Abstract
Agriculture is an activity linked to the environment and has a great influence on climate change. As more and more crops are producing in less time, agricultural production is intensified and water consumption and energy demand is increasing. Since the energy consumed is not renewable, greenhouse gases (GHG) are emitted and their concentration in the atmosphere increases. The objective of this article is to apply various methodologies for the precise quantification of the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) and GHG emissions in the management of irrigation water and energy in ten water user’s associations (WUAs) in the southeast of Spain. All the studied WUAs include irrigation facilities. This paper is based on obtained data in different water and energy audits during 2017. The concept of “irrigation water management” considered in the article covers the process from its extraction through management data to its transport and application to crops through irrigation systems, as well as the reception of water. The way in which water and energy is used to irrigate crops is taken into account. Moreover, the type of energy used for irrigation and at what moment energy is demanded influence the total amount of generated GHG emissions. The tariff periods for electricity and the water needs of the crops planted also has to be taken into account, as well as the economic emissions valuation.
Highlights
The information related to the energy consumption of the irrigation system was obtained from ten water user’s associations (WUAs) located in southeast Spain during 2017, and several visits with data collection in the area and interviews with technicians and managers of the irrigated area were performed
Emissions calculated between the maximum and minimum potential depends on the transformation index and when the consumption occurs, affecting the dispersion of data, the necessary knowledge is generated to establish the minimum and maximum thresholds of these Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions and having a reference on which to compare the current management mode
The studied Southeast Spanish WUAs are under-endowed in terms of water resources
Summary
Climate change includes both the global warming driven by human emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Human activity is accelerating the increase in global temperature due to the concentration of Greenhouse Gases (GHG). According to the United Nations, the world population has increased exponentially in recent years. In 2015, the global population was 7349 million people, and the forecasts for the years. 2030, 2050 and 2100 are 8501, 9725 and 11,213 million people, respectively [1]. With this increase in population, transport, industry, energy demand and consumption in general will increase, while the planet’s resources are limited. The depletion of natural resources is a worrying problem at the social level, as evidenced in the “United Nations Conference on Environment and Development”
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