Worsening climate conditions are expected to threaten water supplies in the Mediterranean region and its agricultural systems, which rely extensively on irrigation.
Worsening climate conditions are expected to threaten water supplies in the Mediterranean region and its agricultural systems, which rely extensively on irrigation.
A profound understanding of the effect of climate change on crop water consumption and irrigation requirements is crucial to better manage water resources, particularly in regions largely affected by water scarcity with aggravating conflicts between water-demanding sectors.
In the study “A modelling platform for climate change impact on local and regional crop water requirements”, an international team of scientists led by the CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change in collaboration with the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, UC Davis, and the University of Sassari elaborated assessments of crop consumption and irrigation requirements under future climatic conditions. The results provide guidelines for precision agriculture at a local scale and help evaluate requirements at a larger scale. This couples big data with climate projections to support climate change adaptation policy planning.
The research shows that in Mediterranean countries, maize, wheat, and grape production will require on average 13%, 16%, and 10% more water, respectively, during 2035-2065 and under the climate scenarios RCP 8.5 and RCP 4.5. The RCP 8.5 indicates a scenario of comparatively high greenhouse gas emissions, and RCP 4.5 an intermediate scenario that assumes imposition of effective emissions mitigation policies. At the same time, as a result of more pronounced future droughts, a general yield decline is expected, especially for staple crops such as maize and wheat. Increases in irrigation demand and reduction in water supplies due to climate change, can lead to significant challenges for water resource management to reduce conflicts among sectors (e.g. household use, energy production, tourism, industrial production processes) for water use.
Read more at CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
Photo Credit: mbc-2016 via Pixabay
