Crop Production of Alborz Province based on the Concept of Virtual Water and its Management it using AquaCrop Model

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 M.Sc. Student, Department of Civil Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.

2 Department of Water Sciences and Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran.

3 Assistant professor of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AERI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.

Abstract

Alborz province is considered as one of the most important agricultural regions in Iran that annually most of the water resources in this province are allocated to the agricultural sector. The concept of virtual water is considered as a tool to examine the status of agricultural production in each region based on water consumption. For this reason, in the present study, using the data collected during the last ten years (2011-2021), the amount of virtual water trade in Alborz province was investigated. The results showed that the water deficit index of Alborz province is 0.6. The water self-sufficiency index of this province in relation to the import of virtual water is 100. Therefore, in this province, mainly agricultural products are exported and this province is self-sufficient in producing agricultural products and importing virtual water. To improve the water situation of Alborz province, different scenarios were investigated using the AquaCrop model and the optimal amount of water for irrigation of each crop was determined. With the improvement of the existing irrigation situation, the virtual water exported to most crops decreased. The highest decrease in virtual water exports for barley, lettuce and celery, potatoes and cabbage was achieved with the values of 1.6, 0.97, 0.16 and 0.13 million cubic meters per year, respectively. Also, by applying optimal irrigation scenarios, the water shortage index of Alborz province decreased to 0.54, which was less than 0.06 compared to the current situation.

Keywords

References

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Iranian journal of Ecohydrology
Volume 9, Issue 1
April 2022
Pages 291-302

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History

  • Receive Date: 23 October 2021
  • Revise Date: 11 March 2022
  • Accept Date: 11 March 2022
  • First Publish Date: 21 March 2022
  • Publish Date: 21 March 2022

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