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A methodology to classify irrigated areas: Application to the central Ebro River Basin in Aragón (Spain)

Author

Listed:
  • Zapata, N.
  • Playán, E.
  • Castillo, R.
  • Gimeno, Y.
  • Oliván, I.
  • Jiménez, A.
  • Carbonell, X.
  • Fábregas, M.
  • López-Pardo, J.R.
  • Vicente, L.M.
  • Millán, J.
  • Solano, D.
  • Lorenzo, M.A.

Abstract

The large diversity of irrigated agricultural areas hinders the development of social consensus and complicates decision-making about the allocation of investments for irrigation modernization. A classification of irrigated areas permits the identification and mapping of different categories and reveals the strengths and weaknesses of each category regarding specific criteria. This paper proposes a binomial (genus and species) classification methodology of irrigated areas, which was designed based on a participatory approach. Four internal properties determine the genus: type of water source, type of water energy, on-farm irrigation method and water availability. Four external properties classify the variability within each genus into species: land tenure, crop type, existence of an environmental protection figure and socio-economic level. The words used for the genus and specific name arise from the concatenation of syllables representing the state or level of each property. The method was applied to the irrigated area of the Ebro river basin in the Aragón region of Spain (ERB-Aragón). A total of 435,851 ha were classified. A large part of the irrigated land uses surface water (94 %), does not have water availability problems (80 %), is not affected by environmental protection figures (97 %), is devoted to field crops (86 %), and manifests a low (45 %) or moderate (41 %) socio-economic level. A total of 24 genera and 126 species were identified. The two most representative genera are SurGraFloVe (31 %) and SurPumPreVe (27 %), and the two main species are SurGraFloVe DisCeNoLo (19 %) and SurPumPreVe ConCeNoMo (19 %). These species received the local names of “Ribera del Ebro” and “Alto Aragonés” to facilitate policy discussions. The application of the method to the ERB-Aragón provides a privileged insight that can support policy analyses and guide institutional intervention. The proposed methodology can be adapted to other areas of the world by adjusting criteria and categories to local conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Zapata, N. & Playán, E. & Castillo, R. & Gimeno, Y. & Oliván, I. & Jiménez, A. & Carbonell, X. & Fábregas, M. & López-Pardo, J.R. & Vicente, L.M. & Millán, J. & Solano, D. & Lorenzo, M.A., 2020. "A methodology to classify irrigated areas: Application to the central Ebro River Basin in Aragón (Spain)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:241:y:2020:i:c:s0378377420303917
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106365
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jiménez-Aguirre, M.T. & Isidoro, D., 2018. "Hydrosaline Balance in and Nitrogen Loads from an irrigation district before and after modernization," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 163-175.
    2. Faci, J. M. & Bensaci, A. & Slatni, A. & Playan, E., 2000. "A case study for irrigation modernisation: I. Characterisation of the district and analysis of water delivery records," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 313-334, January.
    3. Playan, E. & Slatni, A. & Castillo, R. & Faci, J. M., 2000. "A case study for irrigation modernisation: II: Scenario analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-354, January.
    4. Stambouli, T. & Faci, J.M. & Zapata, N., 2014. "Water and energy management in an automated irrigation district," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 66-76.
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