Climate change impacts on irrigation water requirements in the Guadalquivir river basin in Spain |
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Authors: | J A Rodríguez Díaz E K Weatherhead J W Knox E Camacho |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Agronomy, University of Cordoba, Campus Rabanales, 14071 Cordoba, Spain;(2) Centre for Water Science, Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK |
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Abstract: | Irrigated production in the Guadalquivir river basin in Spain has grown significantly over the last decade. As a consequence,
water resources are under severe pressure, with an increasing deficit between available supplies and water demand. To conserve
supplies, the water authority has reduced the volume of water assigned to each irrigation district. Major infrastructural
investments have also been made to improve irrigation efficiency, including the adoption of high technology micro-irrigation
systems. Within a context of increasing water scarcity, climate change threatens to exacerbate the current supply-demand imbalance.
In this study, the impacts of climate change on irrigation water demand have been modelled and mapped. Using a combination
of crop and geographic information systems, maps showing the predicted spatial impacts of changes in agroclimate (climate
variables that determine the irrigation requirements) and irrigation need have been produced. The maps highlight a significant
predicted increase in aridity and irrigation need. Modelling of irrigation water requirements shows a typical increase of
between 15 and 20% in seasonal irrigation need by the 2050s, depending on location and cropping pattern, coupled with changes
in seasonal timing of demand. |
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Keywords: | Climate change Irrigation Management Map Spain Water resources |
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