Choosing a Suitable Area for Wheat Production Through the Concept of Water Footprint and Social Decision-making Methods (Case study: Esfahan Province)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student, Faculty of Water Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

2 Associate Professor, Faculty of Water Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

3 Professor, Faculty of Water Sciences, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz

4 Associate Professor, School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran

Abstract

The use of water resources can be managed by examining the water footprint of agricultural products more precisely, as well as its long-term variations. The present study aims to determine the annual water footprint trend of wheat production in Esfahan province from 1982 to 2016. To investigate the trend of water footprint time series of wheat production, the Mann-Kendall Trend test, and Sen's slope estimator were applied. After ranking the cities in terms of the water footprint and water footprint trend using the Social Choice Rules (SCR), Esfahan province was identified as the best city for wheat cultivation. The results showed that the average total water footprint of wheat production in Esfahan province was 4122.73 m3/ton and according to Mann-Kendall statistics, there was an insignificant decreasing and increasing trend. According to the value of Sen's slope estimator, the range of this slope was 93 (m3 / ton) for the total water footprint. The results also indicated that the amount of water footprint indicator in producing a product was not an acceptable criterion to choose that area for cultivating that product. By using the trend of this indicator and decision-making methods, e.g., social choice rules, it is possible to identify the best region for cultivating each product, change the pattern of cultivation in its policy of work, preserve water resources, and increase productivity. In this study, Fereydun Shahr, a city in Esfahan province, was selected as the best place for wheat cultivation in terms of the water footprint.

Keywords

References

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Iranian journal of Ecohydrology
Volume 6, Issue 4
January 2020
Pages 1045-1054

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History

  • Receive Date: 22 May 2019
  • Revise Date: 06 August 2019
  • Accept Date: 06 August 2019
  • First Publish Date: 22 December 2019
  • Publish Date: 22 December 2019

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