The integration of FAO-CropWat Model and GIS Techniques for Estimating Irrigation Water Requirement and Its Application in the Gaza Strip
Author(s)
Husam Al-Najar
ABSTRACT
In the Gaza Strip irrigation practices are only based on the farmer’s own experience, they determine when and how to irrigate crops based on the appearance of the soil and the climatic conditions. Even though FAO-CropWat model is used for many countries to estimate irrigation water requirements, it is rarely used for Gaza Strip. In the current re-search, it is the first attempt to model the historical available meteorological data to estimate the irrigation water requirements for the most common cultivated crops (citrus, almonds, date palms, grapes) and to compare the results with the farmer irrigation practices. The model results show that, the reference evapotranspiration accounts for 1451 ± 5 mm/year. Therefore the irrigation water requirements estimated to be 763, 722, 1083, 591 mm/year in average for Citrus, Almonds, Date palm, Grapes, respectively. The farmer irrigation practice exceeding the irrigation water requirement by 30%. The spatial distribution of irrigation water requirements in the entire area of Gaza Strip is shown on maps derived by GIS technique based on data from eight meteorological stations. Irrigation water quality is not optimal in the Gaza Strip, chemical analysis of irrigation wells indicate high salinity and SAR ratio. The obtained results from the model could be a good management tool for the planners and decision makers to minimize the overexploitation of the groundwater and to build fair and strict regulations to optimize the water use in agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip which characterized by semi-arid region.
In the Gaza Strip irrigation practices are only based on the farmer’s own experience, they determine when and how to irrigate crops based on the appearance of the soil and the climatic conditions. Even though FAO-CropWat model is used for many countries to estimate irrigation water requirements, it is rarely used for Gaza Strip. In the current re-search, it is the first attempt to model the historical available meteorological data to estimate the irrigation water requirements for the most common cultivated crops (citrus, almonds, date palms, grapes) and to compare the results with the farmer irrigation practices. The model results show that, the reference evapotranspiration accounts for 1451 ± 5 mm/year. Therefore the irrigation water requirements estimated to be 763, 722, 1083, 591 mm/year in average for Citrus, Almonds, Date palm, Grapes, respectively. The farmer irrigation practice exceeding the irrigation water requirement by 30%. The spatial distribution of irrigation water requirements in the entire area of Gaza Strip is shown on maps derived by GIS technique based on data from eight meteorological stations. Irrigation water quality is not optimal in the Gaza Strip, chemical analysis of irrigation wells indicate high salinity and SAR ratio. The obtained results from the model could be a good management tool for the planners and decision makers to minimize the overexploitation of the groundwater and to build fair and strict regulations to optimize the water use in agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip which characterized by semi-arid region.
Cite this paper
nullH. Al-Najar, "The integration of FAO-CropWat Model and GIS Techniques for Estimating Irrigation Water Requirement and Its Application in the Gaza Strip," Natural Resources, Vol. 2 No. 3, 2011, pp. 146-154. doi: 10.4236/nr.2011.23020.
nullH. Al-Najar, "The integration of FAO-CropWat Model and GIS Techniques for Estimating Irrigation Water Requirement and Its Application in the Gaza Strip," Natural Resources, Vol. 2 No. 3, 2011, pp. 146-154. doi: 10.4236/nr.2011.23020.
References
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[1] H. Al-Najar, “Urban Agriculture and Eco-Sanitation: The Stra-tegic Potential toward Poverty Alleviation in the Gaza Strip,” RICS Research, Vol. 7, No. 7, 2007, pp. 9-22. [2] B. Shomer, G. Mueller and A. Yahya, “Potential Use of Treated Wastewa-ter and Sludge in Agricultural Sector of the Gaza Strip,” Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2004. pp. 128-137. Policy, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2004. pp. 128-137. doi:10.1007/s10098-003-0228-5 [3] H. Al-Najar and A. J. Adeloye, “The Effect of Urban Expansion on Groundwater as a Renewable Resource in [4] the Gaza Strip,” RICS Re-search, Vol. 5, No. 8, 2005, pp. 7-21. [5] A. Khalaf, H. Al-Najar and J. Hamad, “Assessment of Rainwater Runoff due to the Proposed Regional Plan for Gaza Governorate,” Journal of Applied Science, Vol. 6, No. 13, 2006, pp. 2693-2704. [6] K. Qahman, A. Larabi, D. Ouazar, A. Naji, A. H.-D. Cheng, “Optimal Extraction of Groundwater in Gaza Coastal Aquifer,” Journal Water Resource and Protection, Vol. 1, No. 4, 2009, pp. 249-259. [7] M. Cockx and H. Simonne, “Reduction of the Impact of Fertilization and Irrigation Proc-esses in the Nitrogen Cycle in Vegetable Fields with BMPs,” 2003. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu [8] T. A. Bauder, I. Broner and R. M. Waskom, “Nitrogen and Irrigation Management,” 2004. http://www. Ext.colostate.edu [9] Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), “Crop Evapo-transpiration-Guidelines for Computing Crop Water Requirements, FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper 56,” FAO, Rome. 1998. [10] T. A. Obreza and D. J. Pitts, “Effective Rainfall in Poorly Drained Microirrigated Citrus Orchards,” Soil Science Society American Journal, Vol. 66, 2002, pp.212–221. [11] S. Trajkovic, “Temperature-Based Approaches for Estimating Reference Evapotran-spiration,” Journal Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Vol. 131, No. 4, 2005, pp. 316-323. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9437(2005)131:4(316) [12] P. Droogers and R. G. Allen, “Estimating Reference Evapotran-spiration Under Inaccurate Data Conditions,” Irrigation and drainage systems, Vol. 16, No.1, 2004, pp. 33-45. doi:10.1023/A:1015508322413 [13] Palestinian Water Au-thority (PWA), “Agricultural and Municipal Water Demand in Gaza Governorates for year 2005,” PWA, Gaza, 2005. [14] R. G. Allen, L. S. Pereira, M. Smith, D. Raes and J. L. Wright, “FAO-56 Dual Crop Coefficient Method for Estimating Evaporation from Soil and Application Extensions,” Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Vol. 131, No. 1 2005, pp. 2-13. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9437(2005)131:1(2) [15] Ministry of Agriculture,“ Input-Output Gross Margin and Profit Per Dunam in the Gaza Strip,” MoA, Gaza, 2003. [16] Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), “Coastal Aquifer Management Pro-gram (CAMP), Final Model Report (task 7),” PWA, Palestine, 2000. [17] M. Al-Khatib and H. Al-Najar, “Hy-dro-Geochemical Characteristics of Groundwater Beneath the Gaza Strip,” Journal of Water resources and protection, Vol. 3, No. 5, 2011, pp. 341-348. [18] A. Hilles and H. Al-Najar, “Brackish Water Desalination is the Merely Potable Water Potential in the Gaza Strip: Prospective and Limitations,” En-vironmental Science and Technology, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2011, pp. 158-171. doi:10.3923/jest.2011.158.171 [19] M. M. Yassin, S. S. Abu Amr and H. M. Al-Najar, “Assessment of Microbiological Wa-ter Quality and Its Relation to Human Health in Gaza Gover-norate,” Public Health, Vol. 120, No. 12, 2006, pp. 1177-1187. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2006.07.026