Global expansion of sustainable irrigation limited by water storage

Schmitt, Rafael; Rosa, Lorenzo; Daily, Gretchen C.

doi:10.1073/pnas.2214291119

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…However, such a determination remains challenging due to the influence of a range of factors including economic conditions of farmers, incentives provided by local/federal government, penetration of agricultural extension education among the farming community, farmers' social networks, water availability, political considerations, water use by other sectors, water infrastructure, and more [43,[60][61][62][63][64]. The study does not account for water consumption by poultry and livestock in agricultural sectors.…”

Section: Discussion and Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Water scarcity challenges across urban regions with expanding irrigation

Rathore,

Kumar,

Hanasaki

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Irrigation expansion is often posed as a promising option to enhance food security. Here, we assess the influence of expansion of irrigation, primarily in rural areas of the contiguous United States (CONUS), on the intensification and spatial proliferation of freshwater scarcity. Results show RFtoIF transition will result in an additional 169.6 million hectares or 22% of the total CONUS land area facing moderate or severe water scarcity. Analysis of just the 53 large urban clusters with 146 million residents shows that the transition will result in 97 million urban population facing water scarcity for at least one month per year on average versus 82 million before the irrigation expansion. Notably, none of the six large urban regions facing an increase in scarcity with RFtoIF transition are located in arid regions. in part because the magnitude of impact is dependent on multiple factors including local water demand, abstractions in the river upstream, and the buffering capacity of ancillary water sources to cities. For these reasons, areas with higher population and industrialization also generally experience a relatively smaller change in scarcity than regions with lower water demand. While the exact magnitude of impacts are subject to simulation uncertainties despite efforts to exercise due diligence, the study unambiguously underscores the need for strategies aimed at boosting crop productivity to incorporate the effects on water availability throughout the entire extent of the flow networks, instead of solely focusing on the local level. The results further highlight that if irrigation expansion is poorly managed, it may increase urban water scarcity, thus also possibly increasing the likelihood of water conflict between urban and rural areas.

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Section: Discussion and Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Water scarcity challenges across urban regions with expanding irrigation

Rathore,

Kumar,

Hanasaki

et al. 2024

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…Under a 3°C warming, up to 350 Mha of global rain-fed croplands is suitable for sustainable irrigation expansion ( 16 ). This irrigation expansion can boost agricultural productivity and feed up to 1.4 billion more people, although more water storage will be needed ( 62 ). However, in areas with physically available renewable blue water resources, irrigation can be blocked by a variety of socioeconomic and political factors that cause the so-called agricultural economic water scarcity ( 6 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solutions to agricultural green water scarcity under climate change

Rosa

2023

PNAS Nexus

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Rain-fed agricultural systems, which solely depend on green water (i.e., soil moisture from rainfall), sustain ∼60% of global food production, and are particularly vulnerable to vagaries in temperature and precipitation patterns, which are intensifying due to climate change. Here, using projections of crop water demand and green water availability under warming scenarios, we assess global agricultural green water scarcity – defined when the rainfall regime is unable to meet crop water requirements. With present day climate conditions, food production for 890 million people is lost because of green water scarcity. Under 1.5 °C and 3 °C warming – the global warming projected from current climate targets and business as usual policies – green water scarcity will affect global crop production for 1.23 and 1.45 billion people, respectively. If adaptation strategies were to be adopted to retain more green water in the soil and reduce evaporation, we find that food production loss from green water scarcity would decrease to 780 million people. Our results show that appropriate green water management strategies have the potential to adapt agriculture to green water scarcity and promote global food security.

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“…The issue of water shortage for irrigation is becoming increasingly serious worldwide, particularly in the developing countries ( Schmitt et al., 2022 ). It is imperative to establish a proper framework for the irrigation techniques tailored to specific crops and purposes, whether the crop is grown for forage, grains, or fiber ( Chen et al., 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partial root-zone drying subsurface drip irrigation increased the alfalfa quality yield but decreased the alfalfa quality content

Wang,

Xu,

et al. 2024

Front. Plant Sci.

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Water shortage seriously restricts the development of grassland agriculture in arid land and dramatically impacts alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) quality content and hay yield. Reasonable irrigation methods have the potential to enhance the alfalfa quality content, hay yield, and thus quality yield. Whether partial root-zone drying subsurface drip irrigation (PRDSDI) improves the alfalfa quality yield, quality content, and hay yield is still unknown compared with conventional subsurface drip irrigation (CSDI). The effects of PRDSDI compared with that of CSDI and the interaction with irrigation volume (10 mm/week, 20 mm/week, and 30 mm/week) on the alfalfa quality yield were investigated in 2017–2018 and explained the change in quality yield with the alfalfa quality content and hay yield. Here, the results showed that PRDSDI did not increase the alfalfa quality yield in 2 years. PRDSDI significantly increased acid detergent fiber by 13.3% and 12.2% in 2018 with 10-mm and 20-mm irrigation volumes and neutral detergent fiber by 16.2%, 13.2%, and 12.6% in 2017 with 10-mm, 20-mm, and 30-mm irrigation volumes, respectively. PRDSDI significantly decreased the crude protein by 5.4% and 8.4% in 2018 with 10-mm and 20-mm irrigation volumes and relative feed value by 15.0% with 20-mm irrigation volume in 2017 and 9.8% with 10-mm irrigation volume in 2018, respectively. In addition, PRDSDI significantly increased the alfalfa average hay yield by 49.5% and 59.6% with 10-mm and 20-mm irrigation volumes in 2018, respectively. Our results provide a counterexample for PRDSDI to improve crop quality. Although there was no significant improvement in average quality yield by PRDSDI, the positive impact of average hay yield on quality yield outweighed the negative impact of quality content. Thus, it has the potential to improve quality yields. The novel findings regarding the effects of PRDSDI on quality yield are potentially favorable for the forage feed value in water-limited areas.

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Global expansion of sustainable irrigation limited by water storage

Cited by 22 publications

References 70 publications

Water scarcity challenges across urban regions with expanding irrigation

Water scarcity challenges across urban regions with expanding irrigation

Solutions to agricultural green water scarcity under climate change

Partial root-zone drying subsurface drip irrigation increased the alfalfa quality yield but decreased the alfalfa quality content

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