Abstract
In this paper, we quantify the water balance of Jessour at the scale of agricultural plots. Jessour (plural of Jesr) are ancestral hydro-agricultural systems in the Dahar plateau (southeastern Tunisia). They consist of small dams built across wadis and gullies, which retain rainwater and sediments, hence enabling cropping. Despite arid climate conditions, Jessour allow the culture of the olive tree beyond its ecological limits. Weather monitoring stations were set up and soil moisture sensors installed down to a depth of 1.25 m in the soil in two neighboring gullies in the village of Zammour: one with a Jesr and one without. Laser granulometry and organic matter analyses were carried out on samples collected near the soil moisture sensors. Measurements were recorded from 28 September 2017 to 21 September 2018. From 10 to 12 November 2017, the region received 123.3 mm rainfall. The Jesr retained the equivalent of 410.3 mm of soil moisture to a depth of 1.25 m whereas the value in the gully was 224.6 mm. Throughout the summer of 2018, the soil available water capacity (AWC) remained above 55 mm in the Jesr, while it dropped to zero in the gully. Jessour are thus very suitable hydro-agricultural systems to face the climate changes concerning this fragile region, located in the transition zone between the semi-arid to arid Mediterranean region and the Sahara.
Highlights
Access to water for irrigation is a critical issue in dry areas as it affects people’s livelihoods, land productivity and society in general [1,2,3,4]
All three significant rainfall events fully filled the Jesr soil profile with water, whereas the gully soil profile was only moistened by the thunderstorm that occurred in August 2018
Weather parameters and soil moisture profiles were measured in two neighboring sites in the village of Zammour (Southeast Tunisia), characterized by an arid climate
Summary
Access to water for irrigation is a critical issue in dry areas as it affects people’s livelihoods, land productivity and society in general [1,2,3,4]. On the arid plateau of Matmata-Dahar in Southeast Tunisia, the Jessour (plural of Jesr) are traditional water harvesting techniques widely used for growing crops and fruit trees, allowing for instance the cultivation of olive, almond and fig trees beyond their climatic zone [5,6,7]. Jessour consist of small dams built across gullies and wadi thalwegs, creating a succession of terraces that partially retain the surface water and sediments required for crop growth. Collective management and traditional techniques [20], local water management [21,22] and related socio-economic aspects [1,23] are documented.
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