Water Productivity                                                      

 

This page contains insight, analysis and data relating to Water Productivity assessments.

 

Crops prospects and food security - FAO

 

Although global cereal production is expected to reach record levels this year, at least 33 countries are forecast to face serious difficulties, largely because of conflict, economic struggles or bad weather, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. The latest issue of the FAO Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, released May 16 at the agency's headquarters in Rome, found that cereal production is on track to reach 2,095 million tons, a jump of 4.8 percent on the figures from last year. The bulk of the increase is tipped to be in maize production. Demand and prices are on the rise, according to the report, driven by the fast-growing biofuels industry and by stocks hitting their lowest level in more than 20 years.

 

To learn more about the report, please go to http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/j9940e/j9940e00.htm

 

New paper on Evapotranspiration Estimation using Satellite Imagery

 

Satellite-based ET mapping to assess variation in ET with timing of crop development

Masahiro Tasumi and Richard G. Allen (2007). Agricultural Water Management, 88 (1-3): 54-62 

 

Water and health

An introduction to water-related health issues by Jacques. Water and health1.doc

 

New paper on water productivity

 

J.G. Wesseling and R.A. Feddes (2006). Assessing crop water productivity from field to regional scale. Agricultural Water Management 86 (1-2): 30-39

 

 

From the abstract:

....We then review how to scale up from the field scale to the regional scale. Up-scaling from fields to a region can be done by identifying areas that are homogenous with respect to soil and hydrological properties. Effects of spatial heterogeneity can be further analyzed by running a field scale model for all combinations of soil–water–crop and weather combinations, i.e. simulation units for the areas under investigation. The aggregation of the various simulation units can be performed in a GIS-environment by overlaying the thematic maps of spatial variables like weather, land use, soil, irrigation, groundwater level and groundwater quality. In order to analyze water productivity at regional scale the output of the independent model runs can finally be synthesized with the help of post-processors and GIS.

 

On the other hand earth observation satellites provide nowadays interesting information about degree of vegetation cover, leaf area index, crop type, crop yield, crop water stress and crop water use. This information can be regularly obtained under cloud-free conditions for different spatial and time resolutions. Consequently, the accuracy and reliability of spatial aggregation of representative input parameters, evapotranspiration (ET) and biomass simulated by distributed modelling can be compared with data obtained by satellite for different spatial and temporal scales. Once the combined use of model predictions and satellite data is verified, it will be possible to analyze the water productivity of an entire region of interest in detail and to provide specific recommendations for improvement.

 

Water Availability 

 

Water balance modelling in the Karkheh

Mobin posts new reports on GW estimation and Water Balance modelling in the Karkheh. Karkheh BFP _ Water balance Preliminary Analysis_ Draft.pdf, Also see Karkheh Basin Trajectory report; Karkheh BFP _ Trajectory Report _ Feb.2007Draft.pdf

 

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