scholarly journals Understanding Irrigation Water Applied, Consumptive Water Use, and Water Footprint Using Case Studies for Container Nursery Production and Greenhouse Crops

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 693-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Knight ◽  
Dewayne L. Ingram ◽  
Charles R. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Water Source ◽  
High Water ◽  
The United States ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Recycled Water ◽  
Consumptive Water Use ◽  
Consumptive Water

The understanding, calculation, and comparison of water footprint (WF) among specialty crop growers are confounded by geography, species, and process. This study builds on published models of representative plant production systems developed using life cycle assessment. These models include container production using recycled water in the mid-Atlantic, southeastern, and Pacific northwestern regions of the United States and greenhouse production implementing rainfall capture and overhead and ebb/flood irrigation strategies. Production systems using recycled water compare favorably in consumptive water use (CWU) with those that do not, regardless of the water source. Production systems in geographic locations with high water availability compare favorably with production systems in locations with high water scarcity in WF, but not necessarily CWU.

scholarly journals Consumer Perceptions of Landscape Plant Production Water Sources and Uses in the Landscape during Perceived and Real Drought

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Knuth ◽  
Bridget K. Behe ◽  
Charles R. Hall ◽  
Patricia Huddleston ◽  
R. Thomas Fernandez
Keyword(s):  
Fresh Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Utility Score ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
World Population ◽  
Recycled Water ◽  
Woody Perennials ◽  
Landscape Plants

Water is becoming scarcer as world population increases and will be allocated among competing uses. Some of that water will go toward sustaining human life, but some will be needed to install and support landscape plants. Thus, future water resource availability may literally change the American landscape. Recent research suggests that consumers’ attitudes and behavior toward potable water supplies have changed in other countries because of greater social awareness and increasingly widespread exposure to drought conditions. We conducted an online survey of 1543 U.S. consumers to assess their perceptions about landscape plants, the water source used to produce them, and plant water needs to become established in the landscape. Using two separate conjoint designs, we assessed their perceptions of both herbaceous and woody perennials. Consumers placed greater relative importance on water source in production over water use in the landscape for both herbaceous and woody perennials included in this study. They preferred (had a higher utility score for) fresh water over recycled water and least preferred a blend of fresh with recycled water for perennials and recycled water used for woody perennial production. In addition, the group that did not perceive a drought but experienced one placed a higher value (higher utility score) on nursery plants grown with fresh water compared with those which were actually not in drought and did not perceive one. Educational and promotional efforts may improve the perception of recycled water to increase the utility of that resource. Promoting the benefits of low water use plants in the landscape may also facilitate plant sales in times of adequate and low water periods.

scholarly journals Social and Economic Aspects of Water Use in Specialty Crop Production in the USA: A Review

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2337 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Majsztrik ◽  
Bridget Behe ◽  
Charles R. Hall ◽  
Dewayne L. Ingram ◽  
Alexa J. Lamm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
The United States ◽  
Plant Production ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Specialty Crop ◽  
Irrigation Return Flow

Understanding human behavior is a complicated and complex endeavor. Academicians and practitioners need to understand the underlying beliefs and motivations to identify current trends and to effectively develop means of communication and education that encourage change in attitudes and behavior. Sociological research can provide information about how and why people make decisions; this information impacts the research and extension community, helping them formulate programs and present information in a way that increases adoption rates. Life cycle assessment can document how plant production impacts the environment. Production of ornamental plants (greenhouse, container, and field produced flowers trees and shrubs) accounted for 4.4% of the total annual on-farm income and 8.8% of the crop income produced in the United States in 2017, representing a substantial portion of farmgate receipts. Greenhouse and nursery growing operations can use this information to increase production and water application efficiency and decrease input costs. Information related to the environmental impacts of plant production, derived from life cycle assessment, can also inform consumer purchase decisions. Information from water footprint analysis quantifies the relative abundance and availability of water on a regional basis, helping growers understand water dynamics in their operation and informing consumer plant purchases based on water availability and conservation preference. Economics can motivate growers to adopt new practices based on whether they are saving or making money, and consumers modify product selection based on preference for how products are produced. Specialty crop producers, including nursery and greenhouse container operations, rely heavily on high quality water from surface and groundwater resources for crop production; but irrigation return flow from these operations can contribute to impairment of water resources. This review focuses on multiple facets of the socioeconomics of water use, reuse, and irrigation return flow management in nursery and greenhouse operations, focusing on grower and consumer perceptions of water; barriers to adoption of technology and innovations by growers; economic considerations for implementing new technologies; and understanding environmental constraints through life cycle assessment and water footprint analyses. Specialty crop producers can either voluntarily adapt practices gradually to benefit both economic and environmental sustainability or they may eventually be forced to change due to external factors (e.g., regulations). Producers need to have the most current information available to inform their decisions regarding water management.

Decadal gross level assessment of green and blue consumptive water use over Indian agro-ecosystems

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (17) ◽  
pp. 6628-6669
Author(s):  
Indrani Choudhury ◽  
B.K. Bhattacharya ◽  
R. Eswar ◽  
M. Sekhar
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Consumptive Water Use ◽  
Consumptive Water

CONSUMPTIVE WATER USE OF RAINFED MAIZE IN NIGERIA

1986 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.O. Ojo ◽  
M. Ijioma ◽  
A.O. Ojo
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Consumptive Water Use ◽  
Consumptive Water

scholarly journals A spatially detailed blue water footprint of the United States economy

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 3007-3032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard R. Rushforth ◽  
Benjamin L. Ruddell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Virtual Water ◽  
The United States ◽  
Energy Information Administration ◽  
Blue Water ◽  
Consumptive Use ◽  
The Us ◽  
Per Capita

Abstract. This paper quantifies and maps a spatially detailed and economically complete blue water footprint for the United States, utilizing the National Water Economy Database version 1.1 (NWED). NWED utilizes multiple mesoscale (county-level) federal data resources from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US Department of Transportation (USDOT), the US Department of Energy (USDOE), and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to quantify water use, economic trade, and commodity flows to construct this water footprint. Results corroborate previous studies in both the magnitude of the US water footprint (F) and in the observed pattern of virtual water flows. Four virtual water accounting scenarios were developed with minimum (Min), median (Med), and maximum (Max) consumptive use scenarios and a withdrawal-based scenario. The median water footprint (FCUMed) of the US is 181 966 Mm3 (FWithdrawal: 400 844 Mm3; FCUMax: 222 144 Mm3; FCUMin: 61 117 Mm3) and the median per capita water footprint (FCUMed′) of the US is 589 m3 per capita (FWithdrawal′: 1298 m3 per capita; FCUMax′: 720 m3 per capita; FCUMin′: 198 m3 per capita). The US hydroeconomic network is centered on cities. Approximately 58 % of US water consumption is for direct and indirect use by cities. Further, the water footprint of agriculture and livestock is 93 % of the total US blue water footprint, and is dominated by irrigated agriculture in the western US. The water footprint of the industrial, domestic, and power economic sectors is centered on population centers, while the water footprint of the mining sector is highly dependent on the location of mineral resources. Owing to uncertainty in consumptive use coefficients alone, the mesoscale blue water footprint uncertainty ranges from 63 to over 99 % depending on location. Harmonized region-specific, economic-sector-specific consumption coefficients are necessary to reduce water footprint uncertainties and to better understand the human economy's water use impact on the hydrosphere.

scholarly journals Groundwater use for irrigation – a global inventory

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 3977-4021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Siebert ◽  
J. Burke ◽  
J. M. Faures ◽  
K. Frenken ◽  
J. Hoogeveen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Major Step ◽  
Groundwater Use ◽  
Irrigation Water Use ◽  
Global Inventory ◽  
Consumptive Water ◽  
Water Uses

Abstract. Irrigation is the most important water use sector accounting for about 70% of the global freshwater withdrawals and 90% of consumptive water uses. While the extent of irrigation and related water uses are reported in statistical databases or estimated by model simulations, information on the source of irrigation water is scarce and very scattered. Here we present a new global inventory on the extent of areas irrigated with groundwater, surface water or non-conventional sources, and we determine the related consumptive water uses. The inventory provides data for 15 038 national and sub-national administrative units. Irrigated area was provided by census-based statistics from international and national organizations. A global model was then applied to simulate consumptive water uses for irrigation by water source. Globally, area equipped for irrigation is currently about 301 million ha of which 38% are equipped for irrigation with groundwater. Total consumptive groundwater use for irrigation is estimated as 545 km3 yr−1, or 43% of the total consumptive irrigation water use of 1 277 km3 yr−1. The countries with the largest extent of areas equipped for irrigation with groundwater, in absolute terms, are India (39 million ha), China (19 million ha) and the United States of America (17 million ha). Groundwater use in irrigation is increasing both in absolute terms and in percentage of total irrigation, leading in places to concentrations of users exploiting groundwater storage at rates above groundwater recharge. Despite the uncertainties associated with statistical data available to track patterns and growth of groundwater use for irrigation, the inventory presented here is a major step towards a more informed assessment of agricultural water use and its consequences for the global water cycle.

scholarly journals Opportunities for saving and reallocating agricultural water to alleviate water scarcity

Water Policy ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 886-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Richter ◽  
James D. Brown ◽  
Rachel DiBenedetto ◽  
Adrianna Gorsky ◽  
Emily Keenan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Water Saving ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
Water Savings ◽  
Consumptive Water Use ◽  
Water Scarce ◽  
Consumptive Water

As water scarcity worsens globally, there is growing interest in finding ways to reduce water consumption, and for reallocating water savings to other uses including environmental restoration. Because irrigated agriculture is responsible for more than 90% of all consumptive water use in water-scarce regions, much attention is being focused on opportunities to save water on irrigated farms. At the same time, many recent journal articles have expressed concern that claims of water-saving potential in irrigation systems lack technical credibility, or are at least exaggerated, due to failures to properly account for key elements of water budgets such as return flows. Critics have also asserted that opportunities for reallocating irrigation savings to other uses are limited because any freed-up water is taken up by other farmers. A comprehensive literature and internet survey was undertaken to identify well-documented studies of water-saving strategies in irrigated agriculture, as well as a review of case studies in which water savings have been successfully transferred to other uses. Our findings suggest that there is in fact considerable potential to reduce consumptive water use in irrigation systems when proper consideration is given to water budget accounting, and those savings can be beneficially reallocated to other purposes.

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