Quantifying the Poorly Known Role of Groundwater i

Authors: Christos Zoumides Adriana Bruggeman Theodoros Zachariadis Stelios Pashiardis

Publish Date: 2013/02/08

Volume: 27, Issue: 7, Pages: 2501-2514

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Abstract

Agriculture in the Mediterranean region is constrained by limited water resources and in many countries irrigation demand exceeds the renewable water supply This paper presents a comprehensive approach to a quantify the consumptive green soil moisture provided by precipitation and blue irrigation water use for crop production b distinguish the contribution of groundwater to irrigation supply and c estimate groundwater overabstraction A spatiotemporally explicit soil water balance model based on the FAO56 dual crop coefficient approach which includes the computation of evaporation losses of the different irrigation systems was applied to the 5760km2 area of the Republic of Cyprus for the agrometeorological years 1995–2009 The model uses national agricultural statistics communitylevel data from the agricultural census and daily data from 34 meteorological stations and 70 precipitation gauges Groundwater overabstraction is quantified per groundwater body based on the sustainable abstraction rates specified in the Cyprus River Basin Management Plan as prepared for the EU Water Framework Directive It was found that on average total agricultural water use was 506 Mm3/year of which 62  is attributed to green water use and 38  to blue water use Groundwater contributed on average 81  151 Mm3/year to blue water use and exceeded the recommended abstraction rates by 45  47 Mm3/year Even though the irrigated area decreased by 18  during the 2008 drought year relative to the wettest year 2003 total blue water use decreased by only 1  The limited surface water supply during the driest year resulted in a 37  increase in groundwater use relative to the wettest year and exceeded the sustainable abstraction rate by 53  55 Mm3/year Overall the model provides objective and quantitative outcomes that can potentially contribute to the improvement of water resource management in Mediterranean environments in the light of climate change and expected policy reformsThe research reported was funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation under the programme “DESMI 20092010” project number ΚΟΥΛΤΟΥΡΑ/ΒΕΝΣ/0609/02 We would like to thank the staff of the Cyprus Meteorological Service Geological Survey Department of Agriculture and Water Development Department for providing us with the necessary data for this study The authors extend their gratitude to the editors and anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments on the initial version of the manuscript

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