Climate Change Impacts on Water Demand of Melon Plants in Jaguaribe-Apodi Region, Brazil

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The aim of this study was to evaluate the impacts of climate change on irrigation water demand of melon plants grown in Jaguaribe-Apodi Irrigation District (DIJA), which is located between the states of Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, in Northeastern Brazil. Future scenarios were developed using the Eta-CPTEC/HadCM3 climate change projections, after being submitted to downscaling method. We used a set of climate data from the same model for the period of 1961 through 1990, and further projections after bias correction. Local geographic coordinates were interpolated using GIS techniques. Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated from the monthly minimum and maximum mean temperatures, using a limited data method. The rainfall, temperature, ETo, and water demand future projections were mapped for the area of investigation to analyze spatial variability. ETA model simulations for climatic change showed growth in irrigation water demands due to evapotranspiration increase (from 28.4% to 33.4%), even though rainfall increases (between 61.9% and 89.9%). The increase in the average gross water demand is varied from 37.5% to 78.2% within the period of 2031 to 2060, respective to the common planting season.

Seasonal Dynamics of Agricultural Soil Cover in Runoff Generation

“…Soil exposure interrupts evapotranspiration, caused by evaporation of water intercepted in the leaves and physiological transpiration of plants, increasing runoff and soil loss (Zhang et al, 2015;Eum et al, 2016;Silva et al, 2016) when compared to soils occupied by pasture and seasonal crops (Zhao et al, 2014). Intermediate and final stage crops have high evapotranspiration rates and water demand (Mu et al, 2015;Gondim et al, 2017), as well as higher hydraulic conductivities, proportional to the diameter and length of roots (Yu et al, 2016), increasing water infiltration, slowing runoff, and reducing flow peaks (Sanyal et al, 2014;Tesemma et al, 2015;Napoli et al, 2017).…”

Inheritance of morphological characters on Melon (Cucumis melo L. 'Gama Melon Parfum’)

“…Geographical differences, particularly in altitude, will result in variations in the weather and climate of the entire region, particularly in temperature, humidity, and rainfall (Ping et al, 2013;Saeed et al, 2014). According to Andrian et al (2014); Beusekom et al (2015); Gondim et al (2017) the higher a location has a the lower the temperature, the higher the humidity, and the higher the rainfall.…”

Drought’s Impact in Irrigated Perimeters in the Brazilian Semi-Arid

“…Oliveira & Lanna (1997) colocam, no entanto, que é necessário desenvolver estratégias de gerenciamento dos recursos hídricos que atendam a demanda do abastecimento e maximizem a produção por meio da agricultura irrigada. Bem como estratégias de gerenciamento que lidem com as eminentes mudanças climáticas (Gondin et al, 2017;Domingues et al, 2011) No Brasil, a expansão da modernização no campo, chega ao Nordeste semiárido adaptada estrategicamente para a produção nesse ambiente. Entre 1968 e 1992 foram implantados os Perímetros Irrigados (PI), através do critério de disponibilidade de água e solos favoráveis ao desenvolvimento da irrigação conforme a potencialidade para a açudagem (Rebouças, 1997;Pontes et al, 2013).…”