India is among the countries that uses a significant fraction of available water for irrigation. Irrigated area in India has increased substantially after the Green revolution and both surface and groundwater have been extensively used. Under warming climate projections, irrigation frequency may increase leading to increased irrigation water demands. Water resources planning and management in a...

There are pressing concerns about the interplay between agricultural productivity, water demand, and water availability in semi-arid to arid regions of the world. Currently, irrigated agriculture is the dominant water user in these regions and is estimated to consume approximately 80% of the world’s diverted freshwater resources. We develop an improved irrigated land-use mapping algorithm that ...

The paper reports the first results of the EU funded Project WADI (Sustainability of European Irrigated Agriculture under Water Directive and Agenda 2000). The objective of the WADI project is to evaluate the economic, social and environmental sustainability of European irrigated farming under different scenarios concerning water policy and the Common Agricultural Policy. The methodology relies...

Overview Water is an important natural resource that contributes to the Colorado’s economic, cultural and social well-being. But, as recent events have shown, our limited water supply has many competing uses and is undergoing many rapid changes. Water rights are being voluntarily transferred from irrigated agriculture to municipal use, groundwater supplies are diminishing and wells without suff...

Agriculture is an economic activity that manifests the complex relationship between natural and human resources. The growth of agriculture is prerequisite for overall development of Indian economy. It contributes significantly to the export earnings and affects the performance of other sectors of the economy through forward and backward linkages. The present paper analysis disparities in agricu...

Nutrient dynamics in the Bela watershed, Nepal were examined using a range of GIS budget modelling and field analysis techniques. The fertility status analysis showed that soil acidity, phosphorus availability, and lack of base cations were the key soil fertility issues. Nutrient budget calculations revealed significant annual phosphorus deficits for maize rota­ tions, but only minor deficits i...

Concentrations of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) were measured in arid agricultural and irrigated agricultural soils collected in Daba Village, Shajiawuan Village, Gangou Village and Sifangwu Village, located in central Gansu Province, China. Concentrations except Hg and Pb were lower than the background values in grey calcareous soil in the selected arid ...

The expansion of irrigated agriculture during the Soviet Union (SU) era made Central Asia a leading cotton production region in the world. However, the successor states of the SU in Central Asia face on-going environmental damages and soil degradation that are endangering the sustainability of agricultural production. With Landsat MSS and TM data from 1972/73, 1977, 1987, 1998, and 2000 the exp...

Recent drought and population growth are planting unprecedented demand for the use of available limited water resources. Irrigated agriculture is one of the major consumers of fresh water. Huge amount of water in irrigated agriculture is wasted due to poor water management practices. To improve water management in irrigated areas, models for estimation of future water requirements are needed. D...

We investigated the prevalence of malaria and associated risk factors in children living in urban Ghana. Malaria prevalence was associated with low hemoglobin concentration, low socioeconomic status, and higher age. Our findings indicate that African urban poor are seriously affected by malaria and that irrigated agriculture may increase this risk.