IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v232y2020ics0378377419315100.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Field scale quantification indicates potential for variability in return flows from flood irrigation in the high altitude western US

Author

Listed:
  • Gordon, Beatrice L.
  • Paige, Ginger B.
  • Miller, Scott N.
  • Claes, Niels
  • Parsekian, Andrew D.

Abstract

The assessment of hydrologic ecosystem services associated with flood irrigation in the western United States is particularly limited by a lack of data about return flows. Return flows, the portion of applied water that returns to adjacent surface and groundwater hydrologic systems during flood irrigation, may provide wildlife habitat, recharge aquifers, and supplement late season baseflows. To improve understanding about variability in the timing and volume of return flows to improve management and policy decisions associated with different irrigation management techniques, our study used an agricultural water balance that combined hydrologic, geophysical, and meteorological tools. We directly measure key components of the water balance and quantify error and uncertainty on a ∼100 ha portion of the Bear Creek watershed in the Upper Wind River Basin of Wyoming. Over the course of a single irrigation season with average precipitation, we found that of the 1,133,000 m3 of water applied to irrigated lands, 328,000 m3 (29 % of applied water) returned to Bear Creek and 487,000 m3 (43 % of applied water) was consumptively used by vegetation. Our data also suggest that 59,000 m3 (18 % of total return flows) occurred more than two weeks after irrigation had ceased. The percent of return flow for this study site is slightly lower than the median of 43 % for all reviewed studies and the percent of delayed return flow—return flow after irrigation has ceased—is slightly higher than the median finding of 14 % across available studies. We found that return flows from flood irrigation at this site are lower than generalized regional estimates and those found by other studies. Thus, our study indicates that the amount and timing of return flows are not necessarily coupled (i.e. lower overall volume did not correspond to lowered late season contribution at this site). In addition, we found that these return flows support hydrologic ecosystem services including, riparian vegetation (wildlife habitat), groundwater storage, and late season baseflows.

Suggested Citation

  • Gordon, Beatrice L. & Paige, Ginger B. & Miller, Scott N. & Claes, Niels & Parsekian, Andrew D., 2020. "Field scale quantification indicates potential for variability in return flows from flood irrigation in the high altitude western US," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:232:y:2020:i:c:s0378377419315100
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106062
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377419315100
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106062?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kim, H.K. & Jang, T.I. & Im, S.J. & Park, S.W., 2009. "Estimation of irrigation return flow from paddy fields considering the soil moisture," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 875-882, May.
    2. Playan, Enrique & Mateos, Luciano, 2006. "Modernization and optimization of irrigation systems to increase water productivity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 80(1-3), pages 100-116, February.
    3. Mohan, S. & Vijayalakshmi, D.P., 2009. "Prediction of irrigation return flows through a hierarchical modeling approach," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 233-246, February.
    4. Hemakumara, H. M. & Chandrapala, Lalith & Moene, Arnold F., 2003. "Evapotranspiration fluxes over mixed vegetation areas measured from large aperture scintillometer," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 109-122, February.
    5. Cetin, B. & Yazgan, S. & Tipi, T., 2004. "Economics of drip irrigation of olives in Turkey," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 145-151, April.
    6. Skaggs, R. K., 2001. "Predicting drip irrigation use and adoption in a desert region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 125-142, October.
    7. Zulu, Giveson & Toyota, Masaru & Misawa, Shin-ichi, 1996. "Characteristics of water reuse and its effects on paddy irrigation system water balance and the riceland ecosystem," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 269-283, October.
    8. Perry, Chris, 2011. "Accounting for water use: Terminology and implications for saving water and increasing production," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(12), pages 1840-1846, October.
    9. Boldt, Alan L. & Eisenhauer, Dean E. & L. Martin, Derrel & Wilmes, Gary J., 1999. "Water conservation practices for a river valley irrigated with groundwater," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 235-256, January.
    10. Lecina, S. & Neale, C.M.U. & Merkley, G.P. & Dos Santos, C.A.C., 2011. "Irrigation evaluation based on performance analysis and water accounting at the Bear River Irrigation Project (U.S.A.)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(9), pages 1349-1363, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wen, Yeqiang & Shang, Songhao & Rahman, Khalil Ur & Xia, Yuhong & Ren, Dongyang, 2020. "A semi-distributed drainage model for monthly drainage water and salinity simulation in a large irrigation district in arid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    2. Ghahroodi, E. Mokari & Noory, H. & Liaghat, A.M., 2015. "Performance evaluation study and hydrologic and productive analysis of irrigation systems at the Qazvin irrigation network (Iran)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 189-195.
    3. Jiménez-Aguirre, M.T. & Isidoro, D., 2018. "Hydrosaline Balance in and Nitrogen Loads from an irrigation district before and after modernization," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 163-175.
    4. Hang Xu & Rui Yang & Jianfeng Song, 2021. "Agricultural Water Use Efficiency and Rebound Effect: A Study for China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Xu, Hang & Song, Jianfeng, 2022. "Drivers of the irrigation water rebound effect: A case study of Hetao irrigation district in Yellow River basin, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    6. Molle, François & Tanouti, Oumaima, 2017. "Squaring the circle: Agricultural intensification vs. water conservation in Morocco," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 170-179.
    7. Jung, Jae-Woon & Yoon, Kwang-Sik & Choi, Dong-Ho & Lim, Sang-Sun & Choi, Woo-Jung & Choi, Soo-Myung & Lim, Byung-Jin, 2012. "Water management practices and SCS curve numbers of paddy fields equipped with surface drainage pipes," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 78-83.
    8. Xuezhi Tan & Dongguo Shao & Wenquan Gu, 2018. "Improving Water Reuse in Paddy Field Districts with Cascaded On-farm Ponds using Hydrologic Model Simulations," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 32(5), pages 1849-1865, March.
    9. Wu, Di & Cui, Yuanlai & Wang, Yitong & Chen, Manyu & Luo, Yufeng & Zhang, Lei, 2019. "Reuse of return flows and its scale effect in irrigation systems based on modified SWAT model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 280-288.
    10. Wu, Di & Cui, Yuanlai & Li, Dacheng & Chen, Manyu & Ye, Xugang & Fan, Guofu & Gong, Lanqiang, 2021. "Calculation framework for agricultural irrigation water consumption in multi-source irrigation systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    11. Ortega-Reig, M. & Sanchis-Ibor, C. & Palau-Salvador, G. & García-Mollá, M. & Avellá-Reus, L., 2017. "Institutional and management implications of drip irrigation introduction in collective irrigation systems in Spain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 164-172.
    12. Wu, Di & Cui, Yuanlai & Luo, Yufeng, 2019. "Irrigation efficiency and water-saving potential considering reuse of return flow," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 519-527.
    13. Ren, Dongyang & Xu, Xu & Engel, Bernard & Huang, Quanzhong & Xiong, Yunwu & Huo, Zailin & Huang, Guanhua, 2021. "A comprehensive analysis of water productivity in natural vegetation and various crops coexistent agro-ecosystems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    14. Dutta, S. K & Laing, Alison M. & Kumar, S. & Gathala, Mahesh K. & Singh, Ajoy K. & Gaydon, D.S. & Poulton, P., 2020. "Improved water management practices improve cropping system profitability and smallholder farmers’ incomes," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    15. Tapsuwan, Sorada & Peña-Arancibia, Jorge L. & Lazarow, Neil & Albisetti, Melisa & Zheng, Hongxing & Rojas, Rodrigo & Torres-Alferez, Vianney & Chiew, Francis H.S. & Hopkins, Richard & Penton, David J., 2022. "A benefit cost analysis of strategic and operational management options for water management in hyper-arid southern Peru," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    16. Al Zayed, Islam Sabry & Elagib, Nadir Ahmed & Ribbe, Lars & Heinrich, Jürgen, 2016. "Satellite-based evapotranspiration over Gezira Irrigation Scheme, Sudan: A comparative study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 66-76.
    17. Ehsan Qasemipour & Ali Abbasi & Farhad Tarahomi, 2020. "Water-Saving Scenarios Based on Input–Output Analysis and Virtual Water Concept: A Case in Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, January.
    18. T. Fowe & I. Nouiri & B. Ibrahim & H. Karambiri & J. Paturel, 2015. "OPTIWAM: An Intelligent Tool for Optimizing Irrigation Water Management in Coupled Reservoir–Groundwater Systems," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(10), pages 3841-3861, August.
    19. Nelson Mango & Clifton Makate & Lulseged Tamene & Powell Mponela & Gift Ndengu, 2018. "Adoption of Small-Scale Irrigation Farming as a Climate-Smart Agriculture Practice and Its Influence on Household Income in the Chinyanja Triangle, Southern Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-19, April.
    20. Jang, T.I. & Kim, H.K. & Im, S.J. & Park, S.W., 2010. "Simulations of storm hydrographs in a mixed-landuse watershed using a modified TR-20 model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 201-207, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:232:y:2020:i:c:s0378377419315100. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.