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| Titel |
More efficient irrigation may compensate for increases in irrigation water requirements due to climate change in the Mediterranean area |
| VerfasserIn |
Marianela Fader, Sinan Shi, Werner von Bloh, Alberte Bondeau, Wolfgang Cramer |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2017
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 19 (2017) |
| Datensatznummer |
250143694
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2017-7441.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Irrigation in the Mediterranean is of vital importance for food security,
employment and economic development. We will present a recently published
study1
that estimates the current level of water demand for Mediterranean agriculture and simulates
the potential impacts of climate change, population growth and transitions to water-saving
irrigation and conveyance technologies.
The results indicate that, at present, Mediterranean region could save 35% of water by
implementing more efficient irrigation and conveyance systems, with large differences in the
saving potentials across countries.
Under climate change, more efficient irrigation is of vital importance for counteracting
increases in irrigation water requirements. The Mediterranean area as a whole might face an
increase in gross irrigation requirements between 4% and 18% from climate change alone by
the end of the century if irrigation systems and conveyance are not improved. Population
growth increases these numbers to 22% and 74%, respectively, affecting mainly the Southern
and Eastern Mediterranean. However, improved irrigation technologies and conveyance
systems have large water saving potentials, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean. Both the
Eastern and the Southern Mediterranean would need around 35% more water than today
if they could afford some degree of modernization of irrigation and conveyance
systems and benefit from the CO2-fertilization effect. However, in some scenarios
water scarcity may constrain the supply of the irrigation water needed in future
in Algeria, Libya, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Serbia, Morocco, Tunisia and
Spain.
In this study, vegetation growth, phenology, agricultural production and irrigation water
requirements and withdrawal were simulated with the process-based ecohydrological and
agro-ecosystem model LPJmL (“Lund-Potsdam-Jena managed Land”) after a large
development2
that comprised the improved representation of Mediterranean crops. |
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