Hydrologic Impacts due to Changes in Conveyance and Conversion from Flood to Sprinkler Irrigation Practices

Improvements in irrigation efficiency are well documented when changing from flood to sprinkler irrigation methods; however, other impacts to the watershed associated with this change are not well known. The resulting impacts to a river basin hydrology when irrigation and conveyance methods are changed are the focus of this study. In an attempt to improve water application and conveyance efficiencies in the Salt River Basin of western Wyoming, irrigation practices were changed from flood irrigation to sprinkler irrigation beginning in the late 1960s, with completion by the mid-1970s. Based upon a water balance, flow in the Salt River increased an average of 65.62 MCM/year. Return flow timing was also impacted by the conversion to sprinkler irrigation. Flows increased 34% in May and 50% in June, while decreasing 15 and 14% in August and September. These changes may have coincided with decreases in groundwater storage. However, analysis of changes in groundwater levels with time was inconclusive. Surface water total dissolved solids (TDS) appears unaffected by the conversion in irrigation practices, while limited groundwater quality data indicate that TDS values are lower in sprinkler irrigated areas.     

Describing Near Surface, Transient Flow Processes in Unconfined Aquifers below Irrigated Lands: Model Application in the Western San Joaquin Valley, California

In order to rigorously examine near surface, field to field interactions between irrigation management regimes and a shallow fluctuating water table, an enhanced deforming finite element (DFE) model was recently developed. The enhanced DFE model, through a process of iteration within each time step, avoids making common assumptions regarding the changing geometry of an aquifer free surface. This paper demonstrates the usefulness and effectiveness of the model by employing it to an irrigated region in the western San Joaquin Valley, Calif., where shallow subsurface tile drains have been installed to control shallow water tables. By virtue of the problems created by the need to dispose off the drainage water, this region has been the focus of several important regional scale modeling exercises, which have evaluated the utility of management strategies, such as source control, groundwater pumping, and land retirement. By refining the focus of the analysis, the enhanced DFE model is found to be able to show that both sources control and managed pumping could be more effective drainage control strategies than predicted based on the results of regional models.     

新疆灌溉用水定额分区初步研究

在综合分析新疆各地区地形地貌、气候特征、水资源状况、种植结构、农业灌溉用水现状和经济发展水平等因素基础上,采用共区优选法对新疆灌溉用水定额进行分区,并提出相应的改善措施。该结果可为提高新疆灌溉用水率和用水效率,以及为灌溉管理节水提供决策参考。     

灌溉周期对工业大麻秆部分理化性能的影响Ⅱ.灌溉周期对纤维素相对结晶度和晶胞尺寸的影响

为更好利用生物质材料,研究纤维素的相对结晶度和晶胞尺寸及其影响因素,用广角X射线衍射仪,研究了不同灌溉周期（3天浇一次水、14天浇一次水、不浇水）对工业大麻秆纤维素相对结晶度和晶胞尺寸的影响。结果表明在整个生长期中,随着生长期延长纤维素的相对结晶度呈增加趋势,晶胞尺寸呈减小趋势;不同灌溉周期对纤维素相对结晶度和晶胞尺寸影响显著（P≤0.05）;纤维素的物理结构在纤维细胞壁不同层次中是不同的。     

厦门市汀溪灌区总干渠洪水复核方法探讨

汀溪灌区作为汀溪水库群的农业供水对象,其灌溉用水量的大小直接关系到汀溪水库群向翔安、同安两区的水资源供需平衡,甚至影响厦门市水资源配置方案。但由于灌溉面积和渠道功能发生变化,有必要进行洪水分析复核从而重新确定工程规模。本文对汀溪灌区总干渠洪水复核方法进行探讨,供参考。     

Spring Maize Yield Estimation based on Radiation Use Efficiency and Multi-temporal Remotely Sensed Data

In order to develop highly accurate model for crop yield estimation,an approach of retrieving regional crop yield was studied by Radiation Use Efficiency (RUE) and remote sensing data,the Jifangzha irrigation is of Hetao irrigation district of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was selected as a research case.Based on this model,the difference of the Dry Matter Accumulation (DMA) between the maize’s different growing stages is made and a comparative analysis of the measured yields,and the predicted results based on this model.The results show that the DMA of the maize’s jointing stage is maximal,about 40% of total amount.The measured yield and the predicted ones based on the model has a greater correlation,the Correlation Coefficient was 0.853 and passed the reliability of 0.01.The difference of the DMA in different growing stages showed that the sensitive degree was displayed between main growing stages and yield,and that were some key aspects:the main limiting factor in growing stages and raising yield.These results indicate the model for spring maize yield estimation is feasible and effective based on the RUE and multi-temporal remotely sensing data.     

Moving beyond ‘more crop per drop’: insights from two decades of research on agricultural water productivity

ABSTRACT

Concern over increasing water scarcity has led to the introduction of the concept of agricultural water productivity and an emphasis on interventions to achieve ‘more crop per drop’. Yet, a strong debate continues on how the concept is to be defined and used. Drawing largely from the irrigation literature, the origins of the concept and its methodological developments are reviewed, and its use in applied work over two decades is discussed. Based on this analysis of conceptual and applied research, key insights into the concept’s contributions and limitations are presented, as well as opportunities for further refinements.     

Commercial farmers’ strategies to control water resources in South Africa: an empirical view of reform

This article shows how large-scale commercial farmers, individually and collectively, are responding to land and water reform processes in the Thukela River basin, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. With a high degree of innovative agency, commercial farmers have effectively executed four strategies, enabling them to adapt and use their access to resources to neutralize multiple water reform efforts that once promised to be catalysts for inclusive change in the post-apartheid era. It is likely that policy alone will not facilitate the envisioned transformation, if local practices are not sufficiently understood and anticipated by the governmental officials charged with the implementation of water reform processes.     

Laboratory evaluation of dripper performance

The catch can method is traditionally used for evaluating performance of drip systems. Two variations of this method are commonly applied in laboratory testing of drippers: the sequential and the simultaneous method. This study compared uniformity and measurement uncertainty of the two methods, with the overall aim of improving irrigation water management. The simultaneous method was found to have a lower coefficient of variation (C_v) and measurement uncertainty, indicating that it is more accurate than the sequential method. In all the tests, however, the C_v was determined to be <5%, which is acceptable as per the current reference standard.