Author(s): Avila Velasquez, Dariana Isamel; Pulido-Velazquez, Manuel; Hector Macian-Sorribes
Linked Author(s): Dariana Isamel Avila Velasquez, Manuel Pulido Velázquez, Hector Macian-Sorribes
Keywords: Water Management | Irrigation in Mediterranean Basins Combining Remote Sensing | Weather Forecasting | Artificial Intelligence
Abstract:
The Mediterranean region is an area of special incidence of climate change, with significant reductions expected in mean annual precipitation, increases in temperature and potential and actual evapotranspiration, hotter and drier summers, and more frequent and intense droughts (MedECC, 2020). Said increase in atmospheric temperature, combined with a significant reduction in rainfall, will cause a greater incidence of extreme phenomena, in particular droughts (Marcos-Garcia et al., 2017). This increase will pose a great challenge for the management of water resources since in most Mediterranean basins there is an already fragile balance between resources and demands (Garrote et al, 2015). The expected meteorological changes will lead to regional water scarcity, with important impacts on the ecological status of water masses, food security, desertification, and reduction of the fertile surface available for food production. This situation is expected to particularly affect the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, where large areas of intensive agriculture are currently concentrated, mostly for export, on which various regions of Spain depend economically (Ruiz Rodriguez et al, 2018). In addition, in the management of water resources, one of the fundamental problems in water management for irrigation, in general, is to achieve maximum efficiency in the management and use of the resource. However, at present, most farms make their decisions based on a predetermined irrigation plan based on the type of crop, regardless of the weather and their current state. At most, some services such as the Irrigator Advisory Services (SIAR) of fer irrigation recommendations based on the weather of the previous week. These practices can lead to inefficient use of water, and the consequent loss of agricultural production and added value. However, the development of remote sensing tools, which allow the current state of crops to be estimated more and more reliably; and weather forecasting systems, which are capable of estimating the weather days or weeks in advance; can offer very valuable information to improve the yield obtained from the water resource and, in turn, avoid its overexploitation.
Year: 2022