Water demand of central pivot-irrigated areas in Bahia, Brazil: management of water resources applied to sustainable production

• DOI: 10.1007/s10668-021-01950-8
• Publication Date: 2021-11-14T08:02:16Z
• Authors: Wilian Rodrigues ...; Morgana Scaramuss...; Daniel Soares Fer...; Dalila da Costa G...; Samira Luns Hatum...; Ramon Amaro de Sales; Felipe Cunha Siman; Luan Peroni Venancio; Edvaldo Fialho do...
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; 550; Sustainable agriculture; 15. Life on land; Remote sensing; 01 natural sciences; 6. Clean water; 12. Responsible consumption; Water vulnerability; 13. Climate action; Irrigated agriculture; Irrigation; Environmental public policies; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

When performed without technical criteria, the rapid expansion of irrigated agricultural frontiers can result in overexploitation of water, causing worrying impacts on the balance of agroecosystems. This study proposes a model applied to the state of Bahia, to estimate the water demand of areas irrigated by a central pivot, in order to contribute to information that will subsidize the inspection and planning of water resources in the promotion of sustainable agriculture. The irrigated areas were identified and measured by photointerpretation using orbital images from the Landsat-8 satellite. With a historical series of data, the reference evapotranspiration was calculated and monthly water balance was elaborated. The data obtained were spatialized by kriging, and with punctual values of water deficit (mm), the water demand of the irrigated perimeter of the equipment was estimated. The results were described considering strategic planning units, proposed from municipalities, hydrographic basins and biomes. A total of 4075 pivots were quantified, covering an irrigated area of 265,896.30 ha and with an average annual consumption of 1,333,473,208.02 m3 of water. Areas of high demand were identified, especially in the western region of Bahia, which includes the hydrographic basin of the Sao Francisco River and the Cerrado biome, concentrating 80.85% and 75.47% of the state water demand for pivots, respectively. Considering possible points of water vulnerability and continuity of this expansion, the results provide the primary information needed to encourage the adoption of public policies aimed at the management of water resources. The study method proposes guidelines that condition the application in any region of interest in the world.