Linking water footprint accounting with irrigation management in high value crops

Abstract

Abstract In recent years, irrigated agriculture has been in a critical situation due torising production costs, the stabilization or reduction of product prices, and growing pressure to minimize environmental impacts. These circumstances are forcing farmers to find new ways to use resources more efficiently in their production processes. The volume of water used during the crop growing season is linked to production; the final goal of all agricultural activity. Water footprint accounting is a suitable procedure to assess the relationship between water use and crop yield. However, it does not provide information about irrigation management. For this reason, information on water excess, deficit irrigation, or water needed for cropping practices must be incorporated into the crop water footprint analysis at farm scale. In this paper, a joint evaluation of crop water footprint accounting and irrigation management indicators is proposed as a diagnostic tool to identify the hotspots of irrigated agricultural systems. Based on this analysis, specific actions can be defined to improve water use efficiency, reduce water abstractions and polluted water returns, and maintain production rates. The methodology has been applied to intensive strawberry production in Southwest Spain, specifically in the vicinity of Donana National Park; a highly sensitive environmental area located in the province of Huelva. Actions to ameliorate the current situation are proposed.