Abstract
The sustainability of irrigated agriculture is threatening due to adverse climate change, given future projections that every one in four people on Earth might be suffering from extreme water scarcity by the year 2025. Pressurized irrigation systems and appropriate irrigation schedules can increase water productivity (i.e., product yield per unit volume of water consumed by the crop) and reduce the evaporative or system loss of water as opposed to traditional surface irrigation methods. However, in water-scarce countries, irrigation management frequently becomes a complex task. Deficit irrigation and the use of non-conventional water resources (e.g., wastewater, brackish groundwater) has been adopted in many cases as part of a climate change mitigation measures to tackle the water poverty issue. Protected cultivation systems such as greenhouses or screenhouses equipped with artificial intelligence systems present another sustainable option for improving water productivity and may help to alleviate water scarcity in these countries. This article presents a comprehensive review of the literature, which deals with sustainable irrigation for open-field and protected cultivation systems under the impact of climatic change in vulnerable areas, including the Mediterranean region.
Highlights
It is projected that by 2080, net crop water requirements will increase globally by 25% despite the increased irrigation efficiency, attributed to changes in precipitations patterns, global warming, and extended crops’ growing periods [1]
Ep = c where Ep, potential evapotranspiration; Rs, solar radiation expressed in equivalent; W, weighting factor depends on altitude and temperature; and c, adjustment factor which depends on mean humidity and daytime wind conditions
Commercialized phyto-monitoring systems based on leaf temperature sensing are considered by many researchers among the most promising sensors used for irrigation monitoring due to the early warning signals resulting from stomata closure
Summary
It is projected that by 2080, net crop water requirements will increase globally by 25% despite the increased irrigation efficiency, attributed to changes in precipitations patterns, global warming, and extended crops’ growing periods [1]. Even in the latter case, there is a need for models’ recalibration under prevailing climatic conditions Agronomic practices such as “deficit irrigation” (i.e., irrigation application below evapotranspiration) save water and enhance water use efficiency (WUE) of the crops as a result of an improved ratio of carbon fixation to water consumption ratio [29]. Rural areas are expected to experience major impacts of climate change on water availability and is relatively low because in many cases, these systems are of high cost and growers do not benefit supply; infrastructure and agricultural incomes; reduced agricultural production; and food security directlywith by water saving consequences,. In view of the above, this publication makes a contribution by providing information regarding sustainable irrigation in water-scarce regions
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