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Hydrologic impacts of drought-adaptive agricultural water management in a semi-arid river basin: Case of Rincon Valley, New Mexico

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  • Ahn, Sora
  • Abudu, Shalamu
  • Sheng, Zhuping
  • Mirchi, Ali

Abstract

This paper examines the coupled effects of weather condition, crop coverage change, and regional water management (i.e., releases from Caballo Reservoir) on hydrologic characteristics of Rincon Valley (2466 km2), a semi-arid agricultural area in New Mexico, U.S.A., using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The model simulates the vertical water budget and horizontal water transfers during the period 1994–2013, incorporating irrigation of fourteen crops in normal (2008) and dry (2011) years to evaluate the hydrologic impacts of cropping change as a drought-adaptive water management strategy. It was calibrated (2000–2002) and validated (2003–2005) using daily-observed streamflow data. Furthermore, evapotranspiration, diversion and irrigation water volume were verified for the period of 2000–2005 using monthly crop irrigation requirement data and canal discharge data. Results demonstrate the significant role of surface water infiltration, providing approximately 18% of the average annual groundwater recharge during the irrigation season. Watershed scale evapotranspiration (ET) and return flows for the irrigation season were estimated to be 23% and 1% higher than those for the non-irrigation season, respectively. For irrigation units, the ratio of ET to combined precipitation and irrigation water for the dry year was 5% higher than the normal year whereas surface runoff, soil water storage, and groundwater recharge were 7%, 17%, and 39% lower than the normal year, respectively. High groundwater recharge occurs in the hydrologic response units (HRU) where corn and cotton are planted on silty clay loam soil. The Alfalfa acreage (i.e., the largest water user) was reduced by 15% while the cotton acreage was increased by 13% in order to adapt to lower water availability during the dry year. Quantitative understanding of the hydrologic fluxes in the Rincon Valley’s irrigated agricultural area illuminates adaptive land and water management to buffer the adverse impacts of prolonged droughts.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahn, Sora & Abudu, Shalamu & Sheng, Zhuping & Mirchi, Ali, 2018. "Hydrologic impacts of drought-adaptive agricultural water management in a semi-arid river basin: Case of Rincon Valley, New Mexico," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 206-218.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:209:y:2018:i:c:p:206-218
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2018.07.040
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Özcan, Zeynep & Kentel, Elçin & Alp, Emre, 2017. "Evaluation of the best management practices in a semi-arid region with high agricultural activity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 160-171.
    2. Jang, Sun Sook & Ahn, So Ra & Kim, Seong Joon, 2017. "Evaluation of executable best management practices in Haean highland agricultural catchment of South Korea using SWAT," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 180(PB), pages 224-234.
    3. Chen, Yong & Ale, Srinivasulu & Rajan, Nithya & Srinivasan, Raghavan, 2017. "Modeling the effects of land use change from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) to perennial bioenergy grasses on watershed hydrology and water quality under changing climate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 198-208.
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    2. William L. Hargrove & Josiah M. Heyman, 2020. "A Comprehensive Process for Stakeholder Identification and Engagement in Addressing Wicked Water Resources Problems," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Alberto Martínez-Salvador & Carmelo Conesa-García, 2020. "Suitability of the SWAT Model for Simulating Water Discharge and Sediment Load in a Karst Watershed of the Semiarid Mediterranean Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 34(2), pages 785-802, January.
    4. Baogui Li & Gary W. Marek & Thomas H. Marek & Dana O. Porter & Srinivasulu Ale & Jerry E. Moorhead & David K. Brauer & Raghavan Srinivasan & Yong Chen, 2023. "Impacts of Ongoing Land-Use Change on Watershed Hydrology and Crop Production Using an Improved SWAT Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, March.
    5. Sadeghi, Seyed Hamidreza & Sharifi Moghadam, Ehsan & Delavar, Majid & Zarghami, Mahdi, 2020. "Application of water-energy-food nexus approach for designating optimal agricultural management pattern at a watershed scale," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    6. Zhou, Qing & Zhang, Yali & Wu, Feng, 2021. "Evaluation of the most proper management scale on water use efficiency and water productivity: A case study of the Heihe River Basin, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).

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