Changes In Water Use Research Articles

Seasonality, water use and community management of water systems in rural settings: Qualitative evidence from Ghana, Kenya, and Zambia

The sustainability of rural, community-managed water systems in sub-Saharan Africa depends in part on the ability of local water committees to repair breakdowns and carry out the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the system. Much of sub-Saharan Africa has two distinct seasons that affect the availability of water sources and how people use water. Little is known about how seasonality affects water system management. This qualitative study is based on 320 interviews and focus group discussions and examines the effects of season on community water use and management in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. Participants revealed that seasonality affects water availability, water system breakdowns, resource mobilization, committee activity, and external support availability. In the rainy season, participants typically reported spending less time and money on water collection because rainwater harvesting and seasonal streams, ponds, wells and reservoirs are available. In the dry season, people used improved groundwater sources more often and spent more money and time collecting water. Although seasonal changes in household water demand and use have been examined previously, our data suggest that seasonality also influences community management through differential water system use, system breakdowns and management characteristics. We found that water committees generally have less money, time and access to external support during the rainy season, making them less able to carry out O&M. Our results suggest that community engagement should take place over a long period of time so that seasonal patterns in management can be understood and incorporated into water committee training. External support actors should make a more targeted effort to understand the cultural and economic patterns in a community in order to train committees with appropriate management strategies.

Agricultural Water Use Sustainability Assessment in the Tarim River Basin under Climatic Risks

Proper agricultural water management in arid regions is the key to tackling climatic risks. However, an effective assessment of the current response to climate change in agricultural water use is the precondition for a group adaptation strategy. The paper, taking the Tarim River basin (TRB) as an example, aims to examine the agricultural water use sustainability of water resource increase caused by climatic variability. In order to describe the response result, groundwater change has been estimated based on the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS)–Noah land surface model (NOAH) data. In order to better understand the relationship between water resource increase and agricultural water consumption, an agricultural water stress index has been established. Agricultural water stress has been in a severe state during the whole period, although it alleviated somewhat in the mid–late period. This paper illustrates that an increase in water supply could not satisfy agricultural production expansion. Thus, seasonal groundwater loss and a regional water shortage occurred. Particularly in 2008 and 2009, the sharp shortage of water supply in the Tarim River basin directly led to a serious groundwater drop by nearly 20 mm from the end of 2009 to early 2010. At the same time, a regional water shortage led to water scarcity for the whole basin, because the water consumption, which was mainly distributed around Source Rivers, resulted in break-off discharge in the mainstream. Therefore, current agricultural development in the Tarim River basin is unsustainable in the context of water supply under climatic risks. Under the control of irrigation, spatial and temporal water allocation optimization is the key to the sustainable management of the basin.

Case Study: Water budget of a dairy farm with a tie-stall barn for milk cows and summer pasturing of heifers and dry cows

Water use (i.e., pumped water) was measured over a full year on a small dairy farm consisting of ~34 lactating and ~39 nonlactating animals (calves, heifers, and dry cows). Crop production was rain fed and was not included in the analysis. Animals were housed in a tie-stall barn during the winter and cool season (mid-October to mid-May) and outdoors in a yard or pasture during the warm season. Annual average water use was 5,180 L/d, with 82% being drinking water and 18% for milking system cleaning. Distinct diurnal patterns of drinking water intake were observed for each animal group, which differed when cows were located indoors or outdoors. Seasonal changes in water intake were significant. Nonlactating animals accounted for 27% of whole-farm water intake in the summer (July–September). In the warm season, herd-scale milk production declined while water consumption increased. As a result, the whole-farm water used per liter of milk had a strong positive correlation with monthly average temperature humidity index (THI) and could have been additionally influenced by other factors such as herd composition, precipitation, feed intake, forage quality and availability, and day length. When THI was below 50, water use ranged from 4.3 to 4.8 L/kg of milk, and it increased to a maximum of 6.7 L/kg at a THI of 68. The annual average water use was 5.35 L/kg of milk. This study demonstrates that the water used per kilogram of milk produced was affected not only by changes in water use but also by changes in herd-scale milk production.

Systemic risk in the global water input-output network

Abstract The issue of water access and security has been emphasized in the recent policy debate on sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goal No. 6) and adaptation to climate change (CoP21 in Paris, 2015). This study provides new evidence about the Blue Virtual Water Input-Output Network. The main novelty of our approach is the combination of Structural Decomposition Analysis (SDA) with Network Theory. SDA reveals that size-related, technological and structural components have contributed substantially to changes in virtual water use. Network analysis offers new insights about the vulnerability of the system to shocks through trade links across country-sector pairs. Our analysis highlights a possible trade-off in the increasing importance of virtual water trade: the efficiency improvement in granting access to virtual water might come at the cost of increasing systemic vulnerability. Overall, the great unbalance between water availability and usage combined with rigidity of global consumption and production networks and the risk of cascade effects imply increasing vulnerability of the virtual water network to shocks propagation.

From divide to nexus: Interconnected land use and water governance changes shaping risks related to water

Land use changes have been recognized to have considerable impacts on water; and vice versa, changes in water use and governance may have implications on land use and governance. This study analyzes recent land use/land cover (LULC) changes, and how changes in land use and water governance are perceived to affect land use and water-related risks in three case-study areas exposed to frequent flooding and inadequate or deteriorating water quality. The areas studied included the Vantaa basin in Finland, a section of the Grijalva basin in Mexico, and the Lower Xe Bang Fai basin in Laos. We show how there are complex and context-specific interrelationships between land use, water governance, and water-related risks in each study area. In a remote sensing analysis of LULC changes during the past 30 years, we found that LULC changes have been the most dramatic in Xe Bang Fai, Laos in the form of expanding agriculture and built-up areas; however, there has also been an expansion of built-up areas in the two other sites. According to our stakeholder scenario workshop data, analysis of policy documents and field visits, the nexus between land, water and risks is recognized to some extent in each study area. There have been modest shifts toward more integrated land use and water governance in Vantaa and Grijalva, while the integrated governance seems to have been most absent in Xe Bang Fai. Tighter integration of land and water policies is needed in all the three cases to manage the land use changes in a way that their effects on water-related risks will be minimized.

Impacts of changes in groundwater recharge on the isotopic composition and geochemistry of seasonally ice-covered lakes: insights for sustainable management

Abstract. Lakes are under increasing pressure due to widespread anthropogenic impacts related to rapid development and population growth. Accordingly, many lakes are currently undergoing a systematic decline in water quality. Recent studies have highlighted that global warming and the subsequent changes in water use may further exacerbate eutrophication in lakes. Lake evolution depends strongly on hydrologic balance, and therefore on groundwater connectivity. Groundwater also influences the sensitivity of lacustrine ecosystems to climate and environmental changes, and governs their resilience. Improved characterization of groundwater exchange with lakes is needed today for lake preservation, lake restoration, and sustainable management of lake water quality into the future. In this context, the aim of the present paper is to determine if the future evolution of the climate, the population, and the recharge could modify the geochemistry of lakes (mainly isotopic signature and quality via phosphorous load) and if the isotopic monitoring of lakes could be an efficient tool to highlight the variability of the water budget and quality. Small groundwater-connected lakes were chosen to simulate changes in water balance and water quality expected under future climate change scenarios, namely representative concentration pathways (RCPs) 4.5 and 8.5. Contemporary baseline conditions, including isotope mass balance and geochemical characteristics, were determined through an intensive field-based research program prior to the simulations. Results highlight that future lake geochemistry and isotopic composition trends will depend on four main parameters: location (and therefore climate conditions), lake catchment size (which impacts the intensity of the flux change), lake volume (which impacts the range of variation), and lake G index (i.e., the percentage of groundwater that makes up total lake inflows), the latter being the dominant control on water balance conditions, as revealed by the sensitivity of lake isotopic composition. Based on these model simulations, stable isotopes appear to be especially useful for detecting changes in recharge to lakes with a G index of between 50 and 80 %, but response is non-linear. Simulated monthly trends reveal that evolution of annual lake isotopic composition can be dampened by opposing monthly recharge fluctuations. It is also shown that changes in water quality in groundwater-connected lakes depend significantly on lake location and on the intensity of recharge change.

Benchmarking Water Use in the UK Food and Drink Sector: Case Study of Three Water-Intensive Dairy Products

There is an established body of research on water use by the domestic and agricultural sectors, but very little peer-reviewed literature have been published on industrial water use. This has been attributed to the commercially competitive and complex nature of the industrial sector, and the attendant difficulties in collecting requisite data for any analysis (Reynaud, 2003). Consequent upon this, there is a growing concern over the sustainability of water-related industrial practices and processes. To this end, focusing on key water-intensive industrial subsectors, the food and drink sector which according to DEFRA (2007) and the Environment Agency 2013 has the highest rate of water use in the industrial sector, was chosen for this performance assessment, the aim being to clearly understand how various food and drink firms use water, relative to other “comparable” firms, and against industry standards or benchmarks. For the analyses, data on water use were collected from 53 dairy companies, for a 5-year (minimum) period, and covering three water-intensive dairy products—liquid milk, butter and cheese. Thus, data were collected from 27 liquid milk-producing companies, 13 butter- and 13 cheese-processing companies. Based on the findings, of the 53 benchmarked companies, 17 companies’ water use performance were ranked “excellent”; 26 companies, “average”; while the remaining 10 companies’ performance were “poor”. These results emphasise the need for creation of more comprehensive water management schemes and conservation clubs within the food and drink sector. From this study, benchmarking, a performance assessment and improvement process, has been established as a veritable strategy for driving behavioural change in water use by industry, and enhancing the sustainability credential of the UK industrial sector, in terms of fresh water use.

Assessing the impacts of an ecological water diversion project on water consumption through high-resolution estimations of actual evapotranspiration in the downstream regions of the Heihe River Basin, China

Ecological Water Diversion Projects (EWDPs) have been implemented in several endorheic river basins in the arid region of northwest China since the beginning of the new millennium to restore the deteriorated ecosystems. However, the effects of these EWDPs are difficult to evaluate quantitatively. Here, we assessed changes in water use in Ejin Oasis in the downstream region of the Heihe River Basin, which is a typical endorheic river basin in northwest China, based on the estimated evapotranspiration (ET) during the growing season (May to October) in 2000 (before the EWDP) and 2014 (after the EWDP). The ET estimates were based on the modified surface energy balance algorithm for land (M-SEBAL) model and Landsat images. The estimated ET was validated against observations using eddy covariance towers installed on different landscapes in 2014 and was found to have a root mean square error of 1.20mmday−1 and a coefficient of determination of 0.67 at the footprint scale on satellite overpass days. The estimated ETs in two years were also compared with another remote sensing product that showed a similar spatial pattern, with a spatial mean difference of 4mm and 0.5mm, respectively. The estimated ET was then used to evaluate the impact of the EWDP on water consumption. The ET over different land use and land cover types increased, with a mean increase of 52% over the 15 years of the implementation of the EWDP in Ejin Oasis. The water consumption in Ejin Oasis in 2014 was approximately twice that in 2000. Among the changes, water consumption by croplands increased significantly, with a maximum increase of 264% because of cropland expansion and increased ET. The increases in water consumption by forests and grasslands were 60% and 25%, respectively. The lake area expanded drastically (from 0 to 37.46km2), and the corresponding water consumption caused by evaporation was zero in 2000 and approximately 3.9×107m3 from May to October in 2014. This work demonstrates that estimates of the ET based on remote sensing can be used as reliable indicators for comprehensive assessments of the impacts of the EWDPs.

Hydrological impacts of global land cover change and human water use

Abstract. Human impacts on global terrestrial hydrology have been accelerating during the 20th century. These human impacts include the effects of reservoir building and human water use, as well as land cover change. To date, many global studies have focussed on human water use, but only a few focus on or include the impact of land cover change. Here we use PCR-GLOBWB, a combined global hydrological and water resources model, to assess the impacts of land cover change as well as human water use globally in different climatic zones. Our results show that land cover change has a strong effect on the global hydrological cycle, on the same order of magnitude as the effect of human water use (applying irrigation, abstracting water, for industrial use for example, including reservoirs, etc.). When globally averaged, changing the land cover from that of 1850 to that of 2000 increases discharge through reduced evapotranspiration. The effect of land cover change shows large spatial variability in magnitude and sign of change depending on, for example, the specific land cover change and climate zone. Overall, land cover effects on evapotranspiration are largest for the transition of tall natural vegetation to crops in energy-limited equatorial and warm temperate regions. In contrast, the inclusion of irrigation, water abstraction and reservoirs reduces global discharge through enhanced evaporation over irrigated areas and reservoirs as well as through water consumption. Hence, in some areas land cover change and water distribution both reduce discharge, while in other areas the effects may partly cancel out. The relative importance of both types of impacts varies spatially across climatic zones. From this study we conclude that land cover change needs to be considered when studying anthropogenic impacts on water resources.

An investigation of farm-scale adaptation options for cotton production in the face of future climate change and water allocation policies in southern Queensland, Australia

Modelling cotton production at the farm-scale provides insight into the importance of water management options in adapting to climate change, especially given the renewed focus of government policies on irrigation water access and allocations. Using an irrigated cotton farm in southern Queensland as a case study, we investigated two possible adaptation strategies in response to changes in water resources from projected climate change (CSIRO Mk3.5, A1FI scenario). The modelled farm produced irrigated cotton, wheat, maize, and non-irrigated sorghum. The adaptation Strategy 1 allowed the substitution of current (baseline) production system with a system of less intensive cotton (2m row spacing) and a maximum of 2 in-crop irrigations instead of 4. Whereas Strategy 2 allowed for the production option of dryland cotton in the rotation and implied as much 2m row spacing cotton planting as possible depending on the other cropping rules regardless of the state of water storages. These two strategies were examined using a bio-economic farm enterprise model by evaluating the effects of projected changes in yield, water use and farm profitability (gross margin, GM), which resulted from crops competing for resources (i.e. irrigation water). Results showed 14% less water available in the 2030s and 2050s compared to the baseline (1960–2010), as a result of climate change and water policy decisions, thereby reducing the input costs. Under Strategy 1 there were 12.1% and 4.4% yield decreases in 2030 and 2050, respectively; while under Strategy 2 the inter-annual yield variability and proportion of low yields (<5bales/ha) increased over the same periods. Without adaptation GMs were reduced by 27% and 43% in 2030 and 2050, respectively. Strategy 1 resulted in 8.8% increase and 15.8% decrease in 2030 and 2050, respectively. However with Strategy 2, GM increases were observed (49% and 12%, respectively in 2030 and 2050). Moreover, without appropriate adaptation options, the enterprise would have to reduce the area of irrigated cotton, causing reductions in farm business gross margins. Our findings suggested that decreased water availability would not significantly impact the cotton production system and profitability if suitable adaptation options are available.

Understanding and seasonal forecasting of hydrological drought in the Anthropocene

Abstract. Hydrological drought is not only caused by natural hydroclimate variability but can also be directly altered by human interventions including reservoir operation, irrigation, groundwater exploitation, etc. Understanding and forecasting of hydrological drought in the Anthropocene are grand challenges due to complicated interactions among climate, hydrology and humans. In this paper, five decades (1961–2010) of naturalized and observed streamflow datasets are used to investigate hydrological drought characteristics in a heavily managed river basin, the Yellow River basin in north China. Human interventions decrease the correlation between hydrological and meteorological droughts, and make the hydrological drought respond to longer timescales of meteorological drought. Due to large water consumptions in the middle and lower reaches, there are 118–262 % increases in the hydrological drought frequency, up to 8-fold increases in the drought severity, 21–99 % increases in the drought duration and the drought onset is earlier. The non-stationarity due to anthropogenic climate change and human water use basically decreases the correlation between meteorological and hydrological droughts and reduces the effect of human interventions on hydrological drought frequency while increasing the effect on drought duration and severity. A set of 29-year (1982–2010) hindcasts from an established seasonal hydrological forecasting system are used to assess the forecast skill of hydrological drought. In the naturalized condition, the climate-model-based approach outperforms the climatology method in predicting the 2001 severe hydrological drought event. Based on the 29-year hindcasts, the former method has a Brier skill score of 11–26 % against the latter for the probabilistic hydrological drought forecasting. In the Anthropocene, the skill for both approaches increases due to the dominant influence of human interventions that have been implicitly incorporated by the hydrological post-processing, while the difference between the two predictions decreases. This suggests that human interventions can outweigh the climate variability for the hydrological drought forecasting in the Anthropocene, and the predictability for human interventions needs more attention.

Mediterranean California's water use future under multiple scenarios of developed and agricultural land use change.

With growing demand and highly variable inter-annual water supplies, California’s water use future is fraught with uncertainty. Climate change projections, anticipated population growth, and continued agricultural intensification, will likely stress existing water supplies in coming decades. Using a state-and-transition simulation modeling approach, we examine a broad suite of spatially explicit future land use scenarios and their associated county-level water use demand out to 2062. We examined a range of potential water demand futures sampled from a 20-year record of historical (1992–2012) data to develop a suite of potential future land change scenarios, including low/high change scenarios for urbanization and agriculture as well as “lowest of the low” and “highest of the high” anthropogenic use. Future water demand decreased 8.3 billion cubic meters (Bm3) in the lowest of the low scenario and decreased 0.8 Bm3 in the low agriculture scenario. The greatest increased water demand was projected for the highest of the high land use scenario (+9.4 Bm3), high agricultural expansion (+4.6 Bm3), and high urbanization (+2.1 Bm3) scenarios. Overall, these scenarios show agricultural land use decisions will likely drive future demand more than increasing municipal and industrial uses, yet improved efficiencies across all sectors could lead to potential water use savings. Results provide water managers with information on diverging land use and water use futures, based on historical, observed land change trends and water use histories.

Assessing Factors Driving the Change of Irrigation Water-Use Efficiency in China Based on Geographical Features

Changes in irrigation water-use efficiency are related closely to agricultural development. Clarifying the driving factors of irrigation water-use efficiency change at different agricultural development stages is beneficial for buffering the contradiction between the protection of water resources and massive agricultural water consumption. It also has theoretical and application value when it comes to elucidating the driving characteristics of spatial changes in irrigation water-use efficiency observed among the different provinces of China. This paper analyzes driving factors of irrigation water-use change based on a study of literature and a field survey. It selects 21 indices from five aspects of climatic change, resource endowment, economic situation, technological level, and management mode as the system of driving factors for irrigation water-use change. This article then uses statistical data on economic and social development in the 31 provinces of China in 2009, and applies the principal component analysis (PCA) method to extract the main driving factors affecting irrigation water-use efficiency change. After calculation of factor scores, clustering analysis is conducted on the 31 provinces to explore regional differences among the driving factors of irrigation water-use efficiency change. The results show that these can be attributed to the factors of agricultural economic development, water-saving irrigation technology, water resource endowment, and dissipation. The 31 provinces can be divided into five types: agricultural economy strong driving type; agricultural economy dominant type; industrial economy dominant type; agriculture strong development type; and coordinated driving type. In highly agricultural provinces, mature irrigation district management and water-saving measures influence the efficiency of irrigation water-use, making these strong positive driving factors. In highly industrial provinces, changes in irrigation water-use efficiency are mainly driven by economic development and structural adjustment, making these weak driving factors.

Estimating the impact of climate change on residential water use using panel data analysis: a case study of Lilongwe, Malawi

Abstract In this study, panel linear models were used to develop an empirical relationship between metered household water use and the independent variables plot size and theoretical irrigation requirement. The estimated statistical model provides a means of estimating the climate-sensitive component of residential water use. Ensemble averages of temperature and rainfall projections were used to quantify potential changes in water use due to climate change by 2050. Annual water use per household was estimated to increase by approximately 1.5% under the low emissions scenario or 2.3% under the high emissions scenario. The model results provide information that can enhance water conservation initiatives relating particularly to outdoor water use. The model approach presented utilizes data that are readily available to water supply utilities and can therefore be easily replicated elsewhere.

Quantifying changes in water use and groundwater availability in a megacity using novel integrated systems modeling

AbstractWater sustainability in megacities is a growing challenge with far‐reaching effects. Addressing sustainability requires an integrated, multidisciplinary approach able to capture interactions among hydrology, population growth, and socioeconomic factors and to reflect changes due to climate variability and land use. We developed a new systems modeling framework to quantify the influence of changes in land use, crop growth, and urbanization on groundwater storage for Beijing, China. This framework was then used to understand and quantify causes of observed decreases in groundwater storage from 1993 to 2006, revealing that the expansion of Beijing's urban areas at the expense of croplands has enhanced recharge while reducing water lost to evapotranspiration, partially ameliorating groundwater declines. The results demonstrate the efficacy of such a systems approach to quantify the impacts of changes in climate and land use on water sustainability for megacities, while providing a quantitative framework to improve mitigation and adaptation strategies that can help address future water challenges.

The water consequences of a transitioning US power sector

The US power sector is in a state of transition, prompted by significant shifts in technological innovations, energy markets, regulatory structures, and social pressures. As the electricity generation fleet changes, so too does the spatial & temporal distribution of the cooling water requirements for power plants. However, to date, these impacts have yet to be quantified. This study uses power plant-specific fuel consumption, generation, and cooling water use data to assess changes in the water withdrawn and consumed by thermoelectric power plants across 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC-8) watersheds between 2008 and 2014. During this period, a few prominent trends are noted, including transitions in generation from coal-fired steam to natural-gas combined cycle units, from once-through cooling to wet recirculating towers and dry cooling systems, and from traditional fresh and saline surface cooling water to reclaimed water and groundwater sources. Total US cooling water withdrawals and consumption volume decreased from 2008 to 2014. The average water withdrawn per unit of electrical output decreased over this time, while changes in water consumption rates stayed relatively flat. Changes in water use at the watershed scale were unevenly distributed, as some water-scarce regions experienced increases in cooling water usage for thermal power plants, while others experienced significant water reductions and environmental benefits, especially where coal-fired generation was retired or retrofitted. The results from this study underscore the importance of evaluating water withdrawals and consumption at local spatial scales, as the water extraction, water quality and environmental health consequences of power plants on downstream users are non-uniform.

Hierarchical prediction of industrial water demand based on refined Laspeyres decomposition analysis.

A recent study decomposed the changes in industrial water use into three hierarchies (output, technology, and structure) using a refined Laspeyres decomposition model, and found monotonous and exclusive trends in the output and technology hierarchies. Based on that research, this study proposes a hierarchical prediction approach to forecast future industrial water demand. Three water demand scenarios (high, medium, and low) were then established based on potential future industrial structural adjustments, and used to predict water demand for the structural hierarchy. The predictive results of this approach were compared with results from a grey prediction model (GPM (1, 1)). The comparison shows that the results of the two approaches were basically identical, differing by less than 10%. Taking Tianjin, China, as a case, and using data from 2003-2012, this study predicts that industrial water demand will continuously increase, reaching 580 million m3, 776.4 million m3, and approximately 1.09 billion m3 by the years 2015, 2020 and 2025 respectively. It is concluded that Tianjin will soon face another water crisis if no immediate measures are taken. This study recommends that Tianjin adjust its industrial structure with water savings as the main objective, and actively seek new sources of water to increase its supply.

Water scarcity hotspots travel downstream due to human interventions in the 20th and 21st century

Water scarcity is rapidly increasing in many regions. In a novel, multi-model assessment, we examine how human interventions (HI: land use and land cover change, man-made reservoirs and human water use) affected monthly river water availability and water scarcity over the period 1971–2010. Here we show that HI drastically change the critical dimensions of water scarcity, aggravating water scarcity for 8.8% (7.4–16.5%) of the global population but alleviating it for another 8.3% (6.4–15.8%). Positive impacts of HI mostly occur upstream, whereas HI aggravate water scarcity downstream; HI cause water scarcity to travel downstream. Attribution of water scarcity changes to HI components is complex and varies among the hydrological models. Seasonal variation in impacts and dominant HI components is also substantial. A thorough consideration of the spatially and temporally varying interactions among HI components and of uncertainties is therefore crucial for the success of water scarcity adaptation by HI.

Changing household water consumption practices after drought in three Australian cities

One of the major challenges of moving toward more sustainable and water sensitive futures is to change people's everyday water consumption habits. The experience of the Millennium drought in Australia (1996–2010) and water restrictions introduced during that time intervened to change everyday water practices in specific ways creating durable change in some practices and mutable change in others. Drawing on focus groups with 62 people, in three diverse Australian cities, a rich picture of diverse water practices emerges. Using a specific social practice framework we explore the key practices of garden watering and showering and tease out the elements in each – we discuss how and why there has been more innovation and change in garden practices than shower practices. We argue that sustained water restrictions drive material change in households and these material changes appear to be more effective in changing water use than transforming water saving competencies or meanings alone. Further, we show that the commitment and resistance to water saving has a spatial context – data from three different cities allowed us to see how location, climate and policy responses interweave with everyday practices. The implication of our research is that policy interventions should be 'fit for purpose' according to social practices in spatial context.

Regionalised life cycle assessment of pasta production in Iran: Damage to terrestrial ecosystems

The field of life cycle assessment (LCA) is moving towards the implementation of advanced damage models to assess specific areas of protection. The goal of this study was to quantify the main sources of terrestrial ecosystem damage from pasta production, based on a regionalised life cycle inventory and impact assessment. The impacts on terrestrial biodiversity caused by climate change, ecotoxicity, acidification, land use, photochemical ozone formation and water use were assessed for pasta production from durum wheat on 90 farms in Iran. The results showed that the agricultural stage was the main source of environmental damage in the life cycle of pasta production. Most variability between farms is caused by variation in the wheat yields. Climate change contribution, water use (for irrigation), and photochemical ozone formation were the main contributors to the impacts on terrestrial biodiversity. Climate change contribution was mainly due to carbon dioxide emissions from diesel fuel burning during agricultural operations. Nitrogen oxide emissions from nitrogen fertiliser production were the main contributor to photochemical ozone formation. Farmers can reduce their diesel use in field operations by combining tillage operations so that only one pass across the soil is required. Various innovative practices in irrigation, such as sprinkler irrigation, can result in higher yields which will lead to reduced environmental damage relating to water use.