Multidisciplinary assessment of the agricultural supply of desalinated seawater in south-eastern Spain

Álvarez, Victoriano Martínez; Imbernón-Mulero, Alberto; Gallego-Elvira, Belén; Soto-García, M.; Valero, José Francisco Maestre

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2022.116252

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 47 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous studies have raised important questions about the repercussions produced by the substitution of traditional water resources with DSW. The most relevant bibliography on the topic [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] has shown both its advantages and disadvantages, but all are in agreement that DSW is becoming a technically and economically viable solution for high-yield agriculture in coastal areas. Focusing on the agronomic questions, DSW is characterized by its low salinity and imbalances in its chemical composition in relation to other natural water sources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Agronomic Analysis of the Replacement of Conventional Agricultural Water Supply by Desalinated Seawater as an Adaptive Strategy to Water Scarcity in South-Eastern Spain

Martínez-Álvarez,

Imbernón-Mulero,

Maestre-Valero

et al. 2023

Agronomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change is affecting water resources in south-eastern Spain, and this mainly affects irrigated agriculture. In this context, seawater desalination is an adaptive strategy that has provided increasing water allotments to agriculture for the last decade, to replace decreasing conventional resources. Farmers are concerned about the agronomic effects of this substitution and its economic consequences. This study focuses on the potential agronomic impacts of the progressive replacement of the irrigation water from the Tagus–Segura transfer (TST) with desalinated seawater (DSW) on the main crops of south-eastern Spain. To that end, five main agronomic concerns were selected and analyzed under three water supply scenarios using increasing rates of DSW (0, 50, and 100%). The results indicated that, in addition to other economic or environmental considerations, sufficiently relevant agronomic aspects exist that need to be considered when replacing the TST supply with DSW. This study evidences the risks of phytotoxicity and soil alkalinization, due to the increase in boron concentration and the imbalance between monovalent and divalent cations in the DSW, respectively, and also a slight increase in the cost of fertilizers. In addition, the irrigation water salinity effect on production and total irrigation requirements was negligible, as both water sources present sufficiently low salinity. The detrimental effects were mitigated under a partial replacement scenario, so the blended use of DSW with conventional resources seems the most recommendable option for its agricultural management, rather than irrigating with DSW alone.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Agronomic Analysis of the Replacement of Conventional Agricultural Water Supply by Desalinated Seawater as an Adaptive Strategy to Water Scarcity in South-Eastern Spain

Martínez-Álvarez,

Imbernón-Mulero,

Maestre-Valero

et al. 2023

Agronomy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In recent years, water scarcity has become a major concern for farmers in arid and semi-arid regions [ 1 ]. Owing to widespread climate change, the reduction in freshwater resources is threatening the sustainability of irrigated agriculture, and hence food security [ 2 , 3 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given this scenario, the use of unconventional water resources such as reclaimed water and desalinated seawater (DSW) is today considered as a promising stimulus for irrigation in this area [7,8]. However, its use for irrigation must be undertaken with caution, since it may condition the current agriculture framework [1,2]. One of the main drawbacks of its use lies in its chemical composition, as DSW is characterized as having a very low concentration of essential nutrients (Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , or SO 4 2− ), albeit with a high concentration of B, Na + , and Cl − [7,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological Responses of a Grapefruit Orchard to Irrigation with Desalinated Seawater

Navarro,

Imbernón-Mulero,

Robles

et al. 2024

Plants

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Desalinated seawater (DSW) has emerged as a promising solution for irrigation in regions facing water scarcity. However, adopting DSW may impact the existing cultivation model, given the presence of potentially harmful elements, among other factors. A three-year experiment was carried out to assess the short-term effects of four irrigation waters—freshwater (FW), DSW, a mix 1:1 of FW and DSW (MW), and DSW with low boron (B) concentration (DSW–B)—on a ‘Rio Red’ grapefruit orchard. These irrigation waters exhibited varying levels of phytotoxic elements, some potentially harmful to citrus trees. Sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) concentrations exceeded citrus thresholds in all treatments, except in DSW−B, whilst B exceeded toxicity levels in DSW and MW treatments. Leaf concentrations of Cl− and Na+ remained low in all treatments, whereas B approached toxic levels only in DSW and MW–irrigated trees. The rapid growth of the trees, preventing excessive accumulation through a dilution effect, protected the plants from significant impacts on nutrition and physiology, such as gas exchange and chlorophyll levels, due to phytotoxic elements accumulation. Minor reductions in photosynthesis in DSW–irrigated trees were attributed to high B in leaves, since Cl− and Na+ remained below toxic levels. The accelerated tree growth effectively prevented the substantial accumulation of phytotoxic elements, thereby limiting adverse effects on tree development and yield. When the maturation of trees reaches maximal growth, the potential accumulation of phytotoxic elements is expected to increase, potentially influencing tree behavior differently. Further study until the trees reach maturity is imperative for comprehensive understanding of the long-term effects of desalinated seawater irrigation.

show abstract

“…Tools based on life cycle thinking are the most widely used to individually study the dimensions of sustainability. For instance, environmental life cycle assessment (E-LCA) works to assess the potential adverse environmental impacts of a product, service or system (Martínez-Alvarez et al, 2023;Nicolò et al, 2018;. Social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) assesses social sustainability issues (Huertas-Valdivia et al, 2020;Iofrida et al, 2017); whereas life cycle costing (LCC) deals with the economic aspects of sustainability (Degieter et al, 2022;Escobar et al, 2022).…”

Section: Quantitative Tools For Agricultural Sustainability Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing indicators to assess agricultural sustainability. Application to the Spanish context

Sinisterra Solis

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Multidisciplinary assessment of the agricultural supply of desalinated seawater in south-eastern Spain

Cited by 13 publications

References 47 publications

Agronomic Analysis of the Replacement of Conventional Agricultural Water Supply by Desalinated Seawater as an Adaptive Strategy to Water Scarcity in South-Eastern Spain

Agronomic Analysis of the Replacement of Conventional Agricultural Water Supply by Desalinated Seawater as an Adaptive Strategy to Water Scarcity in South-Eastern Spain

Physiological Responses of a Grapefruit Orchard to Irrigation with Desalinated Seawater

Developing indicators to assess agricultural sustainability. Application to the Spanish context

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About