The paradox of irrigation efficiency

Grafton, R. Quentin; Williams, John; Perry, Chris; Molle, François; Ringler, Claudia; Steduto, Pasquale; Udall, B.; Wheeler, Sarah Ann; Wang, Y.; Garrick, Dustin; Allen, Richard G.

doi:10.1126/science.aat9314

Cited by 567 publications

(346 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Because the SD-6 LEMA has unique elements hypothesized to promote self-organization (Ostrom 2009), the generalizability remains to be tested on larger scales, such as the recently approved LEMA over most of the GMD that includes SD-6. Increases in irrigation efficiency are often ineffective at reducing overall water consumption, but enforceable accounting, extraction limits, and improved understanding of irrigator behavior can help ensure efficiency improvements translate into water conservation (Grafton et al 2018). In systems more dissimilar from Kansas or lacking strong local leaders and local accountability as in the SD-6 region, programs like the LEMA may be difficult to implement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Crop choice could be a flexible strategy to manage the 5 year water allocation cycle of the LEMA program. Basso et al (2013) suggested that there is opportunity across the aquifer to improve sustainability by choosing crops with water requirements that match local availability; combined with strict water restrictions and oversight, these changes have a larger probability of translating into reduced water consumption (Grafton et al 2018).…”

Section: Changes In Crop Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying irrigation adaptation strategies in response to stakeholder-driven groundwater management in the US High Plains Aquifer

Deines

Kendall

Butler

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Irrigation enhances agricultural yields and stabilizes farmer incomes, but overexploitation has depleted groundwater resources around the globe. Strategies to address this sustainability challenge differ widely. Socio-ecological systems research suggests that management of common pool resources like groundwater would benefit from localized approaches that combine self-organization along with active monitoring. In 2012, the US state of Kansas established a Local Enhanced Management Area (LEMA) program, empowering farmers to work with local and state officials to develop five-year, enforceable groundwater conservation programs. Here, we assessed the efficacy of the first LEMA implemented from 2013 to 2017 using a causal impact methodology based on Bayesian structural time series that is new to agrohydrology. Compared to control scenarios, we found that the LEMA reduced water use by 31% over the five-year period, with early indications of stabilizing groundwater levels. Three main conservation strategies can lead to reduced water use: (1) reducing irrigated area, (2) reducing irrigation amount applied to existing crops through improved efficiency, and/or (3) switching to crops that require less water. To partition water savings among these strategies, we combined satellite-derived irrigated areas and crop type maps with well records. We found that farmers were able to largely maintain irrigated area and achieved the majority of pumping reductions (72%) from improvements in irrigation efficiency, followed by expansion of crops with lower water demand (19%). The results of this analysis demonstrate that conservation programs that are irrigatordriven with regulatory oversight can provide a path toward sustainability in stressed aquifers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Changes In Crop Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying irrigation adaptation strategies in response to stakeholder-driven groundwater management in the US High Plains Aquifer

Deines

Kendall

Butler

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…Water accounting is based on ET because the water supply is fully allocated, and downstream surface, groundwater supplies, and water rights are dependent on historic return flows (deep percolation and/or field runoff) from upstream users. In watersheds where return flows are effectively reused within the watershed, water consumption determines the loss of water to the watershed (Clemmens et al, 2008; Grafton et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Economic and Biophysical Model of Deficit Irrigation

Trout

Manning

2019

Agronomy Journal

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Competition for scarce water resources may lead to high water prices. Agricultural producers can adapt to increasing water price by adjusting irrigation management strategies. When water prices are high, deficit irrigation, the purposeful reduction of irrigation to reduce water use while accepting reduced yield, may increase net income. Deficit irrigation decisions depend on economic, biological, and physical conditions. A model based on relationships among the amount and cost of irrigation water applied, water productivity, and the value of water saved and crop yield was developed to assist farmers making deficit irrigation decisions. A model application for irrigated maize (Zia mays L.) production in northeast Colorado illustrates conditions under which deficit irrigation increases net income. High water costs and low crop prices favor deficit irrigation. When water has value for leasing, the combination of deficit irrigation production to reduce water use and water leasing may increase net income. Sufficiently high lease prices and low commodity prices favor rainfed production or fallowing. Core Ideas Deficit irrigation may increase net farm income. Expensive water, low crop prices, and high elasticity of water productivity favor deficit irrigation. Combining economic with biophysical models improves applicability.

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“…Irrigated agriculture has a dual impact on freshwater resources through its consumption and potential qualitative degradation. It constitutes 70% of global water withdrawals and 45% of total food provision, while only about 20% of the world's cropland is irrigated (Grafton et al ., ). This disproportionate share is due to the capability of irrigated land to increase yield through maximizing crop evapotranspiration, hence productivity, and to produce two, sometimes three crops a year.…”

Section: The Continuous (And Worrying) Environmental Degradation Requmentioning

confidence: 97%

Irrigation and the Environmental Tragedy: Pathways Towards Sustainability in Agricultural Water Use

Perret

Payen²

2020

Irrigation and Drainage

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Global environmental degradation, and the diverse and intense interactions between irrigation and the environment, are prompting the sector to play a more active role towards sustainability. This paper builds on ICID's 2030 vision on a more sustainable irrigation sector. It recaps the various environmental impacts of irrigation systems and calls for a threefold paradigm shift: the objectives of irrigation, its practices, and the ways to assess its impacts must evolve. The paper critically analyses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs') framework, which provides a prompting set of orientations, yet with little consideration of the systemic nature of irrigation. The paper promotes more operational frameworks: nexus thinking and the ecosystem services' framework, since both allow for systemic approaches, and for developing trade-offs. The paper also discusses the merits of life cycle analysis (LCA) for environmental impact assessment. The benefits gained through these alternative approaches are illustrated in two cases of environmental impacts: return flow and salinization. Finally, the paper suggests combining these approaches with three principles for fostering a true paradigm shift in agricultural water use: developing and using suitable metrics, combining models to reconnect economic concerns with environmental ones, and considering larger territories and ecosystems to cater for interactions with the environment. RÉSUMÉLa dégradation de l'environnement, les interactions diverses et intenses entre irrigation et environnement, forcent le secteur à jouer un rôle plus actif vers la durabilité. Cet article s'appuie sur la vision 2030 formulée par la CIID sur la durabilité du secteur de l'irrigation. Il récapitule les divers impacts des systèmes irrigués, et appelle à un véritable changement de paradigme, en trois volets: les objectifs de l'usage agricole de l'eau, ses pratiques, et les façons d'en évaluer les impacts doivent évoluer. L'article analyse d'abord le cadre des objectifs de développement durable (ODD), qui fournit des orientations engageantes, mais avec peu de considérations du caractère systémique de l'usage agricole de l'eau et de ses impacts. L'article promeut des cadres d'analyse alternatifs et plus opératoires: le raisonnement en nexus et les services écosystémiques, car tous deux permettent une approche plus systémique, et de penser les compromis. L'article discute également des bénéfices de l'analyse en cycle de vie (ACV) pour l'évaluation des impacts environnementaux. Les mérites de ces approches sont illustrés par deux cas d'impacts environnementaux: le débit de retour et la salinisation. En conclusion, l'article suggère d'associer ces approches avec trois principes, pour accompagner un vrai changement de paradigme dans l'usage agricole de l'eau: développer et utiliser des métriques adaptés, combiner modèles et approches pour réconcilier les préoccupations économiques et environnementales, et considérer plus largement les territoires et écosystèmes de l'eau pour mieux intégrer les interactions ...

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The paradox of irrigation efficiency

Abstract: Higher efficiency rarely reduces water consumption

Cited by 567 publications

References 11 publications

Quantifying irrigation adaptation strategies in response to stakeholder-driven groundwater management in the US High Plains Aquifer

Quantifying irrigation adaptation strategies in response to stakeholder-driven groundwater management in the US High Plains Aquifer

An Economic and Biophysical Model of Deficit Irrigation

Irrigation and the Environmental Tragedy: Pathways Towards Sustainability in Agricultural Water Use

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