Special Issue "Agricultural Water Management and Irrigation Systems Assessment"

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Gonçalo C. Rodrigues
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LEAF, Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture And Food, Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: precision irrigation; farming sustainability; agroeconomics; water resource management; irrigation efficiecy; precision agriculture
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The existence and persistence of climate change as well as the global impact of all its environmental ramifications makes evident the need to resort to ancestral practices in overcoming the combined impact of two climatic phenomena―the reduction in precipitation and the increase in temperature―on water balance. The climatic variability, (in)ability to irrigate, (un)availability of water, soil fertility, risk management in the face of extreme events, favorable conditions for organisms harmful to crops, and the alteration of phytosanitary systems are the main critical variables in mitigating the expected effects of climate change on agriculture. It is essential that the efficiency of water and energy use and management is improved in a transversal way, aiming, on the one hand, to increase the economic productivity of the exploration, and, on the other, to increase the availability of water for more irrigation, accompanied by a decrease in the negative environmental impacts associated with this practice.

This Special Issue calls for contributions on the following non-exclusive list of topics: irrigation strategies for improving water use efficiency, irrigation water management and modeling under climate change scenarios, irrigation systems and technologies for improving irrigation water and energy use efficiency, individual/collective irrigation management support platforms, and precision irrigation.

Prof. Dr. Gonçalo C. Rodrigues
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • irrigation water use efficiency
  • irrigation scheduling and management
  • sustainable irrigation practices
  • climate change
  • water scarcity
  • precision irrigation
  • IoT sensors
  • irrigation networks
  • energy use efficiency
  • decision support systems
  • economic impacts of irrigation efficiency
  • irrigation system assessment

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

Article
Evaluating the Feasibility of Water Sharing as a Drought Risk Management Tool for Irrigated Agriculture
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1456; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031456 - 30 Jan 2021
Viewed by 660
Abstract
Droughts can exert significant pressure on regional water resources resulting in abstraction constraints for irrigated agriculture with consequences for productivity and revenue. While water trading can support more efficient water allocation, high transactional costs and delays in approvals often restrict its wider uptake [...] Read more.
Droughts can exert significant pressure on regional water resources resulting in abstraction constraints for irrigated agriculture with consequences for productivity and revenue. While water trading can support more efficient water allocation, high transactional costs and delays in approvals often restrict its wider uptake among users. Collaborative water sharing is an alternative approach to formal water trading that has received much less regulatory and industry attention. This study assessed how the potential benefits of water sharing to reduce water resources risks in agriculture are affected by both drought severity and the spatial scale of water-sharing agreements. The research focused on an intensively farmed lowland catchment in Eastern England, a known hot-spot for irrigation intensity and recurrent abstraction pressures. The benefits of water sharing were modelled at four spatial scales: (i) individual licence (with no water sharing), (ii) tributary water sharing among small farmer groups (iii) sub-catchment and (iv) catchment scale. The benefits of water sharing were evaluated based on the modelled reductions in the probability of an irrigation deficit occurring (reducing drought risks) and reduced licensed ‘headroom’ (spare capacity redeployed for more equitable allocation). The potential benefits of water sharing were found to increase with scale, but its impact was limited at high levels of drought severity due to regulatory drought management controls. The broader implications for water sharing to mitigate drought impacts, the barriers to wider uptake and the environmental consequences are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Water Management and Irrigation Systems Assessment)
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Article
The Price of Sustainability of a Traditional Irrigation System in Northern Thailand
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1375; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031375 - 28 Jan 2021
Viewed by 797
Abstract
In recent years in northern Thailand, the traditional surface-water irrigation system known as muang fai has been challenged by the introduction of small-scale, groundwater pumping technology. This trend presents concerns about the sustainability of the system, as the new technology uses more water [...] Read more.
In recent years in northern Thailand, the traditional surface-water irrigation system known as muang fai has been challenged by the introduction of small-scale, groundwater pumping technology. This trend presents concerns about the sustainability of the system, as the new technology uses more water but produces lower-quality agricultural outputs. In this paper, we provide evidence that farmers who use relatively modern irrigation technology (ground water pumping systems) are willing to switch to a more traditional (hundreds of years old) and more sustainable surface water irrigation system. In the Sop Rong region in northern Thailand, we surveyed 570 longan farmers, approximately half being muang fai members and half using pumped groundwater. We designed an experiment for the second group to check whether they were interested in becoming muang fai members in a scenario where they have access to the canal system. We found that almost half of them were willing to pay fees to become members and that the negative relationship between membership fees and the willingness to join is robust after controlling for all other relevant factors. Despite this positive result for sustainability, suggesting that there is a price at which many farmers would be willing to switch to a more water-saving system, few farmers are making the shift. We conclude that there are strong social pressures that discourage them from doing so. Such social influences are probably an important and often overlooked determinant of efforts to achieve sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Water Management and Irrigation Systems Assessment)
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Article
Assessment of Precise Land Levelling on Surface Irrigation Development. Impacts on Maize Water Productivity and Economics
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1191; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031191 - 23 Jan 2021
Viewed by 477
Abstract
The new technologies of surface irrigation require the adoption of effective Laser-controlled precision land levelling (PLL) to reach the high irrigation performance standards, with significant benefits on water saving, salinity control, crop productivity, and farmer’s income. This study aimed to assess the performance [...] Read more.
The new technologies of surface irrigation require the adoption of effective Laser-controlled precision land levelling (PLL) to reach the high irrigation performance standards, with significant benefits on water saving, salinity control, crop productivity, and farmer’s income. This study aimed to assess the performance and the impacts of PLL on surface irrigation systems, focusing the maize crop on the irrigation districts Hetao (China) and Lower-Mondego (Portugal). The experimental study at field scale assessed the PLL and evaluated the on-farm irrigation under precise levelled fields and well management practices. PLL operators have been inquired to improve the knowledge about hiring services. The design of surface irrigation scenarios allowed to explain the effects of field size and slope on irrigation and land levelling performance. The best practice to manage the PLL maintenance is an important issue to guarantee a high effectiveness of irrigation performance. The optimization of PLL appeals the application of best soil tillage practices and the monitoring of soil surface elevations with newest information technologies. Efficient operational guidelines to support the PLL planning, schedule, and operation, well trained operators and carefully adjusted equipment, are key factors to the improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Water Management and Irrigation Systems Assessment)
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Article
Catchworks: A Historical Water-Distribution System on Mountain Meadows in Central Slovakia
Sustainability 2021, 13(3), 1107; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031107 - 21 Jan 2021
Viewed by 471
Abstract
Water meadows or flooded meadows are known from many European countries. A historical irrigation system—catchworks—was identified in only one locality in Slovakia. This article brings a methodical approach to the identification of catchworks on mountain slopes. The main aim was to delineate catchworks [...] Read more.
Water meadows or flooded meadows are known from many European countries. A historical irrigation system—catchworks—was identified in only one locality in Slovakia. This article brings a methodical approach to the identification of catchworks on mountain slopes. The main aim was to delineate catchworks using terrain and land use geospatial data intended to supplement existing data on catchworks from the field survey. The identification of shallow and narrow channels in the field is difficult, and their detection in a digital terrain model (DTM) and orthomosaic photos is also challenging. A detailed DTM elaborated from laser scanning data was not available. Therefore, we employed break lines of a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) model created by EUROSENSE Ltd. 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia. to determine microtopographic features on mountain slopes. Orthomosaics with adjusted red (R) green (G) and blue (B) band thresholds (digital numbers) in a time sequence of 16 years (2002–2018) and the Normalized Green-Red Difference Index (NGRDI) (2018) determined vital herbaceous vegetation and higher biomass. In both cases, the vegetation inside wet functional catchworks was differently coloured from the surroundings. In the case of dry catchworks, the identification relied only on microtopography features. The length of catchworks mapped in the field (1939.12 m; 2013) was supplied with potential catchworks detected from geospatial data (2877.18; 2018) and their total length in the study area increased above 59.74% (4816.30 m). Real and potential catchworks predominantly occupied historical grassland (meadows and pastures) (1952–1957) (4430.31; 91.99%). This result corresponds with the findings of foreign studies referring that catchworks on mountain slopes were related to livestock activities. They are important elements of sustainable land use with a water retention function in traditional agricultural landscapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Water Management and Irrigation Systems Assessment)
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Article
A Simple Procedure to Estimate Reference Evapotranspiration during the Irrigation Season in a Hot-Summer Mediterranean Climate
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 349; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010349 - 02 Jan 2021
Viewed by 650
Abstract
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Penman–Monteith (PM) method is widely regarded as the most effective reference evapotranspiration (ETo) estimator; however, it requires a wide range of data that may be scarce in some rural regions. When feasible relative [...] Read more.
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Penman–Monteith (PM) method is widely regarded as the most effective reference evapotranspiration (ETo) estimator; however, it requires a wide range of data that may be scarce in some rural regions. When feasible relative humidity, solar radiation and wind speed data are unavailable, a temperature-based method may be useful to estimate ETo and provide suitable data to support irrigation management. This study has evaluated the accuracy of two ETo estimations methods: (1) a locally and monthly adjusted Hargreaves–Samani (HS) equation; (2) a simple procedure that only uses maximum temperature and a temperature adjustment coefficient (MaxTET). Results show that, if a monthly adjusted radiation adjustment coefficient (kRs) is calibrated for each site, acceptable ETo estimations (RMSE and R2 equal to 0.79 for the entire region) can be achieved. Results also show that a procedure to estimate ETo based only on maximum temperature performs acceptably, when compared with ETo estimation using PM equation (RMSE = 0.83 mm day−1 and R2 = 0.77 for Alentejo). When comparing these results with the ones attained when adopting a monthly adjusted HS method, the MaxTET procedure proves to be an accurate ETo estimator. Results also show that both methods can be used to estimate ETo when weather data are scarce. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Water Management and Irrigation Systems Assessment)
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Article
Improving Water Distribution Uniformity by Optimizing the Structural Size of the Drive Spoon Blades for a Vertical Impact Sprinkler
Sustainability 2020, 12(18), 7574; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12187574 - 14 Sep 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 488
Abstract
The aim of this study is to improve the water distribution uniformity of a vertical impact sprinkler and explore the design method of the drive spoon blades. The width of straight blades (h1), the width of curved blades (h [...] Read more.
The aim of this study is to improve the water distribution uniformity of a vertical impact sprinkler and explore the design method of the drive spoon blades. The width of straight blades (h1), the width of curved blades (h2) and number of blades (s) were chosen as the experiential variables. The suitable ranges of three variables for response surface method were determined initially by one-factor experimental design method, and 17 different drive spoons were designed according to response surface methodology. The results showed that in the one-factor experimental condition, the CU (Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient) values first increased and decreased slightly when h1 exceeded 3 mm with the increase of h1 within the variation range of the experimental factor. The CU values firstly increased and then decreased with the increase of h2. The CU values decreased rapidly when s was less than 3 or greater than 6. The relationship between CU values and h1, h2 and s was established using response surface methodology. The p-values for h1, h2 and s were 0.0359, 0.0092, 0.0212, and all of the selected factors were significant on CU. The order of parameters affecting CU were h2, h1 and s. The ideal parameters for the drive spoon blades were h1 = 6 mm, h2 = 4 mm, and s = 3. CU was greatly improved after the optimization of structure for the drive spoon blades, which increased to 87.96% from 73.12%. After optimization, the application rates within 1 to 5 m were improved and increased from 10% to 15% with an average of 10.7% under different operating pressures. The maximum application rates decreased from 9.3, 9.3, 9.4 and 8.4 mm·h−1 to 8.5, 8.4, 8.5 and 7.9 mm·h−1 with operating pressures of 300, 400, 500 and 600 kPa, respectively. The maximum application rates in the overlap area were decreased from 18, 16, 16 and 15 mm·h−1 to 16, 14, 14 and 12 mm·h−1 with operating pressures of 300, 400, 500 and 600 kPa, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Water Management and Irrigation Systems Assessment)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Land levelling assessment and modelling for surface irrigation improvement
Authors: Miao Qingfeng, Shi Haibin, Li Ruiping, Tiago Levita, Diana Gonçalves, Susana Ferreira and José M. Gonçalves
Abstract: The new technologies of surface irrigation require the adoption of effective precise land levelling, to reach the high irrigation performance standards. Laser precise land levelling creates new opportunities to overcome these problems, with significant benefits on water saving, salinity control and crop productivity. The present study assess the land levelling operation based on field observations, computate by a simulation tool based on the plane method, earth volumes, operation time and the optimal slopes, and determine the operation cost. It presents irrigation case study analysis, Hetao, China, and Portuguese districts, aiming the development of land levelling tecnhical and economical guidelines.
Keywords: surface irrigation; irrigation water saving; precise land levelling; irrigation modernization; Hetao Irrigation District

Title: Evaluating the feasibility of water sharing as a drought risk management tool for irrigated agriculture
Abstract: Droughts can exert significant pressure on regional water resources resulting in abstraction restrictions for irrigated agriculture with consequences on crop productivity and revenue. Whilst water trading can support more efficient water allocation, a lack of flexibility, high transactional costs and delays in gaining approvals often restricts its wider uptake amongst users. Collaborative water sharing is an alternative approach to more formal water trading but has received much less regulatory and industry attention. This study assessed how the benefits of water sharing might reduce the water risks faced by agriculture with a focus on drought severity and the spatial scale at which water sharing agreements are established. The research focussed on an intensively farmed lowland rural catchment in Eastern England, a known hot-spot for irrigation intensity and recurrent abstraction pressures. The benefits of water sharing were modelled at three spatial scales, (i) individual farm (with no water sharing), (ii) sub-catchment water sharing amongst small farmer groups and (iii) catchment scale. The benefits of water sharing were evaluated based on the modelled reductions in the probability of an irrigation deficit occurring (reducing drought risks) and reduced licensed ‘headroom’ (spare capacity redeployed for more equitable allocation). The potential benefits of water sharing were found to increase with scale, but its impact was limited at high levels of drought severity due to regulatory drought management controls. The broader implications for water sharing to mitigate drought impacts, the barriers to its wider uptake and the environmental consequences are discussed.
Keywords: catchment; farm management; irrigation deficit; modelling; water resources

Title: The price of sustainability of a traditional irrigation system in northern Thailand
Authors: Arriya Mungsunti and Kevin A. Parton
Abstract: In recent years in northern Thailand, the traditional surface-water irrigation system known as muang fai has been challenged by the introduction of small-scale, groundwater pumping technology. This trend presents concerns about the sustainability of the system as the new technology uses more water, but produces lower quality agricultural outputs. In this paper, we provide evidence that farmers who use relatively modern irrigation technology (ground water pumping system) are willing to switch into a more traditional (hundreds of years old), more sustainable surface water irrigation system. In the Soprong region in North Thailand, we surveyed 570 Longan farmers, approximately half being muang fai members and half using pumped groundwater. We designed an experiment for the second group to check whether they were interested in becoming muang fai members in a scenario where they have access to the canal system. We found that almost half of them were willing to pay fees to become members, and that the negative relationship between membership fees and the willingness to join is robust after controlling all other relevant factors. We also note that the decision to switch is more likely for farmers who have a larger farm, and when they live in a village where muang fai membership is more common, meaning that social networking may influence a farmer’s decision about which type of the irrigation they choose to adopt. The key policy message of this work is that a relatively modest subsidy for membership of the muang fai could lead to increased membership of this traditional system, and hence a more sustainable system.

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