 22 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1109

Abstract

There was an error in the original publication [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

2 pages, 160 KiB

Open AccessCorrection

Correction: Kamruzzaman, M., et al. Evaluating the Impact of Climate Change on Paddy Water Balance Using APEX-Paddy Model. Water 2020, 12, 852

by Mohammad Kamruzzaman, Syewoon Hwang, Soon-Kun Choi, Jaepil Cho, Inhong Song, Jung-Hun Song, Hanseok Jeong, Taeil Jang and Seung-Hwan Yoo

Water 2020, 12(4), 1221; https://doi.org/10.3390/w12041221 - 24 Apr 2020

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Abstract

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Smart Irrigation Management for Sustainable Agricultural Cultivation)

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